Progress 06/01/19 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Results from project have been presented at national and international meetings to an audience of researchers, extension and other plant science professionals Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three graduate students were supported and trained on this project. Their research producted 1 MS degree and 1 PhD degree in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences with the third student soon to finish a PhD in Agricultural Economics. The grant also supported several opportunities for students to present their research at national and international professional meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through peer-reviewed papers, workshops, professional meetings and field days. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Determine best management practices for establishing grasslands of native warm-season grasses and wildflowers that create a biodiverse forage system suitable for cattle and pollinators. The three field experiments involved planting NWSG and WF mixtures in different temporal and spatial configurations - e.g., side by side vs mixed together or separated in time where NWSG or WF were planted in difference sequences. Experiments were also done to examine whether the ratio of NWSG to WF in planted mixtures affected establishment. A third experiment evaluated the use of different companion crops such as buckwheat to see if their inclusion in mixtures helped with establishment of NWSG and WFs by suppressing weeds. The most promising results came from the spatiotemporal experiments. Results showed few differences in forage mass, floral production, and botanical composition early on, but by 2023 NWSG abundance was greater where grasses were planted first. Similarly, the WF component was favored when they were planted before NWSGs. Overall, planting NWSG and WF mixes separately, either spatially or temporally, favored more successful establishment and could offer valuable flexibility for use of selective herbicides to suppress the heavy weed pressure that often accompanies these plantings. Major findings from the other experiments suggested that varying the ratio of NWSG-WF in seed mixtures produced similar establishment outcomes, and that adding companion crops to NWSG-WF mixtures did not improve establishment success appreciably. Objective 2: Evaluate whether native grass-wildflower grasslands can improve cattle productivity (i.e., provisioning ecosystem service). A three-year grazing study in Virginia, U.S.A. tested the feasibility of this biodiverse grazing system to improve animal performance and floral resources for pollinators. The experiment consisted of three treatments applied to 1-ha pastures planted to endophyte-infected tall fescue: 1) Biodiverse - 30% of pasture in NWSG and wildflower mixture, 2) Shade - pastures supplemented with artificial shade, and 3) Control - open tall fescue pasture. Shade treatment was included as it may reduce body temperature and improve animal performance. Cattle were continuously stocked in treatments each summer from 2021 to 2023. Average daily gain (ADG) of cattle in the biodiverse treatment was 31-85% greater than other treatments likely because animals had access to NWSG and white clover forage. Midday body temperatures of cattle in the biodiverse treatment also were 0.3-0.5 C lower than controls. Native wildflower establishment was unsuccessful and flower production was limited to white clover (Trifolium repens). Overall, findings from this study suggest that diversifying tall fescue pastures with NWSGs and white clover can lead to consistent improvements of beef cattle performance and may alleviate some heat stress. Objective 3: Evaluate whether native grass-wildflower grasslands can improve pollination ecosystem services (i.e., regulating ecosystem service). To meet this objective, tall fescue pastures at five on-farm sites in Virginia, USA were planted with wildflowers native to North America and paired with five conventional tall fescue pasture sites with no sown wildflowers. Honey bee apiaries were then established at the ten locations and parameters related to hive strength were measured over two years. The main study objectives were to: 1) compare metrics of hive strength between diversified and conventional pastures, 2) determine whether honey bees used native wildflowers sown into diversified pastures as a source of pollen, and 3) explore whether native- sown wildflowers where visited more by honey bees and other pollinators compared with non-native, unsown forbs. Although diversified pastures had more plant species and approximately 4x more blooms than conventional pastures, the additional plant diversity had little effect on hive parameters. Pollen DNA metabarcoding revealed that honey bee diets were similar regardless whether hives were associated with diversified or conventional pastures. Honey bees foraged mostly on various plant species in the surrounding the landscape - especially white clover (Trifolium repens) and less so on native wildflowers. Data from pollinator surveys suggested that sown wildflowers received significantly more visits from native pollinators than the unsown, non-native species. In contrast, honey bees were most commonly found on white clover (Trifolium repens). We hypothesize that pastures diversified with native wildflowers had little impact hive parameters because honey bees preferentially foraged on abundant T. repens blooms that were flowering in midsummer - the same time as many of the sown wildflowers. Native wildflowers may provide valuable food resources for honey bees in fall, but late-flowering species were not abundant in our plantings. Sowing native wildflower mixtures with more late-season wildflowers may benefit both native bees and non-native honey bees. Objective 4: Evaluate the willingness to adopt and profitability of native grass-wildflower grasslands among beef cattle producers in Virginia. We examined whether beef cattle producers would be willing to participate in conservation programs for converting a traditional tall fescue grazing system into native warm-season grass-and-wildflower (NWSG-W) pasture. We also attempted to identify the factors that affect the share of pasture cattle producers are willing to convert to NWSG-W at different cost share payments. A choice experiment survey was implemented between March 2023 and December 2023. Choice experiments include different types of conservation programs. Programs varied by the minimum share of pasture that must be converted, timing of payments, and payment amount ($). Farmers were asked to select their preferred conservation program. Data were collected using online and paper surveys. For the online survey, participants were recruited through extension agents and farmers' organizations. Given the challenges of recruiting cattle producers online and the desire to increase the sample size, we used two additional recruitment strategies, both of which were for the paper questionnaires. A total of 188 surveys were completed and the results analyzed. We found that the minimum amount respondents are willing to accept to convert 10% of current pasture to NWSG-W pasture is about $101/acre. To convert 30% of tall fescue pastureland to NWSG-W, a typical beef cattle producer would require a minimum cost-share payment of about $150/acre. A negative relationship was found between age and the number of acres that beef producers are willing to convert to NWSG-W pasture. Lastly, we found a positive relationship between the number of cattle a farmer owned, and farmer's willingness to convert part of their pasture to NWSG-W.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kubesch, J. (2023). Evaluating native warm-season grass and wildflower mixtures for beef cattle production in the Mid-Atlantic. School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Virginia Tech. PhD Dissertation: 253 pp.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Larcom, R. (2023). Honey Bee Colony Resource Acquisition, Population Growth, and Pollen Foraging in Diversified Native Grass-Wildflower Grazing System. School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech. MS Thesis: 119 pp.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Kubesch, J. O. C., et al. (2024). "Evaluating Different Methods to Establish Biodiverse Swards of Native Grasses and Wildflowers for Pasturelands." Agronomy 14(5): 1041.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Kubesch, J. O. C., et al. (2024) Diversifying tall fescue (Schredonorus arundinaceaus) pastures with native warm-season grasses leads to consistent improvements in beef cattle performance. Translational Animal Science (submitted)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Larcom, R., P. Kietzman, M.ORourke and B.Tracy. 202X.Do pastures diversified with native wildflowers benefit honey bees (Apis mellifera)? Frontiers in Bee Science (submitted)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kietzman, P.M., O'Rourke, M., and Tracy, B.F. 2023. Diversified pastures offer rehabilitated habitat to native pollinators. Annual Meeting, Entomological Society of America, National Harbor, MD.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kubesch, J., & Tracy, B. F. (2023) Spatial or Temporal Separations of Native Grass and Wildflower Result in Variable Establishment and Agronomic Performance in Agricultural Sites. [Abstract]. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kubesch, J., S. Greiner, G. Pent, L. Reid, B. Tracy 2023. Biodiverse Forage Mixtures for Bees and Beef Cattle-- Proceedings XXV International Grassland Congress, May 14-19, 2023, Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky USA p. 1213-1218.
|
Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Results from project have been presented at national and international meeting to an audience of researchers, extension and other plant science professionals Changes/Problems:No major problems. Survey dessemination to Virginia beef producers wasa delayed until this year necessitating a no cost extension to 2024. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through presentations and posters are scientific meetings What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Related to objectives 1 and 2, - one more season of data collection (2023) is planned. Results from surveys related to objecitve 4 will be analyzed over fall 2023.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Determine best management practices for establishing grasslands of native warm-season grasses and wildflowers that create a biodiverse forage system suitable for cattle and pollinators. Small plot field experiments supporting Objective 1 are coming to a close. Preliminary results suggest little benefit to establishment success when native grasses and wildflowers are planted separately - either spatially or temporally. Objective 2: Evaluate whether native grass-wildflower grasslands can improve cattle productivity (i.e., provisioning ecosystem service). Preliminary results show improved cattle performance when native grass-wildflower stands are integrated into tall fescue pasturelands Objective 3: Evaluate whether native grass-wildflower grasslands can improve pollination ecosystem services (i.e., regulating ecosystem service). Results from on-farm trials sugest that native grass-widlflower grasslands attract more native pollinators than tall fescue-dominated grasslands. Diversified grasslands, however, did not significantly improve honey bee production or colony health likely becuase the introduced bees preferred to forage on non-native herbaceous plants and shrubs. Objective 4: Evaluate the willingness to adopt and profitability of native grass-wildflower grasslands among beef cattle producers in Virginia. Surveys have been desseminated to over 100 beef producers across Virginia. Results are expected this fall 2023.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Larcom, R. 2023. Honey Bee Colony Resource Acquisition, Population Growth, and Pollen Foraging in Diversified Native Grass-Wildflower Grazing System. MS Thesis: Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences.
|