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The effects of plant-soil-animal interactions on nutrient cycling in grazed grasslands

Code: 9781835453346
Publication date: 27/06/2025
Extent: 38 pages

Contributions by: Lynn E. Sollenberger, University of Florida, USA; Marta M. Kohmann, University of Wisconsin- Madison, USA; K. Roger Trumpp and Jose C.B. Dubeux, Jr, University of Florida, USA

Chapter synopsis:

Interactions among plants, soils, and animals in grazed grasslands affect ecosystem functions, including nutrient cycling. Focusing on grazed grasslands in temperate environments, this chapter describes nutrient pools and fluxes, grassland management practices that enhance nutrient cycling efficiency, and soil fauna and nitrification inhibitor effects on nutrient cycling. Nutrient cycling efficiency is enhanced by grassland management that sustains pasture cover, reduces heterogeneity of dung and urine deposition, and increases legume adoption as an alternative to N fertilizer. Efficiency is also increased through presence of earthworms, dung beetles, and beneficial microbial communities, while the use of chemical and biological nitrification inhibitors shows increasing promise for reducing nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions.



DOI: 10.19103/AS.2025.0154.10

Open Access

This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY).

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Table of contents
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Nutrient pools and fluxes in grazed pastures
  • 3 Excreta deposition and nutrient return in grazedpastures
  • 4 Mitigating nitrous oxide emissions: nitrificationinhibitors
  • 5 Litter deposition and decomposition in grazedpastures
  • 6 Efficiency of nutrient cycling in grazed pastures
  • 7 Role of soil fauna and microbial communities inpasture-nutrient cycling
  • 8 The role of nutrient cycling in the sustainability ofgrazed grasslands
  • 9 Use of nutrient budgets to guide managementof grazing systems: the case of nitrogen andphosphorus
  • 10 Case study: nitrogen cycling in nitrogen-fertilizedgrass and grasslegume pastures
  • 11 Conclusion and future trends
  • 12 Where to look for further information
  • 13 References

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