bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sor Mauricia del Santísimo Sacramento, monja recoleta: el original autógrafo de la biografí de una mujer maltratada en el Siglo XVII
Authors: Sampedro Redondo Laura
Published: March 2016

En el Archivo Municipal de Gijón, se conservan dos cuadernillos manuscritos originales de la autobiografía escrita bajo obediencia de sus confesores, de Sor Mauricia del Santísimo Saeramento, Agustina Recoleta que acompaña a la Madre María de Santo Tomé, la fundadora de los conventos de Llanes y Gijón, a la fundación del convento de Gijón en 1668. Mujer easada antes de profesar, narra su vida desde su nacimiento, una vida llena de peripecias, marcada por el sufrimiento y el maltrato en su infancia y durante su matrimonio. Su vida fue publicada en un libro recopilatorio junto a otras autobiografías de la orden, pero estos cuadernos nos permiten conocer su relato original, libre de las correcciones y censuras de la versión oficial
El fraude en la hidalguía: intrusiones en el estado de hijosdalgo durante el Siglo XVIII
Authors: Pérez León Jorge
Published: March 2016

Durante la Edad Moderna y especialmente durante el siglo XVIII, la hidalguía, como condición privilegiada, fue ambicionada por gran parte de la población. Aunque su acceso estaba cerrado a la mayor parte de la población pronto se diseñaron procedimientos para burlar este obstáculo como el fraude y la manipulación de las pruebas de nobleza. En el espacio local esta problemática se centra en las intrusiones en el estado noble, una cuestión que no solo se limitará al enfrentamiento entre plebeyos e hidalgos sino que también afectará a los intereses del Estado.
Método y conocimiento en historia. Incidencia en la consideración de la idea de nación
Authors: Lafuente María Isabel
Published: March 2016

Se consideran dos orientaciones fundamentales del trabajo histórico: empírica y positiva, y sus metodologías: método de recuperación/método constructivo. Se analizan los problemas que están produciendo en el conocimiento histórico la introducción de los imaginarios y las TICS en relación con las nociones de estructura, orden y conexión. Se examinan dos formas metodológicas (tipos y modelos) y su capacidad para poder trabajar con los problemas de continuidad/discontinuidad en tanto afectan a la realidad histórica. Se aplican los análisis a la idea de nación
Integrating The E In E-Marketing
Authors: Strauss Judy , El-Ansary Adel I.
Published: March 2016

The domain of e-marketing is much greater than pure play and enterprise level dot-coms. E-marketing concerns the deployment of information technology to render marketing strategy and process more effective and efficient. Technology and the Internet also changed the way marketing is conducted. For example, the fundamental idea of digitizing data has transformed media and software delivery methods as well as created a new transaction channel. Also, the Internet as information equalizer has shifted the balance of power from marketer to consumer. As developed nations enter what Gartner Group calls the slope of enlightenment on the way to dropping the “e” from e-business, successful marketers will grasp the risks and rewards of various levels of information technology commitment. Fortunately, marketers do not have to personally develop the technologies, but they need to know enough to understand technology, select appropriate suppliers, and direct technology professionals in order to harness its power. In this article we define e-marketing, then present a framework for a menu of business models along with best practices. The framework is designed to ease the navigation and integration of technology in marketing strategy to fully capitalize on Internet properties and reap advantages of its role in marketing and business strategy.
A Credit Risk Model To Develop The Credit Insurance Market
Authors: Grovas Salvador Vazquez Perez
Published: March 2016

The globalization of the markets, as well as the deregulation of the economies, are world-wide tendencies that have created the necessity for the institutions to count on tools that collaborate in the identification, measurement and control of the risks in which they are exposed. It is necessary that all kind of companies be able to identify generic risks and to assure they count with the appropriate measurement systems that allow them to conceptualize, to quantify and to measure credit risks. This investigation has as main goals: to propose a credit risk model for Mexico and all Latin America that allow entrepreneurs of medium and large sized companies to measure and control their credit risk position; an alternative goal would be to propose some tools that can be used to make this kind of risks less damaging.
The hazards of unvaccination to the vaccinated ones
Authors: Miley John
Published: March 2016

One of the more successive cases of antivaccine activists frequently comes as a guileful inquiry. All things considered, possibly it's not by any means insincere, given that numerous antivaccinationists appear to trust premise behind it. The inquiry for the most part takes a structure something like, "If your kid is inoculated, why are you agonized over my youngsters? They don't represent any peril to you." obviously, the reason behind that question is, humorously, one that contentions with a large portion of the convictions behind antivaccinationism, specifically the conviction that antibodies are inadequate. Yet, the reason behind this inquiry is that antibodies are effective to the point that there's no purpose behind the folks of an inoculated tyke to be concerned if that youngster interacts with another tyke with an immunization preventable infection. Obviously, nobody ever blamed antivaccine activists for being predictable in their convictions.
Safety Management with Chemical Mapping Techniques- A Study
Authors: Sen Ridima
Published: March 2016

In the U.S., only a small portion of the chemicals utilized as a part of buyer items have been tried for human wellbeing impacts. What's more, with the present atmosphere in Congress, it feels improbable that we'll see any genuine change of the country's horribly obsolete synthetic security rules at any point in the near future. Meanwhile, researcher Thomas Hartung might have made the following best thing. In the least difficult terms, Hartung and associates took what is the world's biggest and wealthiest database of substance danger examination — a database created as per the European Union's Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations — and composed a PC program that uses that information to foresee the poisonous quality of chemicals for which there is practically no security information.
ARTICULAÇÕES DA NEGRIDADE: Políticas e tecnologias da diferença na Colômbia
Authors: Restrepo Eduardo
Published: March 2016

Com a inflexão do multiculturalismo, a imaginação política e teórica na Colômbia articulou uma noção de negridade no seio de um grupo étnico. Foi dessa maneira que se foi consolidando a ideia de “comunidades negras” com práticas tradicionais de produção, em uma relação harmônica com a natureza e com a propriedade coletiva de seus territórios e com uma identidade cultural característica. Na última década, no entanto, tem emergido uma nova articulação da negridade a partir das políticas de ações afirmativas, impulsadas por uma crescente problematização em torno do “afrodescendente”. Esse artigo examina as políticas da diferença que articulam a negridade na inflexão do multiculturalismo e das ações afirmativas, em busca de evidenciar não somente suas diferenças, mas também, seus ganhos e limitações.Palabras chaves: Etnização, negridade, comunidades negras, afrodescendentes, afrocolombianos---ARTICULACIONES DE NEGRIDADE: Políticas y tecnologías de la diferencia en ColombiaCon la inflexión del multiculturalismo, en Colombia la imaginación política y teórica articuló una noción de negridad en clave de un grupo étnico. Fue así cómo se fue consolidando la idea de las ‘comunidades negras’ con unas prácticas tradicionales de producción en armónica relación con la naturaleza y con propiedad colectiva sobre sus territorios y con una identidad cultural característica. En la última década, sin embargo, ha ido emergiendo una nueva articulación de la negridad a partir de las políticas de acción afirmativa impulsadas por una creciente problematización en términos de lo “afrodescendiente”. Este artículo examina las políticas de la diferencia que articulan la negridad en la inflexión del multiculturalismo y de las acciones afirmativas, en aras de evidenciar no sólo sus diferencias sino también sus logros y limitaciones.Palabras-claves: Etnización, negridad, comunidades negras, afrodescendientes, afrocolombianos---ARTICULATIONS OF BLACKNESS: Policies and technologies of difference in ColombiaWith the inflection of multiculturalism, the political and theoretical imagination in Colombia came up with the concept of blackness within an ethnic group. That is how the idea of "black communities" was consolidate with its traditional practices, in a harmonious relationship with nature, with the collective ownership of their lands and typical cultural identity. In the last decade, however, a new idea of blackness from affirmative action policies appeared, fueled by the evergrowing problematization surrounding the "African descent". This article examines the politics of difference that articulate blackness in the inflection of multiculturalism and affirmative action, seeking to highlight not only their differences, but also their gains and limitations.Keywords: Ethnicization, blackness, black communities, Afro-Colombians
Presentación
Authors: Hoffmann Odile , Velázquez Emilia
Published: March 2016

...
Experiences with the practical implementation and operation of biological nitrification for a small-scale drinking water treatment plant
Authors: Richard L. , Mayr E. , Zunabovic M. , Allabashi R. , Perfler R.
Published: March 2016

The implementation and evaluation of biological nitrification as a possible treatment option for the small-scale drinking water supply of a rural Upper Austrian community was investigated. The drinking water supply of this community (average system input volume: 20 m3/d) is based on the use of deep anaerobic groundwater with a high ammonium content of geogenic origin (up to 5 mg/l) which must be treated to prevent the formation of nitrites in the drinking water supply system. This paper describes the implementation and operation of biological nitrification despite several constraints including space availability, location and financial and manpower resources. A pilot drinking water treatment plant, including biological nitrification implemented in sand filters, was designed and constructed for a maximum treatment capacity of 1.2 m3/h. Online monitoring of selected physicochemical parameters has provided continuous treatment performance data. Treatment performance of the plant was evaluated under standard operation as well as in the case of selected malfunction events.
Is a Day out of Hawick a Day Wasted? A Study of Bidialectalism in Young Hawick Females
Authors: Rawsthorne Alice
Published: March 2016

This study investigates young female speakers from Hawick in southern Scotland. The main focus is to identify whether bidialectal-like shifts occur in the young female speakers’ use of local dialect features, depending on the dialect of their conversation partner. It compares dialectal feature production in 5 participants’ conversations with a Hawick insider and outsider, analysing the phonological, lexical, and morphological variables θ> h, know/ken, and negation. The results show that 3 of the 5 recorded participants demonstrated bidialectal-like style shifts in feature production depending on their conversation partner, whilst the other 2 participants showed less significant shifts. Furthermore, this study uses quantitative and qualitative comparisons of the linguistic features under study to position the participants on a monodialectal-bidialectal continuum. It suggests possible explanations for intra-speaker variation in bidialectalism, including degree of closeness between the speakers, socioeconomic background, and community inclusion. The article points to a need for wider research in the field of bidialectalism to identify influences on monodialectal and bidialectal speakers in different geographical areas.
Calibration of robot tool centre point using camera-based system
Authors: Gordic Zavisa , Ongaro Claudio
Published: March 2016

Robot Tool Centre Point (TCP) calibration problem is of great importance for
a number of industrial applications, and it is well known both in theory and
in practice. Although various techniques have been proposed for solving this
problem, they mostly require tool jogging or long processing time, both of
which affect process performance by extending cycle time. This paper presents
an innovative way of TCP calibration using a set of two cameras. The robot
tool is placed in an area where images in two orthogonal planes are acquired
using cameras. Using robust pattern recognition, even deformed tool can be
identified on images, and information about its current position and
orientation forwarded to control unit for calibration. Compared to other
techniques, test results show significant reduction in procedure complexity
and calibration time. These improvements enable more frequent TCP checking
and recalibration during production, thus improving the product quality.
Performance of shortest path algorithm based on parallel vertex traversal
Authors: Vesovic Mihailo , Smiljanic Aleksandra , Kostic Dusan
Published: March 2016

Shortest path algorithms for different applications, such as Internet
routing, VLSI design and so on are used. Dijkstra and Bellman-Ford are
commonly used shortest path algorithms which are typically implemented in
networks with hundreds of nodes. However, scale of shortest path problems is
increasing, and more efficient algorithms are needed. With the development of
multicore processors, one natural way to speedup shortest path algorithms is
through parallelization. In this paper, we propose a novel shortest path
algorithm with parallel vertex transversal, and compare its speed with
standard solutions in datacenter topologies.
Analysis of axially symmetric wire antennas by the use of exact kernel of electric field integral equation
Authors: Krneta Aleksandra , Kolundzija Branko
Published: March 2016

The paper presents a new method for the analysis of wire antennas with axial
symmetry. Truncated cones have been applied to precisely model antenna
geometry, while the exact kernel of the electric field integral equation has
been used for computation. Accuracy and efficiency of the method has been
further increased by the use of higher order basis functions for current
expansion, and by selecting integration methods based on singularity
cancelation techniques for the calculation of potential and impedance
integrals. The method has been applied to the analysis of a typical dipole
antenna, thick dipole antenna and a coaxial line. The obtained results verify
the high accuracy of the method.
Nutrient distribution among metabolic fractions in 2 Atriplex spp
Authors: Islam M. , Adams M. A. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

The seasonal variations in nitrogen and phosphorus fractions and cations in 2 species of Atriplex common to Western Australia (Atriplex amnicola P.G. Wilson and Atriplex nummularia Lindl.) were investigated. Both species contain high concentrations of nitrogen (N) in winter as compared with summer when both species contain high concentrations of sodium. The sum of soluble protein-N, amino acid-N, nucleic acid-N and nitrate-N is about half of the total nitrogen. The remainder includes non-soluble protein-N and other N associated with cell membranes and walls. Phosphorus was more uniformly distributed among pools of inorganic-P, phytate-P, nucleic acid-P and other (residual) fractions. We suggest that interpretation of animal nutrition studies based on similar trichloroacetic acid (TCA) fractionations might be improved by independent estimation of soluble proteins. Fractionation using TCA provides valuable information about the subcellular distribution of both N and P in foliage tissues for study of plant physiology and animal nutrition. Concentrations of major nutrients in foliage of both species were significantly and negatively correlated with monthly maximum temperature and significantly and positively correlated with monthly rainfall. In summer and early autumn the apparent nutritive value of both species is well below the basic requirement of sheep or other grazing ruminants such as goats.
Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) control with glyphosate plus 2,4-D
Authors: Lym R. G. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Leafy spurge control with glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] plus 2,4-D [2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] applied annually for 3 years alone or rotated with auxin herbicides was evaluated at 3 locations in North Dakota. Glyphosate applied with 2,4-D averaged 67% leafy spurge control 3 months after treatment which was a 10-fold increase compared to glyphosate alone. Glyphosate plus 2,4-D applied annually for 3 years or rotated with dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methexybenzoic acid) or picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridine carboxylic acid) plus 2,4-D provided 80 to 90% leafy spurge control, which was similar to the standard annual picloram plus 2,4-D treatment but at 30 to 65% less cost. Herbage production was similar regardless of treatment. The absorption and translocation of 14C-2,4-D increased 2- to 3-fold when applied wit glyphosate compared to 14C-2,4-D applied alone. However, both absorption and translocation of 14C-glyphosate was severely reduced when applied with 2,4-D compared to 14C-glyphosate applied alone. The increase in control when glyphosate is applied with 2,4-D may be because sublethal concentrations of glyphosate break root bud dormancy in leafy spurge, thereby increasing the amount of 2,4-D in the root. Glyphosate plus 2,4-D provided good leafy spurge control at less cost than current widely used treatments and should provide a new tool for leafy spurge management.
Range research in the far western United States: the first generation
Authors: Young J. A. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

The scientific study of rangelands in the western United States, started with the first collection of natural history specimens in the 18th century. Gradually over the 19th century, a basic catalog of the plants, animals, and geography of the far west was assembled. After the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was organized, scientists were sent to the western ranges on fact-finding missions designed to assess the existing range livestock industry and its potential. At the turn of the 19th to the 20th century a few visionary scientist began to conduct actual experiments in rangeland environments. The Forest Service, USDA, was established in 1905, and what had been Forest Reserves from the U. S. Department of Interior (USDI) were transferred to the new agency. It was responsible for sustainable timber product and watershed management on millions of acres of wild lands. The Forest Service soon discovered that livestock grazed on four-fifths of the National Forest land and it was estimated that 85% of these rangelands were over-grazed and subject to accelerated erosion. The Forest Service started preliminary research on rangelands in 1907 and formally started an Office of Grazing Studies in 1910. Beginning with the Great Basin Experiment Station in 1912, a series of stations were developed by the Forest Service. As agricultural experiment stations developed at Land Grant colleges in the western states, state sponsored research on rangelands increased in importance.
Grazing effects on spring ecosystem vegetation of California's hardwood rangelands
Authors: Allen-Diaz B. , Jackson R. D. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Three watersheds at the University of California's Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC), Marysville, Calif. were selected to study cattle grazing effects on the vegetation surrounding cold-water springs and their downslope creeks. Three spring-creek systems from each of 3 watersheds were randomly assigned to grazing treatments (9 total). Treatments were ungrazed, lightly grazed (1,500 kg(.)ha(-1) residual dry matter), and moderately grazed (1,000 kg(.)ha(-1) residual dry matter) based on degree of use in upland pastures encircling the spring-creek systems. Total herbaceous cover at springs varied significantly among the 6 years only once (greater in 1994 than all others covarying with previous year's rainfall. Grazing intensity did not affect total herbaceous cover at springs. A year X grazing treatment interaction (P 0.05) was detected for total herbaceous cover at spring-fed creeks. Three years after grazing removal, total herbaceous cover on ungrazed creek plots surpassed cover at moderately grazed and lightly grazed plots. Moderately grazed plot herbaceous cover declined steadily throughout the first 3 years, while lightly grazed cover remained relatively stable. Plant community composition and stability by year and grazing treatment were analyzed with TWINSPAN. With few exceptions, stable plant communities persisted on sites regardless of grazing intensity or cover changes. Total herbaceous cover was sensitive to interannual fluctuations, especially under increased grazing intensities. This attribute renders cover a more useful gauge of ecosystem health than plant composition as the latter may not provide evidence of potentially deleterious grazing X climate interactions until after soil erosion or water table characteristics are seriously, perhaps permanently, altered.
Forage removal and grazing time of cattle on small paddocks
Authors: Broweleit R. C. , Schacht W. H. , Anderson B. E. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Animals used in grazing trials with small paddocks usually have not been exposed to the experimental site and related research procedures. Grazing trials conducted in May and August 1996 on smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) quantified forage removal and grazing time of heifers adapted or not adapted to small paddocks. Treatments consisted of adapting heifers for 4 days to small paddocks (0.054 ha) and a control treatment of heifers continuously stocked in larger paddocks (>16 ha). On day 5, each group of heifers was moved to similar small paddocks and forage utilization and cattle grazing times were measured after 4 and 24 hours of grazing. In May, when sward structure was comparable in the large and small paddocks, tiller height reduction, leaf length reduction, herbage bio-mass reduction, and grazing time were similar (P > 0.10) for experienced and inexperienced heifers after 4 and 24 hours of exposure to day-5 paddocks. In August, when sward structure differed between the large and small paddocks, leaf length reduction after 4 hours was greater (P < 0.10) by experienced cattle than inexperienced cattle. Herbage reduction in August by experienced cattle was 435 kg ha-1 greater (P < 0.05) than by inexperienced cattle after 24 hours. Cumulative grazing time was 76 minutes (P < 0.10) greater at 4 hours for the experienced cattle than the inexperienced cattle. Grazing animals appear to adapt immediately to small paddocks but other unfamiliar grazing conditions, e.g., sward structure, may require short adaptation periods for experimental animals.
Elk presence inside various-sized cattle exclosures
Authors: Gross J. A. , Knight J. E. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Accurate measures of the relative resource impacts from elk (Cervus elaphus) and cattle (Bos taurus and B. indicus) improve land management planning wherever these species cohabitate. Comparisons of utilization inside and outside cattle exclosures are often used for this purpose. The objectives of our study were to determine if (1) elk presence differed inside and adjacent to several different-sized cattle exclosures; (2) there was a relationship between cattle exclosure size and elk presence in exclosures; and (3) a minimum cattle exclosure size is appropriate for assessing elk impacts. Seven different-sized cattle exclosures (4.00, 2.00, 1.00, 0.50, 0.25, 0.10, and 0.05 ha) were compared in western Montana during the spring of 1996 and 1997. Trackplots (1-m2 areas cleared of vegetation) were used to detect elk presence. Chi-square tests indicated elk presence inside all exclosures was less (P < 0.10) than elk presence adjacent to the exclosures. Regression analysis indicated exclosure size and elk presence were correlated (P < 0.03). Elk presence inside exclosures increased with increasing exclosure size. Our results did not support the minimum exclosure size (0.4 ha) recommended in the literature. Cattle exclosures larger than 4 ha appear needed to accurately measure relative resource impacts from elk and cattle; however, this does not ensure that an exclosure > 4.0 ha in size will solve all of the problems associated with this technique.
Quantifying spatial heterogeneity in herbage mass and consumption in pastures
Authors: Hirata M. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

A sward-based technique for quantifying the spatial heterogeneity in herbage mass and consumption was developed and tested in a bahia grass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) pasture grazed by cattle. For five, 2-day grazing periods from May to October, pre- and post-grazing herbage masses were nondestructively estimated with an electronic capacitance probe at 182, 50x50 cm locations along 2 permanent line transects. At the same time, undisturbed herbage accumulation during grazing was measured inside exclosures and the results used to estimate accumulation under grazing at each location. Estimation of herbage mass was relatively good; R2= 0.88 to 0.98. Spatial heterogeneity in herbage mass and the stability of the spatial pattern were well quantified. The pattern of spatial heterogeneity observed early in the grazing season remained quite stable for 5 months until the late grazing season. Spatial heterogeneity in the rate of defoliation was also well quantified in spite of some negative values. The technique is of potential value for quantifying the spatial hetero-geneity in herbage mass and consumption by animals in grazed pastures, though further studies are necessary for testing the applicability of the technique to pastures of other plant species or of multiple species.
Cryptosporidium parvum transport from cattle fecal deposits on California rangelands
Authors: Tate K. W. , Atwill E. R. , George M. R. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Cryptosporidium parvumis a fecal borne protozoan parasite that can be carried by and cause gastrointestinal illness in humans, cattle, and wildlife. The illness, cryptosporidiosis, can be fatal to persons with compromised immune systems. At question is the potential for C. parvumin cattle fecal deposits on rangeland watersheds to contaminate surface water. First, C. parvum oocysts must be released from fecal deposits during rainfall, becoming available for transport. In 1996, we examined the transport of C. parvum oocysts in overland flow from fecal deposits under natural rainfall and rangeland conditions at the San Joaquin Experimental Range in Madera County, Calif. Our null hypothesis was that C. parvum oocysts are not released from fecal pats and transported 1 m downslope as overland flow with rainfall. Paired plots were located on 10, 20, and 30% slope sites.Each plot was loaded with four, 200 g fecal pats dosed with 10^5 oocysts g-1. Pats were placed 1.0 m above the base of each plot. Composite runoff samples from each plot were analyzed foroocyst concentration following each of 4 storm events. Oocysts were transported during each storm. Slope was a significant factor in oocyst transport, with oocyst transport increasing with slope. Although not significant, there was an apparent flushing effect of oocysts across storms, with the majority transported in the first 2 storms. A pilot rainfall simulation experiment also revealed a flushing phenomenon from pats during individual rainfall events. C. parvum oocysts in fecal pats on rangeland can be transported from fecal deposits during rainfall events, becoming available for transport to water-bodies. Future studies need to examine surface and subsurface transport of oocysts on rangeland hillslopes for distances greater than 1 m.
Herbage volume per animal: A tool for rotational grazing management
Authors: Duru M. , Ducrocq H. , Bossuet L. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

The objective of this study was to provide a tool for maintaining a high grazing efficiency. In a rotational grazing system, the residual sward height does not provide enough information in advance to make the recommendation. The grazing management of 4 commercial dairy farms which differed greatly in their stocking rate, was monitored over 3 spring seasons. Data were collected on the overall grazing area (sward height measurements, stocking rate, indoor feeding, nitrogen supply) and on 3 grazed fields (herbage mass, height, and nitrogen status). At the whole grazing area level, computed data were herbage volume per animal unit (HVAU). We show that the HVAU depends on the residual herbage height. Both criteria decreased when stocking rate increased. The HVAU reflects, at the whole grazing season and area levels, how the system works on grazed field over grazing cycle. The HVAU has 2 advantages: (i) It gives rough estimation of the size of the whole grazing area to achieve a high grazing efficiency; (ii) it is a means to assess a posteriori the efficiency of the grazing system regarding the consistency between stocking rate and nitrogen supply management.
Fire and cattle grazing on wintering sparrows in Arizona grasslands
Authors: Gordon C. E. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

This paper reports on the results of a 3-year field study of the effects of spring/summer burning and cattle grazing on wintering sparrows in the grasslands of southeastern Arizona. The effects of fire were studied with 1 year of pre-burn data and 1 year of post-burn data from 1 fire, plus limited sampling from a second fire at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Pima County, Ariz. The effects of grazing were studied by comparing study plots at a site that has not been grazed by cattle since 1968 with a nearby grazed pasture in Santa Cruz County, Ariz. Sparrow abundance was measured as the number of captures from flush-netting sessions conducted by groups of 13-30 volunteers. Vesper (Pocecetes gramineus (Gmelin)) and Savannah (Passerculus sandwichensis (Gmelin)) Sparrows responded positively to fire, while Cassin's Sparrows (Aimophila cassinhi (Woodhouse)) responded negatively. The ecologically and geographically restricted Baird's (Ammodramus bairdil (Audubon)) and Grasshopper (A. savannarum (Gmelin)) Sparrows utilized burned areas during the first post-burn winter and did not significantly respond to fire. Both Ammodramus sparrows also utilized the grazed pasture; they were more abundant there than in the ungrazed study area in 1 year. While field observations and a prior study suggest that heavy grazing can have a strong detrimental effect on Ammodramus sparrows, the results of this study suggest that moderate cattle grazing may be compatible with the conservation of these species.
N and P fertilization on rangeland production in Midwest Argentina
Authors: Guevara J. C. , Stasi C. R. , Estevez O. R. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Low soil nutrient status may be the major limiting factor to forage production in rangelands of the Mendoza plains 4 years out of 10. We studied vegetation responses to annual applications of N and P on such rangelands. Fertilizer application rates were 0 or 25 N and 0 or 11 P (kg ha-1) in a factorial arrangement. Dry matter production of grasses and palatable shrubs and crude protein (CP) content of grasses were determined annually from 1996 to 1998. Experimental plots received rains of 189, 278, and 346 mm during the 3 study years compared to mean growing season rainfall of 258 mm. Forage production was increased by N+P fertilization only in 1998 (1,390 vs 980 kg ha-1, P 0.05), producing 16.5 kg forage kg-1 N applied. Crude protein concentration was increased by N fertilization in 1997 (6.3 vs 5.3%, P < 0.05) and N+P application increased in 1998 (6.8 vs 5.7%, P < 0.05). Nitrogen and P application increased seasonal rain-use efficiency when the rainfall exceeded 300 mm. In 1998, the increase of grass production per kg N applied with and without P was 18.4 and 12.4 kg, respectively. The break-even point between rain and nutrients as the main primary production determinant on sandy soils in the central Mendoza plains is around 400 mm year-1 instead of 300 mm in other arid lands of the world. The value of meat increment derived from the N fertilization, with and without P application (US 0.07 ha-1 year-1 kg-1 N) was lower than the fertilizer cost (US 0.87 kg-1 N). A 5-fold increase in forage yields would be required to offset the cost of fertilizer. Fertilizer application did not increase forage production enough to be profitable for cattle production at present fertilizer and meat prices.
To ranch or not to ranch: Home on the urban range?
Authors: Liffmann R. H. , Huntsinger L. , Forero L. C. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

California ranchers in urban Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and in rural Tehama County, were surveyed to examine effects of increasing development, land use change, and attrition of the ranching community on their commitment to ranching, and to assess land conservation program acceptability. Questions were about practices, reasons for ranching, and what influences ranching's future. Ranchers share much in common. Most enjoy ranching, "feeling close to the earth," living in a "good place for family life," and the camaraderie in the ranching community. They regularly carry out range improvements. Most believe that society is becoming "hostile to ranching." A dislike for outsider intervention and land use control prevails. Urban ranchers cared significantly less about the fate of their ranch if sold, and feared local land use planning much more. Rural ranchers overwhelmingly wanted their ranch to remain a productive ranch even if sold. No new ranchers appeared in the urban sample for the last 10 years. As urbanization proceeds, we suggest that a point is reached where ranchers recognize the social, ecological, and economic landscape as urban and see it as no longer suitable for ranching. Expecting to sell for development, and/or expecting zoning to change to allow it, becomes the rational view. Land conservation efforts, including relatively acceptable though as yet not widespread conservation easement programs, should begin before that happens.
Plant Establishment on Angle of Repose Mine Waste Dumps
Authors: Nowak Robert S. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Angle of repose slopes associated with mine waste dumps are difficult to revegetate due to steep slope angle, poor soil properties, and potential for extensive soil erosion. We examined the extent that seed movement, seedling establishment, soil characteristics, nutrient availability, and water availability were responsible for limiting plant establishment or survival on steep (average slope ~80%), south-facing angle of repose slopes at a gold mine north of Elko, Nev. Four treatments were established: 1) unaltered mine waste soil; 2) mine waste soil with fertilizer; 3) mine waste soil draped with at least 0.3 m of a fine-textured coversoil; and 4) treatments 2 and 3 combined. All treatments had study plots that received either broadcast seeds or containerized transplants. Seedlings from broadcast seeds only emerged on plots that were coversoiled, but transplants survived in all treatments. Thus, coversoiling was necessary at this site for seedling germination and establishment, but survival of transplants in unaltered mine waste soil indicated that nutrient availability, soil-root contact, and water availability were sufficient for plant survival. In addition, long distance transport of seeds down stable, angle of repose slopes was not detected during the first growing season after seeding, indicating that the lack of seedlings on angle of repose slopes was not due to movement of seeds down-slope. However, coversoiling resulted in unstable slope surfaces; both erosion and soil mass wastage were observed on coversoiled treatments. Thus, although coversoiling increased establishment and survival of plants on angle of repose slopes, slope stabilization is necessary to ensure the success of revegetation efforts and to prevent the coversoil from eroding and moving downslope.
Journal of Range Management, Volume 53, Number 5 (September 2000)
Authors:   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Complete digitized issue.
Estimating grazing index values for plants from arid regions
Authors: Du Toit P. C. V. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

The Ecological Index Method impacted directly on the estimation of grazing capacities in the Karoo, an arid region in South Africa. Due to inherent deficiencies in the ecological index method, index values formed a disjunct series, 10, 7, 4, and 1 and the fact that different value systems were employed to score plant species, necessitated that index values of species commonly encountered during botanical surveys be subjectively adjusted by means of a species by species comparison, forming a continuous series of index values. These index values were still subjective value judgements of the agronomic value of the Karoo plant species. The author felt that a method should be developed to objectively estimate grazing index values from certain plant variables, i.e. size, animal available dry matter production, and chemical properties of the species. The use of these properties would describe the agronomic value of the plant species, which would lead to agronomically sound current grazing capacities being estimated. The following 2 models were proposed to deal with the karoo subshrubs and the grasses of the karoo separately. Grazing index value for the karoo subshrubs = ((canopy spread cover + available forage + TDN + [K divided by (Ca + Mg)]) divided by ether extract) divided by 100, and grazing index value for the grasses = ((canopy spread cover + available forage + TDN + [K divided by (Ca + Mg)]) x ether extract) divided by 100.
Grazing impacts on selected soil parameters under short-term forage sequences
Authors: Mapfumo E. , Chanasyk D. S. , Baron V. S. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Long-term cultivation is known to change soil physical and chemical properties, but little is known about whether short-term agricultural practices, such as rotational grazing, can initiate such changes. This study investigated the impacts of 3 grazing intensities (heavy, medium, and light) and 4 forages on selected soil physical and chemical parameters of a Typic Haplustoll at Lacombe, Alberta. Measurements were conducted on soil samples collected at the beginning (1993) and the end (1996) of the study. Two perennial forages, smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis cv. 'Carlton') and meadow bromegrass (Bromus riparius cv. 'Paddock'), and 2 annuals, a mixture of triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack cv. 'Pika') and barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. 'AC Lacombe') and triticale alone were used for the study. Grazing intensity or forage species did not affect carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Grazing intensity influenced changes in available water holding capacity for the 0-5 cm interval, soil nitrogen for the 30-45 cm interval, soil pH for the 5-15 cm interval and electrical conductivity for all depth intervals except for the 0-5 cm interval (P less than or equal to 0.05). Forage species affected changes in soil carbon in the 0-5 cm interval, soil pH between 0 and 15 cm, and electrical conductivity between 5 and 45 cm (P less than or equal to 0.05). Soil electrical conductivities for all grazing levels and forage treatments were within the range (i.e. 0-2 dS m-1) considered to have negligible effects on plant growth. The minimal effects of grazing and plant species on soil parameters in this study may have been due to the resilient intrinsic properties of the soil and/or the short study length.
Journal of Range Management, Volume 53, Number 6 (November 2000)
Authors:   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Complete digitized issue.
Technical note: Use of digital surface model for hardwood rangeland monitoring
Authors: Gong P. , Biging G. S. , Standiford R. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

We built digital surface models (DSM) that contain 3D surface morphological information of the entire landscape using digital photogrammetry and aerial photographs. Changes in landscape components such as crown closure and tree height in hardwood rangeland were estimated using DSM. In comparison with manual interpretation results, errors of crown closure and tree hieght estimation using DSM were less than 0.7% and 1.5 m, respectively. This technique can be used for rangeland management, monitoring and ecological studies.
Predictive equations for biomass and fuel characteristics of Argentine shrubs
Authors: Hierro J. L. , Branch L. C. , Villarreal D. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Predictive equations for estimating shrub biomass in semi-arid scrub ecosystems are essential for evaluating shrub encroachment, conducting ecosystem-level studies of net primary productivity (NPP) and nutrient cycling, and examining effects of different fire regimes. In this study, we developed predictive equations to estimate total aboveground biomass and biomass of foliage and stems of the 8most common shrubs in the semi-arid scrub (Monte) of central Argentina. We also examined the relationship between shrub size and proportions of these components for the dominant species, Larrea divaricata Cavanilles (creosotebush), and determined fuel characteristics (dead-to-live ratio, bulk density) of the 8 shrub species. Regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between aboveground biomass and 5 field measurements (diameter of the longest stem, shrub height, maximum crown width, crown width at right angles to maximum crown width, and crown volume). A natural log-log model based on a single variable best described this relationship in most cases. The easiest field measurement for 6 of the 8 species was diameter of the longest stem, and this measure was often the best predictor of shrub biomass. As L. divaricata increased in size, the proportional biomass of large stems increased, and bio-mass of foliage and small stems decreased. This pattern suggests productivity may decrease with shrub age. The mass of dead materialwas low in most shrub species. Bulk densities were comparable to those of shrubs in other semi-arid ecosystems. Equations developed here will allow rapid and accurate estimation of shrub biomass in the Monte of Argentina.
Impacts of western juniper on plant community composition and structure
Authors: Miller R. F. , Svejcar T. J. , Rose J. A. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook.) has been actively invading shrub steppe communities during the past 120 years. The majority of these stands are still in transition, from early open juniper shrub steppe communities to closed juniper woodlands. In addition, juniper expansion has been occurring across a broad array of soils and topographic positions. Despite the high degree of spatial and developmental heterogeneity, juniper woodlands are frequently treated generically in resource inventories, management, and wildlife habitat assessments. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of western juniper encroachment and dominance on plant community composition and structure across several plant associations. This study was conducted in southeastern Oregon and northeastern California on low sage-brush (Artemisia arbuscula Nutt.), mountain big sagebrush (A . tridentata spp. vaseyana (RYBD. )Beetle), and aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) alliances. Stages of woodland development across plant associations were categorized into 1 of 4 successional phases (early, mid, late, and closed) based on tree growth and stand structural characteristics. Plant cover by species group, species diversity and richness, bareground cover, soil characteristics, elevation, aspect, and slope were measured in 108, 60 x 46m macroplots. Twinspan was used to sort plant communities. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship of tree canopy cover to shrub and herbaceous cover. Herbaceous and bareground cover were compared between early and closed stands within plant communities. Woodland structure at stand closure was different among associations varying from 19% cover and 64 trees ha-1 in a low sagebrush community to 90% cover and 1,731 trees ha-1 in an aspen community. Increase in juniper dominance had little impact on low sagebrush and an inconsistent effect on bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata Pursh.). In the mountain big sagebrush alliance, sagebrush cover declined to approximately 80% of maximum potential as juniper increased to about 50% of maximum canopy cover. Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) also declined as juniper dominance increased. Herbaceous cover and species diversity declined and bare ground increased with increasing juniper dominance in the mountain big sagebrush/Thurber needlegrass association. However, herbaceous cover on the deeper soils characterized by Idaho fescue did not decrease with increasing juniper dominance. To determine the effect of juniper dominance or woodland management on community composition and structure, plant community and stage of stand development should be identified.
Journal of Range Management, Volume 54, Number 1 (January 2001)
Authors:   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Complete digitized issue.
Viewpoint: The response of central North American prairies to seasonal fire
Authors: Engle D. M. , Bidwell T. G. ,   Society for Range Management
Published: March 2016

Natural fires on the native grasslands of Oklahoma and Kansas were important for maintaining ecosystem structure and function. Today, land managers largely conduct prescribed fires in the late dormant season or they do not burn at all. When wildfires occur in other seasons, conventional wisdom assumes that desirable forage species for cattle are compromised. This assumption is based on a few fire studies limited in breadth and scope. To address this, we revisited numerous data sets to quantify the influence of season of fire on plant production and species composition. Research demonstrates that tallgrass prairie burned in the late spring starts growth earlier, grows more rapidly early in the growing season, and produces more tall grasses than unburned prairie. We contrast this response with the literature reporting the results of fire occurring in other seasons. Fire effects vary with fire frequency, fire-return interval, grazing history, herbicide use, successional stage, weather pattern, edaphic features, and topography. Our review of research suggests that a variety of responses to fire season are possible and rules-of-thumb that generalize responses are misleading. Most of the research on fire also does not report the interaction of fire and herbivory. Thus it is difficult to judge the influence of fire within the context of herbivory. Results from ongoing research suggest that the prairie is far more resilient under the interaction of fire and herbivory than earlier believed.