Paper · 2020 · The Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences

DEGRADATION PROCESS, PHYTOSOCIOLOGY AND RESTORATION OF GRASSES USED FOR GRAZING RUMINANTS IN BRAZIL

R.V.R. De Souza; T.P. Dias-Silva; A.P. da-Silva; et al.

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claims
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verbatim quotes
2
citations
3
research areas
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Open access · cc-by-nc

Abstract

The aim of this study is to present the main pasture grasses used in Brazil, the process of pasture degradation, pasture phytosociology, some undesirable pasture plants, and pasture restoration techniques. A wide plant availability and the high forage yield of its pastures make Brazil an important producer of plants for animal feed. The great majority of pastures in Brazil contain grasses of the genus Brachiaria, known for its strength and high forage potential. However, the pastures are undergoing constant degradation caused by improper handling, which leads to unsustainability. This is possibly due to extensive and extractive exploitation using a low level of technology and unsuitable management practices. Based on the principle that pastures can be restored, alternative techniques are required to promote improvements in forage quality. For this, it is important to recognize the undesirable pasture plants, which directly interfere with livestock production by competing with forage species for water, nutrients, space and light, as well as producing phytotoxins that prevent or suppress the growth of forage species. In the process of pasture restoration, the main objective is to maintain the vital functions of the ecosystem and to mitigate damage from undesirable plants through the immediate coverage of the soil. Key words: management practices, pasture degradation, recovery, undesirable plants.

Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by-nc. Read at the source ↗

The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.

Claims 5

Observationobservedreview summarybasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

Most Brazilian pastures contain Brachiaria grasses.

Taxon
BrachiariaBrachiariae0
Outcome
The great majority of pastures in Brazil contain grasses of the genus Brachiariae0
Setting
Brazile0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Brachiaria
Brachiaria · Taxon · picture of the genus (one of its species)Hector Antonio Perez · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“The great majority of pastures in Brazil contain grasses of the genus Brachiaria”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 335–415 · show in text ↑
Mechanismobservedreview summarynegativebasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

The review describes ongoing pasture degradation caused by improper handling.

Taxon
pasturese0
Treatment
improper handlinge0
Outcome
constant degradatione0

Verbatim

e0

“the pastures are undergoing constant degradation caused by improper handling”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 476–552 · show in text ↑
Mechanismobservedreview summarynegativebasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

Undesirable pasture plants compete with forage species for resources and suppress forage growth through phytotoxins.

Taxon
forage speciese0
Interactor
undesirable pasture plantse0weed
Outcome
suppress the growth of forage speciese0
Qualifier
competing with forage species for water, nutrients, space and lighte0

Verbatim

e0

“undesirable pasture plants, which directly interfere with livestock production by competing with forage species for water, nutrients, space and light, as well as producing phytotoxins that prevent or suppress the growth of forage species”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 894–1131 · show in text ↑
Recommendationauthor interpretationreview summarybasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

The review calls for alternative restoration techniques to improve forage quality.

Taxon
foragee0
Outcome
alternative techniques are required to promote improvements in forage qualitye0

Verbatim

e0

“alternative techniques are required to promote improvements in forage quality”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 772–849 · show in text ↑
Recommendationauthor interpretationreview summarybasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

Pasture restoration should maintain ecosystem functions and mitigate undesirable plants through immediate soil coverage.

Taxon
pasturee0
Interactor
undesirable plantse0weed
Outcome
maintain the vital functions of the ecosystem and to mitigate damage from undesirable plants through the immediate coverage of the soile0

Verbatim

e0

“In the process of pasture restoration, the main objective is to maintain the vital functions of the ecosystem and to mitigate damage from undesirable plants through the immediate coverage of the soil”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1133–1332 · show in text ↑