Search

Background and aims: Surface protection of coalmine overburden (OB) dumps against shallow slope failures can be achieved through a cost-effective and sustainable solution, i.e., vegetative cover. Hence, a small-scale study is needed to study the survival, growth performance, and root distribution of plants prior to conducting a pilot-scale study. Methods: In the present study, three plant species, Dendrocalamus strictus (Bamboo grass), Cymbopogon citratus (Lemon grass), and Chrysopogon zizanioides (Vetiver grass), an endemic grass species, are studied for the slope stabilization potential of OB dumps in Jharkhand, India. Growth characteristics and root architecture of grasses grown for five months under six varying proportions (treatments) of overburden, cow dung, and garden soil were studied. Results: It was found that Vetiver grass had the highest root area ratio, followed by Bamboo grass and Lemon grass. The maximum root cohesion was found to be 1 kPa for Bamboo grass, 7.33 kPa for Lemon grass, and 9.24 kPa for Vetiver grass among different treatments. Conclusions: Treatment condition with 80% overburden and 20% cow dung was suggested to be the best soil mix for optimum growth of the chosen grasses, which have the potential to mitigate surficial movement of soil mass on the overburden dumps through root reinforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whole-plant hydraulics provide important information about responses to water limitation and can be used to understand how plant communities may change in a drier climate when measured on multiple species. Here, we measured above- and belowground hydraulic traits in Cornus drummondii, an encroaching shrub within North American tallgrass prairies, and Andropogon gerardii, a dominant C4 grass, to assess the potential hydraulic responses to future drought as this region undergoes woody expansion. Shelters that reduced precipitation by 50% and 0% were built over shrubs and grasses growing in sites that are burned at 1-year and 4-year frequencies. We then measured aboveground (Kshoot), belowground (Kroot), and whole-plant maximum hydraulic conductance (Kplant) in C. drummondii and Kroot in A. gerardii. We also measured vulnerability to embolism (P50) in C. drummondii stems. Overall, we show that: (1) A. gerardii had substantially greater Kroot than C. drummondii; (2) belowground hydraulic functioning was linked with aboveground processes; (3) above- and belowground C. drummondii hydraulics were not negatively impacted by the rainfall reductions imposed here. These results suggest that a multi-year drought will not ameliorate rates of woody expansion and highlight key differences in aboveground and belowground hydraulics for dominant species within the same ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive clonal species may exhibit different growth strategies than their native clonal competitors. In this study, we examined the spatial distribution of tiller outgrowth and the bud bank by comparing the investment in phalanx versus guerilla growth of a native and invasive perennial grass in North America. We also examined the effect of altered precipitation frequency, clipping, and competition on their clonal growth strategies. Investment in phalanx and guerilla growth was assessed by examining live propagule and tiller production from the plant crown versus its rhizomes. Although invasive Bromus inermis and native Pascopyrum smithii exhibited similar clonal growth strategies as young seedlings, their clonal growth strategies significantly differed by the end of their first growing season. Pascopyrum smithii invested in dual phalanx and guerilla tiller outgrowth and bud placement, and B. inermis primarily invested in phalanx tiller outgrowth and bud placement. Competition rather than intra-annual precipitation variability and clipping altered the clonal growth strategy of these species. Intra- and inter- specific competition did not alter tiller outgrowth for either species. However, inter-specific competition caused both species to alter their bud placement. Bromus inermis shifted more buds from phalanx to guerilla positions while P. smithii shifted in the opposite direction. This may enable invasive B. inermis to expand while confining native P. smithii to more localized areas in the future. Clonal growth strategies appear to be species specific and responsive to inter-specific competition. Investigating the belowground bud aspect of clonal growth can reveal the mechanism driving the future aboveground clonal growth strategy of native and invasive rhizomatous grasses and help inform the patterns of invasion within a plant community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental niche modeling (ENM) has emerged as a promising tool for identifying grass species with potential for rangeland restoration. This approach can detect suitable areas and environments where these species can be planted. In this study, we employed ENM to estimate the potential distribution range of 50 grass species of the grasslands and shrublands of northern Mexico. The outcome of the ENM served to identify grass species with potential for restoration in Mexico, especially those not commonly used for that purpose in the past. Results suggested the possibility of selecting seven grass species with the potential for revegetating degraded grasslands, nine for shrublands, and six for alkaline soils. This research provides insights into the environmental adaptations of different grass species distributed in the rangelands of northern Mexico. Ecologists, conservation planners, researchers, and range managers could use these outcomes and the maps of the potential distribution ranges as supportive information to conduct effective restoration efforts. In turn, this can assist in increasing the probability of success of future rangelands restoration programs, which are often costly in terms of financial investments and labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem engineers alter their environment often benefiting their own survival and growth yielding self-reinforcing feedbacks. Moreover, these habitat modifications have been found to facilitate recruitment of conspecifics for some species, while for others engineering inhibits recruitment. Whether dune grasses facilitate or inhibit recruitment of conspecifics is yet unknown. Here, we investigated how habitat modification by European marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) through embryonic dune development affects recruitment from seeds and marine dispersed rhizome fragments. Specifically, we tested at three locations with different dune morphologies how habitat modification affected natural seed and rhizome presence and shoot emergence from plots in which seeds or rhizome fragments were added. In addition, we investigated how sediment burial (i.e., the main effect of habitat modification by dune grasses) affected germination and emergence in a controlled experiment. Results show that regardless of habitat modification or beach width, seeds and rhizomes were absent in natural conditions. Habitat modification negatively affected shoot emergence from seeds (8 × less) and rhizomes (4 × less) and was negatively related to sediment dynamics. Furthermore, fewer seedlings were found with higher elevations. In controlled laboratory conditions, the highest seedling emergence was found with slight burial (0.5-3 cm); both germination and seedling emergence decreased as seeds were buried deeper or shallower. Overall, habitat modification by marram grass negatively affects recruitment of conspecifics through increased sediment dynamics and elevation. Consequently, storm events or eradication programs that include removal of adult vegetation—which leads to an unmodified system—might benefit new recruitment from seeds or clonal fragments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maize (Zea mays L.) is a monocot that is a member of the Poaceae family and a valuable feed for livestock, human food, and raw material for various industries. The halothermal time model determines how plants respond to salt (NaCl) stress under sub-optimal conditions. This model examines the relation between NaClb (g), GR, GP, salinity and temperature stress on germination of seeds dynamics in various crops. Five constant temperatures i.e. 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 °C and five ψ levels (NaCl concentrations converted to ψ − 0, − 0.2, − 0.4, − 0.6, and − 0.8 MPa) were used in this experiment. In light of the results, the maximum halo-thermal time constant value was recorded at 35 °C temperature, while maximum germination percentage was detected at 30 °C in the controlled condition. Moreover, the lowermost value was recorded at 20 °C at − 0.8 MPa osmotic potential. The highest CAT, APX, and GPX activities were recorded at 15 °C at − 0.8 MPa, while the lowest values were observed for 0 MPa at 30 °C temperature. In conclusion, by employing the halo thermal time model, the germination of maize variety (var.30W52) was accurately predicted for the first time under varying levels of temperature and osmotic potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient whole-genome duplication (WGD) or polyploidization is prevalent in plants and has played a crucial role in plant adaptation. However, the underlying genomic basis of ecological adaptation and subsequent diversification after WGD are still poorly understood in most plants. Here, we report a chromosome-scale genome assembly for the genus Orinus (Orinus kokonorica as representative) and preform comparative genomics with its closely related genus Cleistogenes (Cleistogenes songorica as representative), both belonging to a newly named subtribe Orininae of the grass subfamily Chloridoideae. The two genera may share one paleo-allotetraploidy event before 10 million years ago, and the two subgenomes of O. kokonorica display neither fractionation bias nor global homoeolog expression dominance. We find substantial genome rearrangements and extensive structural variations (SVs) between the two species. With comparative transcriptomics, we demonstrate that functional innovations of orthologous genes may have played an important role in promoting adaptive evolution and diversification of the two genera after polyploidization. In addition, copy number variations and extensive SVs between orthologs of flower and rhizome related genes may contribute to the morphological differences between the two genera. Our results provide new insights into the adaptive evolution and subsequent diversification of the two genera after polyploidization. A chromosome-scale genome assembly for the grass, Orinuse kokonorica, combined with RNA-seq data provides insight into the evolutionary history of the species and the genomic basis for the divergence of two closely related grass genera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater treatment plants produce solid and semi-solid sludge, which treatment minimises secondary environmental pollution because of wastewater treatment and obtaining new bioproducts. For this reason, in this paper, the co-pyrolysis of biogenic biomasses recovered from a biological reactor with immobilised fungal and bacterial biomass and a tertiary reactor with Chlorella sp. used for dye-contaminated wastewater treatment was carried out. Biogenic biomasses mixed with pine bark allowed the production and characterisation of two types of biochar. The raw material and biochar were on the "in vitro" germination of Lolium sp. seeds, followed by adsorption studies for malachite green (MG) dye using the raw material and the biochar. Results showed that using 60 mg L−1 of a cationic coagulant at pH 6.5 allowed for the recovery of more than 90% of the microalgae after 50 min of processing. Two biochar resulted: BC300, at pH 5.08 ± 0.08 and BC500, at pH 6.78 ± 0.01. The raw material and both biochars were co-inoculated with growth-promoting bacteria; their viabilities ranged from 1.7 × 106 ± 1.0 × 101 to 7.5 × 108 ± 6.0 × 102 CFU g−1 for total heterotrophic, nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-solubilising bacteria. Re-use tests on Lolium sp. seed germination showed that with the post-coagulation effluent, the germination was 100%, while with the biochar, with and without beneficial bacteria, the germination was 98 and 99%, respectively. Finally, BC500 adsorbed the highest percentage of malachite green at pH 4.0, obtaining qecal values of 0.5249 mg g−1 (R2: 0.9875) with the pseudo-second-order model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study about the characterization of dielectric properties (dielectric constant ε r and dielectric-loss constant tan δ ) of samples derived from two different biomass types: rice husk ash (RHA) and annoni grass ash (AGA).The procedure is carried out using the resonant cavity method along with a vector network analyzer. For this purpose, four different ashes were produced, by burning rice husk and annoni grass at two different temperatures and burning times: 400 °C/30 min (RHA40030 and AGA40030) and 800 °C/5 h (RHA8005h and AGA8005h). These ashes were combined with Bakelite to produce cylindrical samples with diameter of 30 mm and thickness of 4.5 mm, which were characterized considering the frequency in the test band for 5G technologies ( f o = 3.5 GHz). Experimental results showed that the samples burnt at high temperature showed very high tan δ when compared to the samples burnt at low temperature, mainly for AGA8005h. These values are tan δ = 0.1690 and 1.4900 for RHA8005h and AGA8005h, respectively. The resulting dielectric constants are ε r = 3.87 for RHA8005h and ε r = 15.14 for AGA8005h). These very high dielectric loss tangent, indicate that these materials exhibit formidable properties for electromagnetic energy absorption, hence allowing the application as radiation-absorbent material (RAM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zoysia grass (Zoysia spp.) is the most widely used warm-season turf grass in Korea due to its durability and resistance to environmental stresses. To develop new longer-period greenness cultivars, it is essential to screen germplasm which maintains the greenness at a lower temperature. Conventional methods are time-consuming, laborious, and subjective. Therefore, in this study, we demonstrate an objective and efficient method to screen maintaining longer greenness germplasm using RGB and multispectral images. From August to December, time-series data were acquired and we calculated green cover percentage (GCP), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Red Edge Index (NDRE), Soil-adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) values of germplasm from RGB and multispectral images by applying vegetation indexs. The result showed significant differences in GCP, NDVI, NDRE, SAVI, and EVI among germplasm (p < 0.05). The GCP, which evaluated the quantity of greenness by counting pixels of the green area from RGB images, exhibited maintenance of greenness over 90% for August and September but, sharply decrease from October. The study found significant differences in GCP and NDVI among germplasm. san208 exhibiting over 90% GCP and high NDVI values during 153 days. In addition, we also conducted assessments using various vegetation indexes, namely NDRE, SAVI, and EVI. san208 exhibited NDRE levels exceeding 3% throughout this period. As for SAVI, it initially started at approximately 38% and gradually decreased to around 4% over the course of these days. Furthermore, for the month of August, it recorded approximately 6%, but experienced a decline from about 9% to 1% between September and October. The complementary use of both indicators could be an efficient method for objectively assessing the greenness of turf both quantitatively and qualitatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater treatment plants produce solid and semi-solid sludge, which treatment minimises secondary environmental pollution because of wastewater treatment and obtaining new bioproducts. For this reason, in this paper, the co-pyrolysis of biogenic biomasses recovered from a biological reactor with immobilised fungal and bacterial biomass and a tertiary reactor with Chlorella sp. used for dye-contaminated wastewater treatment was carried out. Biogenic biomasses mixed with pine bark allowed the production and characterisation of two types of biochar. The raw material and biochar were on the "in vitro" germination of Lolium sp. seeds, followed by adsorption studies for malachite green (MG) dye using the raw material and the biochar. Results showed that using 60 mg L−1 of a cationic coagulant at pH 6.5 allowed for the recovery of more than 90% of the microalgae after 50 min of processing. Two biochar resulted: BC300, at pH 5.08 ± 0.08 and BC500, at pH 6.78 ± 0.01. The raw material and both biochars were co-inoculated with growth-promoting bacteria; their viabilities ranged from 1.7 × 106 ± 1.0 × 101 to 7.5 × 108 ± 6.0 × 102 CFU g−1 for total heterotrophic, nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-solubilising bacteria. Re-use tests on Lolium sp. seed germination showed that with the post-coagulation effluent, the germination was 100%, while with the biochar, with and without beneficial bacteria, the germination was 98 and 99%, respectively. Finally, BC500 adsorbed the highest percentage of malachite green at pH 4.0, obtaining qecal values of 0.5249 mg g−1 (R2: 0.9875) with the pseudo-second-order model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outcomes of weed biological control projects are highly variable, but a mechanistic understanding of how top-down and bottom-up factors influence the success of weed biological control is often lacking. We grew Rumex obtusifolius, the most prominent native weed in European grasslands, in the presence and absence of competition from the grass Lolium perenne and subjected it to herbivory through targeted inoculation with root-boring Pyropteron spp. To explore whether the interactive effects of competition and inundative biological control were size-dependent, R. obtusifolius was planted covering a large range of plant sizes found in managed grasslands. Overall, competition from the grass sward reduced aboveground biomass and final root mass of R. obtusifolius about 62- and 7.5-fold, respectively, and increased root decay of R. obtusifolius from 14 to 58%. Herbivory alone increased only root decay. However, grass competition significantly enhanced infestation by Pyropteron spp. and, as a consequence, enhanced the impact of herbivory on aboveground biomass and final root mass. The synergistic effect was so strong that R. obtusifolius plants grown from initially smaller roots did no longer develop. Inoculating R. obtusifolius with Pyropteron species in grasslands should be further pursued as a promising inundative biological control strategy in the weed's native range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study about the characterization of dielectric properties (dielectric constant ε r and dielectric-loss constant tan δ ) of samples derived from two different biomass types: rice husk ash (RHA) and annoni grass ash (AGA).The procedure is carried out using the resonant cavity method along with a vector network analyzer. For this purpose, four different ashes were produced, by burning rice husk and annoni grass at two different temperatures and burning times: 400 °C/30 min (RHA40030 and AGA40030) and 800 °C/5 h (RHA8005h and AGA8005h). These ashes were combined with Bakelite to produce cylindrical samples with diameter of 30 mm and thickness of 4.5 mm, which were characterized considering the frequency in the test band for 5G technologies ( f o = 3.5 GHz). Experimental results showed that the samples burnt at high temperature showed very high tan δ when compared to the samples burnt at low temperature, mainly for AGA8005h. These values are tan δ = 0.1690 and 1.4900 for RHA8005h and AGA8005h, respectively. The resulting dielectric constants are ε r = 3.87 for RHA8005h and ε r = 15.14 for AGA8005h). These very high dielectric loss tangent, indicate that these materials exhibit formidable properties for electromagnetic energy absorption, hence allowing the application as radiation-absorbent material (RAM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perennial grasses are potentially abundant sources of biomass for biorefineries, which can produce high yields with low input requirements, and many added environmental benefits. However, perennial grasses are highly recalcitrant to biodegradation and may require pretreatment before undergoing many biorefining pathways. Microbial pretreatment uses the ability of microorganisms or their enzymes to deconstruct plant biomass and enhance its biodegradability. This process can enhance the enzymatic digestibility of perennial grasses, enabling saccharification with cellulolytic enzymes to produce fermentable sugars and derived fermentation products. Similarly, microbial pretreatment can increase the methanation rate when the grasses are used to produce biogas through anaerobic digestion. Microorganisms can also increase the digestibility of the grasses to improve their quality as animal feed, enhance the properties of grass pellets, and improve biomass thermochemical conversion. Metabolites produced by fungi or bacteria during microbial pretreatment, such as ligninolytic and cellulolytic enzymes, can be further recovered as added-value products. Additionally, the action of the microorganisms can release chemicals with commercialization potential, such as hydroxycinnamic acids and oligosaccharides, from the grasses. This review explores the recent advances and remaining challenges in using microbial pretreatment for perennial grasses with the goal of obtaining added-value products through biorefining. It emphasizes recent trends in microbial pretreatment such as the use of microorganisms as part of microbial consortia or in unsterilized systems, the use and development of microorganisms and consortia capable of performing more than one biorefining step, and the use of cell-free systems based on microbial enzymes. Key points: • Microorganisms or enzymes can reduce the recalcitrance of grasses for biorefining • Microbial pretreatment effectiveness depends on the grass-microbe interaction • Microbial pretreatment can generate value added co-products to enhance feasibility [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many vegetated coastal ecosystems are formed through ecosystem engineering by clonal vegetation. Recent work highlights that the spatial shoot organization of the vegetation determines local sediment accretion and subsequently emerging landscape morphology. While this key engineering trait has been found to differ between species and prevailing environmental conditions, it remains unknown how the interplay of both factors drive shoot organization and therefore landscape morphology. Here, we compared the spatial shoot organization of young, clonally expanding plants of the two dominant European dune grass species: sand couch (Elytrigia juncea) and marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) across a range of coastal dune environments (from Denmark to France). Our results reveal that, on average, sand couch deployed a more dispersed shoot organization than marram grass, which has a patchy (Lévy-like) organization. Whereas sand couch exhibited the same expansion strategy independent of environmental conditions, marram grass demonstrated a large intraspecific variation which correlated to soil organic matter, temperature and grain size. Shoot patterns ranged from a clumped organization correlating to relatively high soil organic matter contents, temperature and small grain sizes, to a patchy configuration with intermediate conditions, and a dispersed organization with low soil organic matter, temperature and large grain size. We conclude that marram grass is flexible in adjusting its engineering capacity in response to environmental conditions, while sand couch instead follows a fixed expansion strategy, illustrating that shoot organization results from the interaction of both species-specific and environmental-specific trait expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zoysia grass (Zoysia spp.) is the most widely used warm-season turf grass in Korea due to its durability and resistance to environmental stresses. To develop new longer-period greenness cultivars, it is essential to screen germplasm which maintains the greenness at a lower temperature. Conventional methods are time-consuming, laborious, and subjective. Therefore, in this study, we demonstrate an objective and efficient method to screen maintaining longer greenness germplasm using RGB and multispectral images. From August to December, time-series data were acquired and we calculated green cover percentage (GCP), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Red Edge Index (NDRE), Soil-adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) values of germplasm from RGB and multispectral images by applying vegetation indexs. The result showed significant differences in GCP, NDVI, NDRE, SAVI, and EVI among germplasm (p < 0.05). The GCP, which evaluated the quantity of greenness by counting pixels of the green area from RGB images, exhibited maintenance of greenness over 90% for August and September but, sharply decrease from October. The study found significant differences in GCP and NDVI among germplasm. san208 exhibiting over 90% GCP and high NDVI values during 153 days. In addition, we also conducted assessments using various vegetation indexes, namely NDRE, SAVI, and EVI. san208 exhibited NDRE levels exceeding 3% throughout this period. As for SAVI, it initially started at approximately 38% and gradually decreased to around 4% over the course of these days. Furthermore, for the month of August, it recorded approximately 6%, but experienced a decline from about 9% to 1% between September and October. The complementary use of both indicators could be an efficient method for objectively assessing the greenness of turf both quantitatively and qualitatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing dedicated bioenergy crops on marginal land can provide beneficial outcomes including biomass production and energy, resource management, and ecosystem services. We investigated the effects of harvest timing (peak standing crop [PEAK] or after killing frost [KF]) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates (0, 56, and 112 kg N ha−1) on yield, nutrient concentrations, and nutrient removal rates of perennial grasses on a wet marginal land. We evaluated three monocultures, including switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L., SW), Miscanthus x giganteus (MG), prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Link, PCG), and a polyculture mixture of big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash), and sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula Torr., MIX). Increasing the application of N did correlate with increased biomass, concentration, and subsequent removal of nutrients across almost all treatment combinations. In all grass treatments except MG, PEAK harvesting increased yield and nutrient removal. At PEAK harvest, switchgrass is ideal for optimizing both biomass production and nutrient removal. While our results also suggest short-term plasticity for farmers when selecting harvest timing for optimal nutrient removal, KF harvest is recommended to ensure long-term stand longevity and adequate nutrient removal. If the KF harvest is adopted, MG would be the ideal option for optimizing biomass yield potential. Additionally, we found that the yield of polyculture did not vary much with harvest timing, suggesting better yield stability. Future studies should give consideration for long-term evaluation of polyculture mixtures to assess their biomass yields and nutrient removal capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants require copper for normal growth and development and have evolved an efficient system for copper management based on transport proteins such as P1B-ATPases, also known as heavy metal ATPases (HMAs). Here, we report HMAs in eleven different Poaceae species, including wheat. Furthermore, the possible role of wheat HMAs in copper stress was investigated. BlastP searches identified 27 HMAs in wheat, and phylogenetic analysis based on the Maximum Likelihood method demonstrated a separation into four distinct clades. Conserved motif analysis, domain identification, gene structure, and transmembrane helices number were also identified for wheat HMAs using computational tools. Wheat seedlings grown hydroponically were subjected to elevated copper and demonstrated toxicity symptoms with effects on fresh weight and changes in expression of selected HMAs TaHMA7, TaHMA8, and TaHMA9 were upregulated in response to elevated copper, suggesting a role in wheat copper homeostasis. Further investigations on these heavy metal pumps can provide insight into strategies for enhancing crop heavy metal tolerance in the face of heavy metal pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Plants continuously interact with soil microbiota. These plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) are considered a driving force in plant community dynamics. However, most PSF information comes from inter-family studies, with limited information on possible causes. We studied the variation of PSFs between and within grass species and identified the soil microbes that are associated with the observed PSFs effects. Methods: We grew monocultures of ten cultivars of three grass species (Lolium perenne, Poa pratensis, Schedonorus arundinaceus) using a two-phase PSF experiment. We measured plant total biomass to determine PSFs between and within species and correlated it with sequenced rhizosphere bacteria and fungi. Results: In the soil conditioning phase, grass species developed microbial legacies that affected the performance of other grass species in the feedback phase. We detected overall negative interspecific PSFs. While we show that L. perenne and P. pratensis increased their performance respectively in conspecific and heterospecific soils, S. arundinaceus was not strongly affected by the legacies of the previous plant species. Contrary to our expectation, we found no evidence for intraspecific variation in PSFs. Bacterial taxa associated with PSFs included members of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia and Planctomycetes whereas fungal taxa included members of Ascomycota. Conclusion: Our results suggest differences in PSF effects between grass species, but not between cultivars within species. Thus, in the studied grass species, there might be limited potential for breeding on plant traits mediated by PSFs. Furthermore, we point out potential microbial candidates that might be driving the observed PSF effects that could be further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flowering is a crucial phase for angiosperms to continue their species propagation and is highly regulated. In the current review, flowering in sugarcane and the associated mechanisms are elaborately presented. In sugarcane, flowering has two effects, wherein it is a beneficial factor from the breeder's perspective and crucial for crop improvement, but commercially, it depletes the sucrose reserves from the stalks; hence, less value is assigned. Different species of Saccharum genus are spread across geographical latitudes, thereby proving their ability to grow in multiple inductive daylengths of different locations according in the habituated zone. In general, sugarcane is termed an intermediate daylength plant with quantitative short-day behaviour as it requires reduction in daylength from 12 h 55 min to 12 h or 12 h 30 min. The prime concern in sugarcane flowering is its erratic flowering nature. The transition to reproductive stage which reverts to vegetative stage if there is any deviation from ambient temperature and light is also an issue. Spatial and temporal gene expression patterns during vegetative to reproductive stage transition and after reverting to vegetative state could possibly reveal how the genetic circuits are being governed. This review will also shed a light on potential roles of genes and/or miRNAs in flowering in sugarcane. Knowledge of transcriptomic background of circadian, photoperiod, and gibberellin pathways in sugarcane will enable us to better understand of variable response in floral development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Cymbopogon (Poaceae) species have been widely cultivated throughout the world for a wide range of uses in the pharmaceutical and agricultural fields. The current work investigates the fungicidal activities of Cymbopogon winterianus extract (CWE) in controlling the C. musae that caused anthracnose disease in banana fruit. In vitro assay results showed that CWE at 1.5–2.5 gL−1 concentrations controlled the development of the test pathogen. Mycelial blast, cytoplasmic discharge, and spore edema were noticed when CWE was applied. The Minimum Effective Concentration (MEC) of CWE for the in vivo assay was 1.50 gL−1 and can be used as a postharvest treatment on banana fruit to deter anthracnose infection. Moreover, no visible phytotoxicity or changes in aroma were observed on banana fruit treated with CWE, even at the highest concentration of 2.5 gL−1. The GCMS analysis revealed 41 chemical components associated with CWE. The five main compounds were the following: Methyl oleyl ether (40.20%), γ-Sitosterol (15.80%), 6-Methylheptan-3-ol (7.13%), α-Terpineol (5.56%), and n-Pentadecanol (4.05%). The CWE possesses excellent fungicidal effects against C. musae; in the near future, it can be used as an alternative to commercially available traditional fungicides on the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass is a highly desirable substrate for anaerobic digestion because of its higher biodegradability and biogas/methane yield. In this study, anaerobic co-digestion of grass, cow manure and sludge was studied under mesophilic conditions for 65 days. Experiments were performed on a feed ratio of grass/manure from 5 to 25%, respectively. The maximum cumulative biogas and methane yield was obtained as 331.75 mLbiogas/gVS and 206.64 mLCH4/gVS for 25% ratio. Also, the results of the experiments were tested on the three different kinetics model which are the first order kinetic model, modified Gompertz model and Logistics model. As a result of the study, it was found that by using grass nearly 480 × 106 kWh/year electricity may be produced and 0.5 × 106 tons/year CO2 greenhouse gas emission mitigation may be reached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on fungal seed-borne diseases on main pasture grasses and legumes from the literature was reviewed. These diseases reduce biomass production, quality of forage, and persistence due to progressive plant mortality. The main fungal pathogens associated with forage seeds belong to the orders Hypocreales, Pleosporales, and Helotiales in the phylum Ascomycota. Hypocreales includes the genus Fusarium, which reduces seedling establishment, and contaminates plant tissues with mycotoxins. Pleosporales includes many genera associated with seeds of legumes (Leptosphaerulina and Ascochyta), grasses (Bipolaris, Pyrenophora, Curvularia, Drechslera, Alternaria, Exserohilum, and Phoma), and both (Stemphylium). Some fungal genera within this order induce the accumulation of coumestans (leafspot-producing fungi) or produce secondary metabolites that contaminate tissues (Alternaria). Within Helotiales, the main genera are Sclerotinia (affecting mainly legumes), Clarireedia and Gloeotinia (affecting grasses). Pyricularia (order Magnaporthales), Colletotrichum (order Glomerellales), and Cercospora (order Mycosphaerellales) also include seed-borne fungi that provoke diseases on forage species as well as Rhizoctonia (order Cantharellales) and Ustilago (order Ustilaginales) which belong to the phylum Basidiomycota. These pathogens affect pastures by (i) compromising seedling establishment at early stages and (ii) constraining growth by reducing yield and seed quality at later stages. Future research should address (i) generation of reliable data on forage yield loss due to seed-borne diseases, (ii) assessment of the interaction between seed-borne pathogens and other biotic and/or abiotic stresses, (iii) delve into the study of the role of wild and/or cultivated forage species as inoculum reservoirs of pathogens, and (vi) shed light on the contamination issue due to mycotoxins generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In semi-arid and arid regions, the selection of suitable grass species with high-yield production, tolerance to drought stress, and potential for recovery from drought is of special importance. Despite extensive research in cool-season grasses, inter-species differences in post-drought recovery, persistence, survival, and summer dormancy and their relationship with drought tolerance need more investigation. In the present study, 28 diverse genotypes belonged to seven cool-season grass species, including Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue), Festuca pratensis (meadow fescue), Festuca ovina (sheep fescue), Festuca rubra (red fescue), Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass), Lolium multiflorum (Italian ryegrass) and Lolium × hybridum were evaluated during 2016–2019 under three irrigation regimes (normal, mild, and intense drought stress). Then in the fourth year (on August 2019), irrigation was withheld at all previous irrigation regimes for two months during summer, and then species were re-irrigated to study the effect of prolonged drought conditions. A wide range of genetic diversity was detected in all the measured traits among and within species in response to different irrigation levels. Recurrent drought stress decreased forage productivity, post-drought recovery, and survival in all grass species. Among the studied species, tall fescue had higher forage production, drought tolerance, survival, recovery rate, and persistence. Sheep fescue had low forage production and recovery after drought. Drought tolerance (based on stress tolerance score, STS) was highly associated with forage yield and post-drought recovery and partially with summer dormancy under both mild and intense drought stress conditions. This indicated that selection based on higher STS would lead to choosing genotypes with better recovery after prolonged drought. Superior species and preferable genotypes for forage use from species Festuca arundinacea and for turf application from species Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne and Lolium × hybridum were identified across different water environments for future programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), are often used in urban green spaces. However, these display devices often tarnish the green landscape of urban green spaces due to their artificial materials. We previously proposed a green landscape-friendly grass animation display that dynamically controls the grass color pixel by pixel. The grass color is changed by moving a green grass length in yellow grass, and the grass animation display runs simple animations using grayscale images. In our previous study, the color scale is subjectively mapped to the green grass length. However, this method fails to display the grass colors corresponding to the color scale based on objective evaluations. Herein, we introduce a dynamic grass color scale display technique based on the grass length. We develop a grass color scale setting procedure to map the grass length to the five-level color scale through image processing. In the outdoor experiment of the grass color scale setting procedure, the color scale corresponds to the green grass length based on a viewpoint. Finally, we demonstrate a grass animation display to show the animations with the color scale using experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sowing is widely used for the restoration of species-rich grasslands but still there are knowledge gaps regarding the most suitable application of different seed mixtures. We tested the effect of seed mixtures application timing on the establishment of sown forbs and weed control. 36 experimental plots with nine sowing treatments were established in an abandoned cropland in Hungary. Grass-seeds, diverse forb seed mixture and the combination of the two were applied: diverse forb mixture was sown simultaneously or 1, 2 or 3 years after grass sowing, in plots sown previously with grass or in empty plots (fallows). All sowing treatments supported the rapid establishment of the sown species in large cover and hampered weed encroachment. Forbs performed better when sown into fallows than in grass-matrix and forbs establishment was worse in older fallows than in younger ones. Grasses expressed a strong priority effect, especially when forbs were sown at least two years later than grasses. We also investigated the relation between seed germinability, weather parameters and establishment success. Germination rate in the greenhouse could not predict the establishment success of forbs in the field and showed great differences between years, hence we recommend sowing target forbs in multiple years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stipa dasyphylla (Lindem.) Trautv. (Poaceae, Pooideae, Stipeae) is generally found from Central Asia (northwards to southern part of West Siberia), through European part of Russia to Central Europe (westwards to Switzerland and Germany). Hitherto, from Balkan Peninsula it was documented only from one locality in Greece. There were also some personal communications for its presence in Bulgaria, but they were never confirmed. In this paper, we reported its occurrence in one new locality in Western Serbia (Zlatibor Mt.) on ultramafic substrate. Morphological and anatomical characters of the specimen collected in Serbia are reported together with the phytosociological characteristics of the habitat. The threatened status of the species for Serbia is assessed on the basis of the IUCN criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In long-term global change experiments, while cumulative treatment effects on soil and plant responses can emerge over time, comparisons between short and long-term responses can potentially be confounded with interannual variability in the environment. We added new nitrogen addition and warming plots to a pre-existing nitrogen and warming field experiment in a grass-dominated field to compare the short-term (1–2 year; new plots) versus long-term (14–15 year; old plots) treatment effects on soil microbial activity and plant litter decomposition, while controlling for the effects of interannual environmental variability. Methods: We assessed microbial activity by assaying the potential activities of five soil extracellular enzymes: three hydrolase enzymes (N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, phosphatase and β-glucosidase) and two oxidase enzymes (phenol oxidase and peroxidase). We measured mass loss from litter bags to assess the decomposition of grass and forb litter. Results: Warming interacted with plot age, with increased hydrolase activity in spring in response to warming only occurring in the long-term plots; increases in peroxidase activity with nitrogen addition in spring occurred for all plots. By summer, there were no significant interactions between the treatments and plot age for enzyme activity. Decreased decomposition with warming, observed for forb litter, only occurred in the long-term plots, but increased decomposition with nitrogen addition, observed for grass litter, occurred in both the long-term and short-term plots. Conclusions: Our results confirm an intensification of treatment effects on enzyme activity and litter decomposition over time for warming, but no interactions with plot age for nitrogen addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forage grasses are central feed resources for livestock globally. In Ethiopian dairy systems, they serve as feed sources during both wet and dry seasons, yet escalating climate change could threaten forage supply. Here, we investigate projected climate change impacts on three forage grasses currently recommended for Ethiopian dairy systems. We determine areas of geographical suitability for each species using three climate projections generated by General Circulation Models (GCMs) and calculate their ability to meet predicted dry matter demand under four scenarios for livestock intensification and land availability. By 2050, Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) is likely to be negatively affected by climate change in regions such as Tigray, while Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) and Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) may have improved suitability under future climates. Our findings suggest that feed demands could theoretically be met by production of these forage grasses under current and future climates. However, if land availability is reduced and herd composition shifts towards higher-productivity exotic breeds, forage resources will not meet cattle demand even with improved agronomic management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity, one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses, reduces growth, development, biomass, and yield of economically important plant species. Dixie grass (Sporobolus virginicus) is a halophytic, perennial C4 grass that quickly adapts to the coastal saline area and is generally used worldwide as fodder for grazing animals. However, studies have hitherto not investigated the physiological and biochemical basis of salt tolerance in dixie grass. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physiological, morphological, and biochemical responses of dixie grass to different levels of salinity (0, 400, 600, and 800 mM NaCl or Na2SO4) under greenhouse conditions. Overall growth traits of dixie grass were significantly reduced, especially in plants exposed to 800 mM Na2SO4. Leaf area of the plants was reduced by 78.49% and 54.52% over the control at 800 mM Na2SO4 and 800 mM NaCl, respectively. Na+ content in the leaf tissues of Na2SO4-treated plants was enriched by 28.88 folds over the control, causing chlorophyll degradation, diminution of photon yield of PSII, and reduction in the net photosynthetic rate. Greater accumulation of free proline and total soluble sugars in plants exposed to Na2SO4 were evident, which might be responsible for the osmotic adjustment. Alternatively, Na+ crystal secretion in dixie grass reduced ion toxicity, especially in the leaf blade. The study demonstrated that dixie grass counteracts the salt-induced ionic imbalance by modulating biochemical, physiological, and morphological attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Allelopathy is a plant interaction in which a donor species releases chemicals that suppress the development of receptor species. Allelopathy has been suggested as one explanation for catastrophic loss of native biodiversity in some invaded biomes; however, experimental tests of this hypothesis have had inconsistent results. Here, we examine if a previous finding of strong allelopathic effects of the warm-season, invasive C4 grass Bothriochloa ischaemum on North American prairie grasses can be reproduced in a different geographic setting. Methods: We examined the effects of sterilized (autoclaved or microfiltered) and unsterilized leachate on germination and the effect of sterilized leachate on seedling growth, including five native species and two exotic warm season grass species. For nine weeks, seedlings were irrigated with water or autoclaved leachate from B. ischaemum or Schizachyrium scoparium, a native species. Results: Germination rates were significantly suppressed only in the two invasive species and only when treated with sterilized leachates. Seedling biomass at harvest was largely insensitive to leachate application. Conclusions: The present study did not replicate earlier results, though many details of the experimental designs were similar. However, we used sterilized leachates and soils, whereas the previous study did not, which could indicate mediation by indirect microbial effects in the previous study. In addition, historic differences in the introduction of B. ischaemum in Oklahoma and Texas, along with climatic differences, may have affected the evolution of allelopathy post-invasion. Future studies would benefit from comparisons of allelopathic effects across invasive species' ecotypes, using sterilized and unsterilized extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several hypotheses propose an adaptive function of non-breeding nests (female attraction, decoys for nest predators and safe places for roosting). Alternatively, non-breeding nests may be structures abandoned before completion. Grass Wrens Cistothorus platensis build two types of non-breeding nests: platform and dummy nests. Platforms are rudimentary accumulations of grasses whilst dummies are dome-shaped, similar in appearance to breeding nests. We assess nest ontogeny, structure, dimensions and placement of non-breeding and breeding nests to provide evidence of abandonment. We predict that non-breeding nests would lack several of the nest layers present in breeding nests but would not differ in nesting microhabitat. Platforms had an incomplete structural layer and lacked most of the functional layers present in the breeding nests. Dummy nests had a complete structural layer, but often lacked some of the layers (lining and nest cup) that were added during the later stages of building. Breeding and non-breeding nests did not differ in seven nesting microhabitat variables. These results are in line with the hypothesis that platforms and dummy nests are structures abandoned during the building process. Differences between non-breeding and breeding nests in both nest and entrance orientation suggest that nests with an NNE orientation were less likely to be abandoned. Hence, wrens may abandon nests if they perceive unsuitable ambient conditions at the nest site. However, other causes of desertion such as the encounter of a predator during building were not evaluated. The study of non-breeding nests may provide the opportunity to evaluate the costs and benefits of nest desertion as well as insights in how function can shape nest architecture and location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxic puffers contain the potent neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX). Although TTX is considered to serve as a defense substance, previous behavioral studies have demonstrated that TTX acts as an attractive pheromone for some toxic puffers. To elucidate the physiological mechanism of putative pheromonal action of TTX, we examined whether grass puffers Takifugu alboplumbeus can detect TTX. Electroolfactogram (EOG) results suggest that the olfactory epithelium (OE) of grass puffers responded to a type of TTX analog (5,6,11-trideoxyTTX), although it did not respond to TTX. We also examined the attractive action of 5,6,11-trideoxyTTX on grass puffers by recording their swimming behavior under dark conditions. Grass puffers preferred to stay on the side of the aquarium where 5,6,11-trideoxyTTX was administered, and their swimming speed decreased. Additionally, odorant-induced labeling of olfactory sensory neurons by immunohistochemistry against neural activity marker (phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase; pERK) revealed that labeled olfactory sensory neurons were localized in the region surrounding "islets" where there was considered as nonsensory epithelium. 5,6,11-trideoxyTTX has been known to accumulate in grass puffers, but its toxicity is much lower (almost nontoxic) than TTX. Our results suggest that toxic puffers may positively use this TTX analog, which has been present in their body with TTX but whose function was unknown, as an odorant for chemical communication or effective TTX accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first records of Calamagrostis purpurea, an apomictic wetland grass species with a Euro-Siberian, predominantly boreal distribution, are reported for the Carpathians. This significantly expands the species' range in Central Europe eastwards from the known localities in Austria and Czechia. Due to in situ finds and revision of the herbarium vouchers, C. purpurea was discovered in the Western Carpathians in Slovakia (the Nízke Tatry Mts) as well as in the Eastern Carpathians in Ukraine (the Chornohora Mts) and Romania (Dorna Depression, the Harghita, Bodoc Mts, Intorsura Buzaului Depression) at 6 sites in total. All these newly found localities are situated within 870–1570 m a.s.l. The locality in the Nízke Tatry Mts is at the highest elevation, while those in the Romanian Carpathians are the southeasternmost in Central Europe. In the Carpathians, C. purpurea is confined to undisturbed wetland habitats, which implies its relict origin in the region. A distribution map, habitat characteristics, morphological description, and images of the plants from the Carpatians are provided. Carpathian populations tested with flow cytometry are DNA-octoploid (the predominant ploidy level of the species in Europe). Because of the species' rarity and vulnerability, it is suggested to include C. purpurea in the next editions of the Red Data Books and/or Red Lists of the corresponding countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many centuries, traditional grass cloth has been used as an important raw material for home textiles in China, but its market can be expanded by incorporating color. Reactive Red 2 (R2), Reactive Blue 194 (B194), and Reactive Orange 5 (O5) were used in this work to explore the dyeing behavior of sustainable traditional grass fiber using industrial dyeing methods. Initially, an L16 (4^4) orthogonal design was schematically applied to carry out the dyeing process and it was determined that the total dye fixation rate (T%) of B194 dye was the best among the three dyes. Accordingly, a statistical Taguchi technique was analyzed on a larger scale to optimize the dyeing process parameters (salt concentration, fixation time, fixation temperature, and solution pH) of B194, in which solution pH was found to be the most influential factor in achieving the highest T%. This phenomenon was also verified using analysis of variance (ANOVA), where the solution pH was found to be the biggest contributor (50%) and statistically significant (p < 0.05). Finally, confirmation tests were conducted under optimized conditions and a higher T% (53.18%) was determined compared to initial conditions (48.40%). Later, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the structural characteristics and found that grass cloth was chemically stable, yet gummy materials were still observed on their surface, which was also confirmed from digital photographs. Generally, the color coordinates and fastness properties were also satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate warming and increased atmospheric nitrogen deposition are both predicted to alter the primary productivity of grass-dominated systems in the coming decades. In field experiments, while both factors can have substantial effects on productivity in the initial years, further changes can be delayed by lags in plant species composition responses. However, the effects of experiment age can be confounded by annual variability in environmental conditions, and a replicate experiment established at a later time is therefore needed to separate these effects. We added new warming and nitrogen plots to an ongoing (14 year-old) field experiment in a grass-dominated temperate old field to compare the short-term vs. long-term treatment effects on plant productivity and species composition, while controlling for interannual environmental variability. We predicted treatment effects on relative species abundances would be most pronounced in the old plots. Although treatment responses of productivity (specifically to N addition) were highest in the old plots in the first year, by the second year there were no interactions between treatment and plot age. Moreover, there were no plot age effects on plant species composition, which was associated with continued dominance of non-native grasses. Our results therefore suggest that despite initial increases in productivity in response to global change, dominance by non-native grasses can suppress the emergence of further long-term treatment effects on productivity by inhibiting the responses of other species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Displacement of diverse native plant communities by low-diversity invasive communities is a global problem. In the western United States, the displacement of sagebrush-dominated communities by cheatgrass has increased since the 1920s. Restoration outcomes are poor, potentially due to soil alteration by cheatgrass. We explored the poorly understood role of plant–soil feedbacks in the dominance of cheatgrass in a greenhouse study where uninvaded sagebrush soils were conditioned with either cheatgrass, a native bunchgrass or sagebrush. Sagebrush seedlings were grown in the soils that remained following the removal of conditioning plants. We expected cheatgrass to strongly suppress sagebrush due to a change in belowground microbial communities, conspecifics to have neutral effects and the native bunchgrass to have intermediate effects as it coevolved with sagebrush but belongs to a different functional group. We assessed the effects of conditioning on sagebrush growth, tissue nutrients, and carbon allocation. We also characterized the abundance, diversity and community composition of root microbial associates. Cheatgrass strongly suppressed sagebrush growth at high and low conditioning densities, the native bunchgrass showed suppression at high conditioning densities only and conspecific effects were neutral. Tissue nutrients, amount of root colonization by soil fungi or root microbial community composition were not associated with these plant–soil feedbacks. Although we did not identify the precise mechanism, our results provide key evidence that rapid soil alteration by cheatgrass results in negative plant–soil feedbacks on sagebrush growth. These feedbacks likely contribute to cheatgrass dominance and the poor success of sagebrush restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal dynamics of species diversity and projective coverage of herbaceous communities formed on fallows and dumps was studied. Annual studies of these phytocoenotic indicators were carried out in four groups on the territory of the Tagil zone of the Middle Urals in 2006–2019. The successional development of communities depends on edaphic factors. Phytocenoses with a projective coverage and species diversity typical for meadow communities on the background territories develop on agrozems and technozems under conditions of low soil contamination with heavy metals. The meadow stage under conditions of high pollution is short, and it is characterized by low values of the studied parameters. Other trajectories of succession: a long delay in the grass stage or skipping the meadow stage and transition from grass to tree-shrub stage, are also possible. The species diversity of communities is more conservative compared with the total projective coverage of species, the rate of development of which is largely determined by the successional age of the community than by the type of substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of treated wastewater is one of the ways to resolve a lack of water concerns. In this study, different responses of two kinds of grasses (C3: Lolium perenne L. and C4: Cynodon dactylon L.) and four levels of wastewater (control, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) were evaluated at morphological and physiological levels. The concentration of Cd, Cr, Ni, As, and Cu elements significantly increased in leaf tissue under the toxic levels of wastewater (100%). The results showed that Pn, Tr, gs, WUEi, and chlorophyll significantly increased when grasses were under 50% wastewater treatment. Plants growth parameters including root, and shoot dry weights exhibited a significant increase under low concentration of wastewater while photosynthetic index and growth parameters showed a high reduction under high wastewater concentration. The results showed that by the handling of wastewater and the utilize of suitable concentrations, this unusual water source can be used for irrigation of grasses that need high water demands such as Lolium perenne and Cynodon dactylon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dry grass is a widespread residue of agricultural activities in Morocco. This paper investigates the effect of incorporating this organic waste on the Physicochemical and Thermomechanical performance of unfired clay bricks. The used raw clay material used is of illite type, extracted from Bensmim in the Ifrane region. Various grass filler proportions (0 %, 1 %, 3 %, 7 %, 15 %, and 20 %) were used. Collected findings showed an increase in the porosity level reaching 14.75 % at 20 % additive content compared to 1.75 % of reference samples. In addition, brick samples with 20 % dry grass content reflected a bulk density of 1.52 g·cm−3 and water absorption coefficient of 52.25 g·cm−2·min0.5), compared to reference samples of 1.77 g·cm−3 and 26.15 g·cm−2·min−0.5), respectively. This reflects prominent lightweight properties. Mechanical and thermal conducted tests reflect a decrease in both compressive strength and thermal conductivity with grass reinforcement incorporation compared to reference values. In fact, a 48 % gain in thermal conductivity is observed with a decrease from 0.53 W·m−1·K−1 for reference samples, to 0.27 W·m−1·K−1 at the 20 % mark. Bricks with dry grass filler reflected an acceptable compressive strength as well as a significant improvement in insulation properties, enabling great energy saving and contributing to sustainable buildings with good mechanical functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poaceae, among the most abundant plant families, includes many economically important polyploid species, such as forage grasses and sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). These species have elevated genomic complexities and limited genetic resources, hindering the application of marker-assisted selection strategies. Currently, the most promising approach for increasing genetic gains in plant breeding is genomic selection. However, due to the polyploidy nature of these polyploid species, more accurate models for incorporating genomic selection into breeding schemes are needed. This study aims to develop a machine learning method by using a joint learning approach to predict complex traits from genotypic data. Biparental populations of sugarcane and two species of forage grasses (Urochloa decumbens, Megathyrsus maximus) were genotyped, and several quantitative traits were measured. High-quality markers were used to predict several traits in different cross-validation scenarios. By combining classification and regression strategies, we developed a predictive system with promising results. Compared with traditional genomic prediction methods, the proposed strategy achieved accuracy improvements exceeding 50%. Our results suggest that the developed methodology could be implemented in breeding programs, helping reduce breeding cycles and increase genetic gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local farmers of Central Punjab, Pakistan have been using indigenous grasses as vital components of ruminant diets, but little is reported about their nutritional potential. Hence this study investigated nutritive potential of a selection of ethnobotanically important fodder grasses. Multiple nutritional parameters (proximate components, fibre fractions), secondary metabolites (phenolics, tannins) and in vitro digestibility values were determined. Furthermore, the legitimacy of ethnobotanical knowledge of local inhabitants about these grasses was also verified. The results suggested that majority (77%) of these grasses can be regarded as good quality fodders because of their high protein (169 g/kg) and good digestibility (457 g/kg) with moderate fibre (≤ 602 g/kg), lignin (≤ 50 g/kg) and secondary metabolites (total phenols ≤ 87 g/kg, total tannins ≤ 78 g/kg, condensed tannins ≤ 61 g/kg). Pearson correlation between nutritional parameters indicated that in vitro digestibility values were positively correlated with crude proteins (IVDMD, r = + 0.83 and IVOMD, r = + 0.83 respectively) and negatively correlated with fibre (NDF, r = − 0.91), ADF, r = − 0.84 and ADL, r = − 0.82) contents. Moreover, a positive relationship was identified between ethnobotanical knowledge and laboratory findings for studied grasses. Spearman correlation test showed that ranking of grasses based on ethnobotanical preferences were highly correlated (r values) with the laboratory results for CP (0.85), NDF (− 0.76), ADF (− 0.72) and ADL (− 0.62). The resilient complementarities between ethnobotanical preferences and nutritive analysis authenticate farmer's traditional knowledge, which needed to be aligned with the corresponding scientific data. Farmers can use these findings for appropriate fodder selection and development of precise supplements for feeding ruminants within a sustainable and economically viable livestock industry for food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial communities, like their macro-organismal counterparts, assemble from multiple source populations and by processes acting at multiple spatial scales. However, the relative importance of different sources to the plant microbiome and the spatial scale at which assembly occurs remains debated. In this study, we analyzed how source contributions to the foliar fungal microbiome of a C4 grass differed between locally abundant plants and soils across an abiotic gradient at different spatial scales. Specifically, we used source-sink analysis to assess the likelihood that fungi in leaves from Panicum hallii came from three putative sources: two plant functional groups (C4 grasses and dicots) and soil. We expected that physiologically similar C4 grasses would be more important sources to P. hallii than dicots. We tested this at ten sites in central Texas spanning a steep precipitation gradient. We also examined source contributions at three spatial scales: individual sites (local), local plus adjacent sites (regional), or all sites (gradient-wide). We found that plants were substantially more important sources than soils, but contributions from the two plant functional groups were similar. Plant contributions overall declined and unexplained variation increased as mean annual precipitation increased. This source-sink analysis, combined with partitioning of beta-diversity into nestedness and turnover components, indicated high dispersal limitation and/or strong environmental filtering. Overall, our results suggest that the source-sink dynamics of foliar fungi are primarily local, that foliar fungi spread from plant-to-plant, and that the abiotic environment may affect fungal community sourcing both directly and via changes to host plant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chimonobambusa hirtinoda, a threatened species, is only naturally distributed in Doupeng Mountain, Duyun, Guizhou, China. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is used to obtain the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of C. hirtinoda. The sequence was assembled and analyzed for phylogenetic and evolutionary studies. Additionally, we compared the cp genome of C. hirtinoda with previously published Chimonobambusa species. The cp genome of C. hirtinoda has a total length of 139, 561 bp and 38.90% GC content. This genome included a large single -copy (LSC) region of 83, 166 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 20, 811 bp and a pair of inverted repeats of 21,792 bp each. We discovered 130 genes in the cp genome, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA, and 8 rRNA genes. A total of 48 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected. The A/U preference of the third nucleotide in the cp genome of C. hirtinoda was obtained by measuring the codon usage frequency of amino acids. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis using complete cp sequences and matK gene revealed a genetic relationship within the Chimonobambusa genus. This study reported the chloroplast genome of the C. hirtinoda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Combinations of grasses and nitrogen-fixing legumes are ubiquitous in most natural and derived pastoral grasslands. This was not formerly the case in New Zealand's unique indigenous grasslands that are now frequently impacted by exotic pasture grasses and legumes. Understanding the co-existence of native and exotic plants is the broad focus of this research. Aims: Spillover of nitrogen (N) from clovers to grasses in diverse pasture is well known. We question whether grasses provide reciprocal nutritional benefits to legumes. Does the mutual exploitation of soil biogeochemistry by legumes and grasses help to explain their coexistence and, if so, does this have implications for biodiversity in NZ's novel native grassland communities? Methods: Combinations of grasses and legumes, including a native tussock grass, were grown in a nutrient-poor (low P, S, Ca, Mg, Mn, and B) high country soil in a pot experiment, quantifying the foliar acquisition of nutrients from soil. Field data were obtained by sampling foliage of clover in single- and mixed-species patches in a more fertile lowland pasture. Results: Benefits of legume and grass growing together were reflected in enhanced productivity and higher uptake of a range of key nutrients. This was most evident but not restricted to a combination of two exotic species: cocksfoot and white clover. In the nutrient-poor soil, legumes grew better in combination with different species of introduced grasses. Uptake of key elements from soil to plants significantly differed with combinations of legumes and grasses compared to individual species. Elevated concentrations of P, K and S were recorded in clover when growing with grasses, although Ca uptake was lower. Expected reciprocal reduction of clover N or enhanced grass N were not recorded. Mass balance data (total extraction of key nutrients from the soil pool) showed that combination of grasses and legumes exploit soil nutrients (particularly P, Zn, Mn and Mo) more effectively than single species alone. In grasses, only tissue concentrations of K, S and Zn significantly increased when growing with legumes, but native tussock grass procured less nutrients when growing with the exotic legumes. Field sampling of clover from the more fertile lowland soil showed significantly higher foliar concentrations of K, Mn, Cu and B, but less Ca. Conclusions: The findings are indicative of a mutualistic relationship: legumes derive nutritional benefits from growing with grasses. Native tussock grass contained less N when growing with the exotic legumes, suggesting less compatibility and a lack of adaptation to coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil is the largest terrestrial carbon pool, making it crucial for climate change mitigation. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is suggested to depend on biodiversity components, but much evidence comes from diversity-function experiments. To disentangle the relationships of plant guild diversity with SOC storage (kg m−2) at broad spatial scales, we applied diversity-interaction models to a regional grassland database (n = 96) including wide environmental conditions and management regimes. The questions were: (1) Are the effects of plant guilds on SOC stocks in natural grasslands consistent with those found in experimental systems? (2) Are plant guild effects on SOC stocks independent of each other or do they show interactive—synergistic or antagonistic—effects? (3) Do environmental variables, including abiotic and management, modify guild effects on SOC stocks? Among our most novel results we found, legume effects on grassland SOC vary depending on legume proportion consistently across broad spatial scales. SOC increased with legume proportion up to 7–17%, then decreased. Additionally, these effects were strengthened when grasses and forbs were codominant. Grazing intensity modulated grass proportion effects on SOC, being maximum at relatively high intensities. Interpreting our results in terms of existing contrasted ecological theories, we confirmed at broad spatial scales and under wide-ranging environmental conditions the positive effects of plant guild diversity on SOC, and we showed how legumes exert a keystone effect on SOC in natural grasslands, probably related to their ability to fix inorganic N. Niche complementarity effects were illustrated when codominance of forbs and grasses at optimum legume proportions boosted SOC storage, whereas grass dominance increased SOC stocks at medium–high grazing intensities. These findings can facilitate the preparation of regional and local strategies to ameliorate the soil capacity to absorb carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common grass yellow Eurema mandarina has a characteristic patch (sex brand) composed of specialized scales (androconia) and wing intermembranous cells on the ventral surface of its male forewing. This structure is specific to males and is thought to release compounds that induce female mate acceptance. However, no study has demonstrated that these compounds function as sex pheromones in the genus Eurema. Here we report the identification of sex pheromones in males of E. mandarina. Chemical analyses revealed that 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-one (TMP) and (E/Z)-3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadec-2-enal [(E/Z)-phytal] were male-specific and abundant in particular regions of the male forewings. TMP was highest in the sex brand, whereas (E/Z)-phytal was concentrated in the anal cell (cell 2 A), lacking androconia and intermembranous cells. The content of these compounds increases with age in males after emergence. In bioassays, virgin females displayed a posture of bending their abdomens as mating acceptance in response to stimulation by fresh male forewings. However, solvent-washed male wings did not induce such female responses, suggesting that some compounds from male wings serve as triggers. When we examined female responses to compounds applied to solvent-washed male wings, authentic TMP and (E/Z)-phytal alone showed little activity. However, the mixture elicited abdomen-bending responses in one-third of the females. Therefore, TMP and (E/Z)-phytal were found to act synergistically as aphrodisiac sex pheromones for E. mandarina females, although these activities were weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a common pest in stored corn grains [Zea mays (Poaceae)]. Synthetic insecticides are effective to control S. zeamais; however, they can develop resistant insects and are toxic to humans and animals. Compounds with insecticidal potential from plants are alternatives for pest control. This study identified the chemical composition of Cymbopogon flexuosus (Poaceae) essential oil, its insecticidal and repellency activity against S. zeamais. The major chemical constituent found in the essential oil of C. flexuosus was citral (88%). The data showed that the essential oil of C. flexuosus and citral showed better insecticidal and repellent activity than the commercial insecticide Actellic used as positive control. The 100% mortality of S. zeamais was obtained at doses of 50 and 44 µL of essential oil and citral, respectively. The highest repellent activity was obtained with 40 and 50 µL of essential oil and 35.2 and 44 µL of citral, respectively, and the lowest with commercial insecticide Actellic. The lethal dose (LD50) was 18.10 and 18.95 µL for essential oil and citral, respectively. The lethal time was lower at doses of 44 and 50 µL essential oil and citral, respectively, and higher with the commercial insecticide. The insecticidal and repellent action of the essential C. flexuosus and its major compound confirms the potential of producing new biopesticide for the control of S. zeamais in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs in stored grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass clippings have a good biomethane potential and, if acquired from roadside verges, nature management or natural grasslands do not compete for arable land, avoiding the food versus fuel debate. However, before the grass is processed in a wet anaerobic digester, a pretreatment step is advisable to minimize the problems associated with its fibrous nature. In this study, the effects of a semi-industrial extrusion pretreatment on fresh and ensiled grass were investigated through an energetic and economic assessment. Extrusion improved the mixing properties of the grass feedstock and reduced the formation of a floating layer even at a solid concentration of 10% (w/v). This pretreatment also enhanced the biomethane potential of ensiled grass and fresh grass by, respectively, 18 and 11% on a fresh matter basis, while shredding reduced this value by 14% when compared to fresh grass. This was attributed to changes in the volatile solids (VS) content of the treated samples, as all conditions resulted in similar biomethane yields when calculated per ton of VS, ranging from 325.5 to 337.6 Nm3 CH4/ton VS. However, ensiling resulted in a longer lag phase during biogas production attributed to the leaching of readily available sugars from the ruptured plant cells; nevertheless, this is not expected to be significant in a buffered industrial system. The revenue resulting from the extrusion treatment, between €6 and €17 per tonne of FM, compensated the cost of this additional step, indicating that extrusion would be a techno-economically sound process for the anaerobic digestion of grass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyploidization drives the evolution of grasses and can result in epigenetic changes, which may have a role in the creation of new evolutionary lineages and ecological speciation. As such changes may be inherited, they can also influence adaptation to the environment. Populations from different regions and climates may also differ epigenetically; however, this phenomenon is poorly understood. The present study analyzes the effect of climatic stress on global DNA methylation based on a garden collection of two related mountain grasses (the narrow endemic diploid Festuca tatrae and the more widely distributed mixed-ploidy F. amethystina) with different geographic ranges and ecological niches. A lower level of DNA methylation was observed for F. tatrae, while a higher mean level was obtained for the diploid and tetraploid of F. amethystina; with the tetraploids having a higher level of global methylated DNA than the diploids. The weather conditions (especially insolation) measured 24 h prior to sampling appeared to have a closer relationship with global DNA methylation level than those observed seven days before sampling. Our findings suggest that the level of methylation during stress conditions (drought, high temperature and high insolation) may be significantly influenced by the ploidy level and bioclimatic provenance of specimens; however an important role may also be played by the intensity of stress conditions in a given year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]