Grass and Forage Science · 1970 · 54 citations · 19 references
EngineeringAgricultural EconomicsSheep FaecesFeed UtilizationSustainable AgriculturePlant NutritionAnimal FeedSoil Nutrient ManagementPublic HealthSoil FertilityBiogeochemistryAnimal NutritionDecomposition PathwaysAnimal Waste ManagementNutrient AnalysisAnimal ScienceSoil ChemistryFarming SystemsMineral NNutrient Management
ABSTRACT Plant DM production from natural Nardus and Festuca–Agrostis pastures under two cutting regimes ranged from 1023 to 2265 kg/ha. The amounts of mineral N and P produced during the incubation of these plant materials, and from sheep faeces derived from them, were measured under a range of temperature and moisture conditions. These amounts, together with the N liberated in urine, and the increase in inorganic P concentration which resulted from the conversion of feed to faeces, were used to calculate the range in ‘potentially available’ plant nutrients derived from decomposition pathways in the presence and absence of sheep. Factors which infiuence the actual availability of nutrients for plant growth are considered and the results discussed in relation to the role of the grazing animal in the soil‐plant–aaimal nutrieut cycle.
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