Owing to its contribution to the maintenance of carbon stocks, soil nitrogen and nutrient cycling for subsequent crops, the integrated systems become increasingly important for agricultural conservation. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the biomass production of and total nutrient in Brachiaria spp. and Panicum maximum forage grasses used as mulch and soybean yields in an integrated crop–livestock system and second-crop maize succession system. The treatments consisted of the following cropping systems: Xaraes palisadegrass intercropped with soybean, Congo grass intercropped with soybean, Mombaça guinea grass intercropped with soybean, Tamani guinea grass intercropped with soybean and a soybean/maize succession system. The forage grasses were established during the soybean R6–R7 stage. Compared with Congo grass, Xaraes palisadegrass, Mombaça guinea grass and Tamani guinea grass produced more biomass and equivalent amounts of fertilizer returned to the soil and resulted in greater nutrient cycling, indicating the benefits of these grasses for use as mulch in integrated production systems. Maize had a greater C/N ratio, but the forage grasses also exhibited high potential by protecting the soil until the end of the soybean development cycle. The use of an integrated crop–livestock system combined with a forage cropping system provided greater soil nutrient cycling than the maize cropping system did, which resulted in increased soybean yields, thus contributing to the sustainability of agricultural systems.

The distribution and abundance of herbivores in African savannas are constrained by interactions between abiotic and biotic factors. At the species-level, herbivores face trade-offs among foraging requirements, vegetation structure and the availability of surface water that change over spatial and temporal scales. Characterizing herbivore requirements is necessary for the management of the environment in which they occur, as conservation management interventions such as fencing and artificial water provision consequently have effects on how herbivores address these trade-offs. We tested the effects of environmental attributes on the probability of presence of herbivore functional types at different distances to water in the Satara section of Kruger National Park over the period of a year. Hypotheses about species’ relative distribution and abundance were developed through a literature review of forage and water availability constraints on feeding preference and body size of herbivore. We expected strong seasonal relationships between vegetation biomass and quality, and biomass of water-dependent herbivores with increasing distance to water. Our analyses of herbivore distribution across the region confirmed broad-scale descriptions of interactions between forage requirements and water availability across a set of species which differ in functional traits.

Although the impact of Canada thistle (CT) on annual crop production is relatively well established, few investigations report on this weed's impact within perennial pastures. This field study assessed herbage yield losses within eight central Alberta pastures from 1999 to 2001. Each pasture was sampled in 1999 to quantify thistle and herbage biomass within 25 permanent plots. CT was controlled in 2000 and the response of vegetation measured in 2000 and 2001. Before removal, significant negative relationships (P < 0.05) between thistle abundance and herbage were noted at six sites. After thistle removal, herbage at several sites displayed positive responses. Both thistle density and biomass adequately predicted herbage yield loss. Yield losses due to CT can be substantial, peaking at 2 kg/ha for each kilogram of standing thistle biomass and 4.3 kg/ha with each additional thistle stem per square meter. Demonstrated yield losses were variable among sites however, likely due to factors such as heterogeneity in soils, available moisture, and variation in disturbance history or pasture vegetation composition. CT management in perennial pastures of western Canada may enhance pasture production, but further research is required to reliably predict the ability of pastures to respond.