Optimisation of Nutrient Cycling and Soil Quality for Sustainable Grasslands

This book brings together two aspects of grassland soil management which, by and large, have hitherto been considered separately. Issues related to nutrient cycling and soil quality have dominated research directed towards aiding broad and local scale policy issues for improving land use. Protecting the environment and maintaining/preserving natural habitats and biodiversity, tend to be considered separately. In this book we attempt to bring what are, in reality, inseparable aspects of grassland soil characteristics together and consider physical, chemical and biological components of soils, their interrelations and the way that they influence nutrient transformations and flows and soil quality.

Foreword 7; Keynote presentations 13; Soil biology and the emergence of adventive grassland ecosystems 15; T.R. Seastedt; Chemical components and effects on soil quality in temperate grazed pasture systems 25; M.H. Beare, D. Curtin, S. Thomas, P.M. Fraser and G.S. Francis; Physical constraints in grassland ecosystems 37; I.M. Young, K. Ritz, C.S. Sturrock and R. Heck; Integrating below-ground ecology into sustainable grassland management 45; R.D. Bardgett; Section 1; Soil biology and nutrient turnover 53; Benomyl effects on plant productivity through arbuscular mycorrhiza restriction in a Greek upland grassland 55; M. Orfanoudakis, A.P. Mamolos, F. Karanika and D.S. Veresoglou; The influence of burning on soil microbial biomass and activity along the Boro route in the Okavango delta of Botswana. 56; T. Mubyana-John and A. Banda; Estimating nitrogen fixation by pastures on a regional or continental scale 57; M. Unkovich; Cycling of N and P in grass-alone (Brachiaria) and mixed grass/legume (Brachiaria/ 58; R.M. Boddey, R.M. Tarre, R. Macedo, C. de P. Rezende, J.M. Pereira, B.J.R. Alves and S. Urquiaga; 40 years of studies on the relationships between grass species, N turnover and nutrient cycling in the Lamto reserve in the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) 59; L. Abbadie and J.C. Lata; The addition and cessation of inorganic fertiliser amendments in long-term managed grasslands: impacts on above and below-ground communities 60; C.D. Clegg, P.J. Murray, R. Cook and T. Tallec; Grassland management practices and the diversity of soil nematode communities 61; R. Cook, P.J. Murray and K.A. Mizen; Study of characteristics of soil animals in halophilous plant communities of Leymus chinensis grasslands of northeast in China 62; X. Yin, Y. Zhang and W. Dong; How soil properties affect egg development and larval longevity of a grassland insect pest - an empirically based model 63; S.N. Johnson, X. Zhang, J.W. Crawford, P.J. Gregory, S.C. Jarvis, P.J. Murray and I.M. Young; Impact of root herbivory on grassland community structure: from landscape to microscale 64; P.J. Murray, R. Cook, L.A. Dawson, A.C. Gange, S.J. Grayston and A.M. Treonis; Analysis of the soil foodweb structure on organic- and conventional dairy farms 65; N. van Eekeren, F. Smeding and A.J. Schouten; The effect of forage legumes on mineral nitrogen content in soil 66; M. Isolahti, A. Huuskonen, M. Tuori, O. Nissinen and R. Nevalainen; Field experiments to help optimise nitrogen fixation by legumes on organic farms 67; A. Joynes, D.J. Hatch, A. Stone, S. Cuttle and G. Goodlass; Effects of applied quantity of phosphorus fertiliser on phosphorus content in plant tissues of lucerne (Medicago sativa) and seed yield in North-western China 68; Y.W. Wang, J.G. Han, S.M. Fu and Y. Zhong; Cool-season grass response to increasing nitrogen fertiliser rates in Michigan 69; R.H. Leep, T.S. Dietz and D.H. Min; Within resting period seasonal soluble carbohydrate profiles of rotationally grazed elephant grass 70; L.P. Passos, M.C. Vidigal, I.G. Perry, F. Deresz and F.B. de Sousa. The role of grass tussocks in maintaining soil condition in north east Australia 71; B.K. Northup and J.R. Brown; Effect of a grazing intensity gradient on primary production and soil nitrogen mineralisation in a humid grassland of western France 72; N. Rossignol, A. Bonis and J-B. Bouzille; Diet effects on dairy manure nitrogen excretion and cycling 73; J.M. Powell and T.H. Misselbrook; How will removal of the non-organic feed derogation affect nutrient budgets of organic livestock farms in Wales? 74; H. McCalman and S.P. Cuttle; Section 2: Chemical controls over soil quality and nutrient turnover 75; The effect of a reduction in phosphate application on soil phosphate pools 77; C. van der Salm, J. van Middelkoop and P.A.I. Ehlert; Changes in nutrient turnover and supply during the reversion of arable land to acid grassland/Calluna heathland 78; A. Bhogal, B.J. Chambers, R. Pywell and K. Walker; Study of dairy manure N cycling in soil-plant continuum using 15N and other methods 79; J.M. Powell, P.R. Cusick and K.A. Kelling; Nitrogen leaching from cattle, sheep and deer grazed pastures in New Zealand 80; K. Betteridge, S.F. Ledgard, C.J. Hoogendoorn, M.G. Lambert, Z.A. Park, D.A. Costall and P.W. Theobald; Effect of soil chemistry on microbial biodiversity and functionality in grassland and tilled soils 81; C. Carrigg, S. Kavanagh, D. Fay and V. O' Flaherty; Effect of different carbon and nitrogen inputs on soil chemical and biochemical properties in maize-based forage systems in Northern Italy 82; S. Monaco, D. Hatch, L. Dixon, C. Grignani, D. Sacco and L. Zavattaro; Seasonal changes in the ratio of microbial biomass P to total P in soils of grazed pastures 83; M. Kaneko, Y. Kurokawa, H. Tanaka and S. Suzuki; Nitrogen mineralisation in situ and in controlled environment 84; F. Palmason; N-mineralisation and phosphorous: important elements in decision support for grassland systems 85; A.L. Nielsen and C.C. Hoffmann; Implications for N transformations in acidic soils of replacing annual-based legume pastures with lucerne-based pasture in dryland farming systems of southern Australia 86; I.R.P. Fillery; Characterisation of soil organic matter from Pensacola bahiagrass pastures grazed for four years at different management intensities 87; J.C.B. Duheux, Jr., L.E. Sollenberger, N.B. Comerford, A.C. Ruggieri and K.M. Portier; Organic matter transformation processes of soils in native steppe grass communities 88; E. Forro; Study of soil characteristics to estimate sulphur supply for plant growth 89; M. Mathot, R. Lambert, B. Toussaint and A. Peeters; Total sulphur content and N:S ratio as indicators for S deficiency in grasses 90; M. Mathot, R. Lambert, B. Toussaint and A. Peeters; Supplementation of cattle with rock phosphate and urea treated straw to improve manure quality and crop yields in the Sahel zone of Senegal 91; M. Cisse, M. N'Diaye and C.M. N'Dione; Nitrogen response of spring and winter wheat to biosolids compared to chemical fertiliser 92; W. Kato, O.T. Carton, D. McGrath, H. Tunney, W.E. Murphy and P. O'Toole; Improving nutrient supply of grassland soil 93; G. Fuleky and M. Orban. Section 3: Physical constraints to soil formation 95; Assessment of nitrogen nutrition status of grasses under water deficit and recovery 97; V.G. Dugo, J-L. Durand and F. Gastal; Denitrification under pastures on permeable soils helps protect ground water quality 98; M.P. Russelle, B.A. Browne, N.B. Turyk and B. Pearson; Phosphorus transfer to river water from grassland catchments in Ireland 99; H. Tunney, P. Jordan G. Kiely, R. Moles, G. Morgan, P. Byrne, W. Menary and K. Daly; Maximising slurry crop available nitrogen utilisation in grassland systems 100; J.R. Williams, E. Sagoo, B.J. Chambers, J. Laws and D.R. Chadwick; Fire and nutrient cycling in shortgrass steppe of the southern Great Plains, USA 101; P.L. Ford and C.S. White; Soil aggregate dynamics, particulate organic matter and phosphate under dryland and irrigated pasture 102; J.T. Scott, L.M. Condron and R.W. McDowell; Fine colloids 'carry' diffuse water contaminants from grasslands 103; P.M. Haygarth and A.L. Heathwaite; Leaching losses of N, P and K from grazed legume based swards: some preliminary results 104; E.R. Dixon, A.C. Stone, D. Scholefield and D.J. Hatch; Nitrogen dynamics following the break-up of grassland on three different sandy soils 105; M. Kayser, K. Seidel and J. Muller; Mechanical aeration and liquid dairy manure: application impacts on grassland runoff water quality and yield 106; T.J. Basden, S.B. Shah and J.L. Miller; Management options to reduce N-losses from ploughed grass-clover 107; J. de Wit, G.J. van der Burgt and N. van Eekeren; Rangeland ecological management counter-measures study of Xinjiang 108; H.X. Cui, J. Li, S. Asiya, J.L. Zhang and Jialin; Green Dairy, a project for environmental friendly and sustainable dairy systems in the Atlantic area 109; H. Chambaut, A. Pflimlin and C. Raison; SAFE - a tool for assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems: an illustration 110; X. Sauvenier, C. Bielders, M. Hermy, E. Mathijs, B. Muys, J. Valckx, N. Van Cauwenbergh, M. Vanclooster, E. Wauters and A. Peeters; SAFE - a tool for assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems: methodology 111; X. Sauvenier, C. Bielders, M. Hermy, E. Mathijs, B. Muys, J. Valckx, N. Van Cauwenbergh, M. Vanclooster, E. Wauters and A. Peeters; Keyword index 113; Author index 115.