Ana Elena de Villalobos^1,2,*, María Andrea Long^1,2

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.8, pp. 2037-2050, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.053928 - 30 August 2024

Abstract Livestock grazing has a significant impact on natural grasslands, with approximately one-third of the world’s land area dedicated to this industry. Around 20% of global grasslands are highly degraded due to overgrazing, affecting their productivity and conservation capacity. Best practices are required to ensure sustainable livestock production that supports biodiversity. The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH) suggests that environments with moderate levels of disturbance exhibit a higher species diversity. Moderate grazing can reduce the dominance of certain species, thereby enhancing plant diversity. However, concerns arise regarding the increase of exotic and unpalatable species under moderate grazing… More >

Delfina Arancio Sidoti^1,2, Juan Manuel Zeberio^1,3,*, Guadalupe Peter^1,2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.8, pp. 2115-2125, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.053483 - 30 August 2024

Abstract Argentina is the country with the highest proportion of arid and semi-arid ecosystems in Latin America. In the rangelands of Southwestern Buenos Aires (Patagones Department), there is a clear advancement of the agricultural frontier to the detriment of the native forest in this region. Due to rainfall variation and seed acquisition, Thinopyrum ponticum is cultivated as a forage perennial crop in this region. Our objective was to evaluate the performance of T. ponticum as a facilitating crop for the medium-term rehabilitation of natural grasslands in semi-arid areas. The working hypotheses were that: 1) native perennial grass cover… More >

Carla Etel Suárez^1,*, María Sol Rossini^1,3, Ernesto Francisco Atilio Morici¹, Héctor Daniel Esterlich^1,2

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.8, pp. 2063-2074, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.053193 - 30 August 2024

Abstract The semiarid grasslands of Argentina’s central region have been modified by domestic livestock grazing, both in their composition and structure. The increase in the proportion of woody and non-forage species and the decrease in forage species are some of the most evident results of this process. There is limited available information about the effect of differential grazing pressures on morphometric attributes of native species, and it also depends on the life histories of the species in this grassland. The objective of this work was to evaluate some morphometric aspects in the grasses Poa ligularis Nees ex… More >

Claudia A. Porcelli¹, Gerardo Rubio², Flavio H. Gutiérrez Boem², Raul S. Lavado^2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.8, pp. 2009-2018, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.052874 - 30 August 2024

Abstract The effects of the salt stress on plant growth are usually increased by the water stress. We studied the impact of both stresses in simultaneous pulses of drought and salinity on Paspalum dilatatum. This forage species is native to South America, spread in grasslands in many tropical, subtropical, and temperate areas of the world, and very common in grasslands of the Flooding Pampas of Argentina. Mimicking what happens in nature. We compared a pot experiment, a non-stressed control against water stress for a month (midpoint between field capacity and wilting point), and two saline stresses (moderate,… More >

Lijun Zhang, Ying Liu^*, Yushou Ma^*, Xinyou Wang

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.8, pp. 1913-1941, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.052621 - 30 August 2024

Abstract Perennial grasses have developed intricate mechanisms to adapt to diverse environments, enabling their resistance to various biotic and abiotic stressors. These mechanisms arise from strong natural selection that contributes to enhancing the adaptation of forage plants to various stress conditions. Methods such as antisense RNA technology, CRISPR/Cas9 screening, virus-induced gene silencing, and transgenic technology, are commonly utilized for investigating the stress response functionalities of grass genes in both warm-season and cool-season varieties. This review focuses on the functional identification of stress-resistance genes and regulatory elements in grasses. It synthesizes recent studies on mining functional genes, regulatory More >

Md. Mosiur Rahman^1,2, Md. Ruhul Quddus³, Quanle Xu⁴, Muhammad Malek Hossain², Rong Liu¹, Mengwei Li¹, Xin Yan¹, Guan Li¹, Yishan Ji¹, Chenyu Wang¹, Ashutosh Sarker⁵, Tao Yang¹, Xuxiao Zong¹, Md. Monoar Hossain⁶, Saleh Alfarraj⁷, Mohammad Javed Ansari⁸, Sagar Maitra^9,*, Akbar Hossain^10,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.8, pp. 1781-1804, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.048992 - 30 August 2024

Abstract Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is an imperative food crop cultured in dryland agricultural ecology. It is a vital source of dietary protein to millions of populaces living in low-income countries in South-East Asia and Africa. This study highlights the improvement of genomic properties and their application in marker-trait relationships for 17 yield-related characters in 400 grass pea genotypes from China and Bangladesh. These characters were assessed via 56 polymorphic markers using general linear model (GLM) (P+G+Q) and mixed linear model (MLM) (P+G+Q+K) in the tassel software based on the linkage disequilibrium and population structure analysis.… More >

Yi Tang¹, Yajun Zhao², Zihan Jin³, Shengnan Wu^1,*, Zhijun Zhang⁴, Ju Zhou¹, Ling Zhou⁵

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, Vol.26, No.7, pp. 559-568, 2024, DOI:10.32604/ijmhp.2024.050822 - 30 July 2024

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the relationship between mental health literacy (MHL) and workplace well-being (WWB) of Chinese grassroots civil servants, with regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE) and resilience as mediating variables. A questionnaire survey was conducted among Chinese grassroots civil servants, with a valid sample size of 2673 after excluding missing values and conducting relevant data processing. The PROCESS was used to examine the relationship between MHL, RESE, resilience, and WWB. The study found that MHL among grassroots civil servants was positively and significantly correlated with WWB (r = 0.73, p < 0.01). RESE partially mediated… More >

Yi Xi, Li Zhang, Yanhong Xu, Wei Cheng, Chao Chen^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.7, pp. 1749-1765, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.051793 - 30 July 2024

Abstract In artificially controlled pot experiments, perennial ryegrass was mixed with other leguminous plants (white clover and alfalfa) and treated with lead, zinc and cadmium (337 mg·kg, 648 mg·kg, and 9 mg·kg, respectively) to simulate compound pollution conditions. The results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals, transport factors, and bioconcentration factors in mixed planting of ryegrass decreased compared with those in monoculture. Regardless of whether heavy metal pollution was introduced, mixed planting increased the aboveground and underground biomasses of ryegrass. The different mixed planting treatments had no significant impact on the chlorophyll concentration of ryegrass.… More >

Elizabeth J. Jacobo^1,#,*, Adriana M. Rodríguez^2,#

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.6, pp. 1179-1202, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.050928 - 27 June 2024

Abstract The Flooding Pampa grasslands are the last remnant of the Rio de la Plata grasslands in Argentina. Anthropogenic interventions have led to severe degradation and, as a result, the ecosystem services provided by the grasslands are declining, in terms of provisioning, regulating, and supporting services. We synthesized the existing literature on the ecosystem goods and services provided by these grasslands under grazing in different conditions and conservation status. We found that plant and animal diversity and primary production are the most studied ecosystem services, while climate regulation, water supply, nutrient cycling, meat production and erosion… More >

Quiroga Mendiola Mariana^1,2,*, Tálamo Andrés^3,4

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.5, pp. 1067-1080, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.050556 - 28 May 2024

Abstract The Puna grasslands support grazing systems that produce meat and wool in multi-species herds, especially from llama (Lama glama) and sheep. However, it is yet unknown whether grazing pressure can modify grassland structure and Plant Functional Types diversity and cover in Puna grasslands. We analyzed the relationship between grazing pressure and Plant Functional Types by comparing transects located near stockyards (high grazing pressure) and far from them (low pressure) and by evaluating the relationship between the Plant Functional Types cover to a Grazing Pressure Index (GPI). This index incorporates the heterogeneity of traditional pastoral management. At… More >