Influence of rangeland protection and seasonal grazing on aboveground vegetation,forage quality and weight gain of small ruminants–a study in Thar Desert,Pakistan

The Thar Desert,Sindh,Pakistan is characterized by low productivity.Besides,economy is based on agriculture,livestock and mining,nevertheless,livestock graze freely on public and private land.The aim of this research was to determine biomass production and to evaluate the effects of continuous and seasonal grazing on protected and unprotected plots.A 45 ha protected rangeland area of Hurrabad in the Umerkot Thar desert was selected and divided into three blocks of 15 ha each.Blocks of the same size were also established in unprotected area.The data for vegetation biomass,canopy cover,forage nutrients and weight gain of animals in two seasons(spring and summer)was collected from both protected and unprotected sites.The results showed that biomass significantly increased in summer in both sites.However,the biomass values in protected sites were significantly higher.Similarly,the vegetation cover also seemed to increase in summer in both protected(90.7%±0.29%)and unprotected sites(39.2%±0.09%).The foliar concentrations of all nutrients varied significantly with season.The average final live-weight gain for does on the protected grazing sites during the 42-day period in spring and the 96 days after the monsoon was almost double that of does grazing on the unprotected site during 2016 and 2017(P<0.05).The study concludes that the protection of grazing lands during certain periods can lead to better production of vegetation and livestock and improve range conditions.

Exploring Patent Effects on Higher Stock Price and Stock Return Rate-A Study in China Stock Market

Based on the valid patent data and stock price data of China A-shares,the patent effects of four patent species including the invention publication,the invention grant,the utility model grant,and the design grant,on the stock price and the stock return rate were analyzed via analysis of variance(ANOVA).It was proved that the A-shares having new patents of any patent species shown the higher stock price mean and the higher stock return rate mean than those A-shares having no new patents did.The A-shares having new design grants were found to show the highest stock price mean among the A-shares having new patents of any patent species.The A-shares in the group of top 25%patent count of either the invention publication or the invention grant shown the highest stock return rates mean than those A-shares in other groups of less patent count did.The invention grant,following the general concept,showed its excellent patent effect.The design grant,beyond the expectation,also showed patent effects on the higher stock price and the higher stock return rate.The finding would improve the state of the art in the patent valuation and the listing company evaluation.

Exploring the Relationship Between Patent Forward Citation and Stock Return Rate Using Empirical Data of China Stock Market

A novel indicator called price-citation was proposed.Based on the company integrated patent database of China listed companies of common stocks(A-shares)with the stock price and the stock return rate data,more than two thousand of A-shares from 2017 to 2020 were selected.The effect of the traditional patent forward citation and the price-citation for discriminating the stock return rate was thoroughly analyzed via ANOVA.The A-shares of forward citation counts above the average showed higher stock return rate means than the A-shares having patents but receiving no forward citations.The price-citation,combining both the financial and patent attributes,defined as the multiplication of the current stock price and the currently receiving forward citation count,showed its excellence in discriminating the stock return rate.The A-shares of higher price-citation showed significantly higher stock return rate means while the A-shares of lower price-citation showed significantly lowest stock return rate means.The price-citation effect had not been changed by COVID-19 though COVID-19 affected the social and economic environment to a considerable extent in 2020.

Soil organic carbon stocks and belowground biomass in patches in heterogeneous grassland

Background:Selective grazing creates stable patches of contrasting sward height,thereby providing different growth conditions for the grass sward above and below ground and potentially affecting soil organic carbon(SOC)stocks.We hypothesized that the presence of patches leads to greater spatial variability in belowground biomass(BGB)and SOC stocks than occurs between pastures managed under different stocking intensities.Methods:A long-term grazing experiment consisting of three stocking intensities was used for this study.We studied BGB,SOC,and soil total nitrogen(Ntot)stocks in the 0-15 cm soil depth.Shannon diversity of plant species,soil bulk density,soil phosphorus,potassium,and magnesium contents were considered.Results:There were no significant effects of patch or stocking intensity on BGB,SOC,and Ntot stocks.Short patches had a greater Shannon diversity than tall patches(p<0.05)and plant-available nutrients in soil correlated positively with sward height(p<0.05).Conclusions:We conclude from the current results and previous studies that higher plant species diversity with lower soil nutrient contents in short-patch areas and higher nutrient contents together with light competition in tall-patch areas might balance each other out with respect to BGB and SOC stocks.

Sustainable management of Chinese grasslands—issues and knowledge

China has almost 400 Mhm^2 of grasslands,90% of which is considered degraded to varying degrees,on which 16 million herders depend for their livelihoods and many more indirectly, along the value-adding chain.Since 1950, average stocking rates across China have increased 4-fold. National policies have focused over recent decades on finding ways to rehabilitate the degraded grasslands, to sustain livestock production from them, and to improve the livelihoods of herder households, who are among the poorest people in China. A large collaborative program commenced in the early 2000 s to help find solutions to the sustainable management of grasslands.This paper summarizes key findings of many research projects, identifies where knowledge is weak and argues that the successful rehabilitation of grasslands will also require policies that provide incentives and support for herders as they move from a focus on survival to a focus on production of higher quality products, for which consumers are increasingly willing to pay. A key focus is to emphasize the improvement of animal production per head. When this is done, it naturally leads to lower stocking rates, which in turn provides the opportunities for grasslands to recover. Across a range of experiments, farm demonstrations and analyses using models, in Inner Mongolia and Gansu, a consistent result has been that a 50% reduction in stocking rates, improves net household income and starts the process of grassland rehabilitation.Rather than focusing on stocking rates, better management of grasslands could be achieved by maintaining the grasslands above critical values for herbage mass, values that help optimize botanical composition, reduce soil erosion, optimize animal growth rates and aid ecosystem functions. Managing to critical values for herbage mass is likely to be more effective than efforts to calculate sustainable stocking rates. An early summer rest is valuable for aiding grassland rehabilitation and summer productivity, but a total grazing ban(typically for 5 years)may not achieve its aims as evidence shows it may take 10–15 years to achieve a better grassland state. Lessdesirable plant species often increase in degraded grasslands that are rested and grazing can help manage those species. Surveys of herders indicate they have very mixed views on the benefits of total grazing bans that are unlikely to rehabilitate grasslands to an ideal botanical composition.The current objective is to work with grasslands that herders now have and optimize the existing composition.Grazing grasslands in winter results primarily in weight loss by animals and there is now evidence of how winter grazing reduces grassland growth in the next summer. It is better to keep animals in well-built sheds and feed them better, improved feeding through the cold months is required. In addition to the application of results from national programs designed to improve grasslands, it will be important to train herders as they move from survival to production, to foster the development of better markets for their livestock products, to devise better financial support for herder businesses and to revise land tenure arrangements so that herders can expand the area of land they graze on better terms than apply at present.