Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) - MSc (Biodiv and Cons Biol) / Small ruminants found in pastoral dryland systems face many challenges regarding constant environmental and climate changes. These variable environments are home to many pastoralists who use the natural resources to sustain their livestock. Due to the prevailing environmental changes, these pastoralists require various adaptation strategies for the survival of their small ruminants. Adaptation is vital for all pastoralists globally, especially those living in semi-arid to arid regions as these areas are badly impacted by climate change. Farming with small ruminants that are able to constantly adapt to variable environments are a long-term and low cost resource strategy for farmers in these areas. Drought is a recurring challenge that farmers in dryland systems have to cope with and small ruminants are forced to adapt to food and water available to them as drought affects their survival, reproduction and production. This is because drought affects the environment directly as rainfall has an impact on all forage and water resources found in drylands. Thus available forage and the utilisation of this resource by small ruminants is essential for sheep and goat farmers who depend on these animals for their livelihoods. This thesis sets out to establish sheep and goat breeds found in a dryland pastoral system in South Africa focussing on their genetic differences and their diet selection during a drought period. The study was carried out in the 582 634 ha Steinkopf communal area located in the semi-arid to arid region of Namaqualand in South Africa. The dominant land use in this area is livestock farming where farmers utilise two biomes for grazing. Using mitochondrial DNA, genetic differences were investigated in small ruminants found in Steinkopf. The small ruminants that were studied were the Boer goats, Swakara sheep (Karakul) and cross-bred sheep. These were the most commonly farmed small ruminants in this area. Genetic differences and diversity found within the small ruminants in this area supports their ability to adapt to drought and changing environments. Diet selection of these small ruminants were assessed using direct forage observation during this drought period in both the Succulent and Nama Karoo biomes. Findings of the study indicate that small ruminants during a drought period will largely forage on what is available to them. Boer goats changed their diets from browser to grazers in the different biomes while sheep remained grazers in both biomes. This suggests that these animals are well adapted to changing forage availability and will adjust their feeding behaviours accordingly. Succulent plant species were utilised by all small ruminants and this can be regarded as new knowledge for small ruminants in dryland systems. Succulent species play a role in the diets of small ruminants in the Steinkopf rangeland and these animals have adapted traits that allow them to eat plants that contain high levels of phenolics and tannins, which show their high adaptability to this area. This study also revealed that indigenous and locally bred sheep in this area are crucial resources for livestock farming in this area. Swakara sheep in this area showed a low level of genetic variation while cross-bred sheep and the Boer goat had significant variation. With a long tradition of breeding small ruminants in the Steinkopf communal area that suit changing conditions, livestock keepers have accumulated detailed knowledge of their animals. Recommendations from this study were to do further studies regarding genetic variation within the cross-bred sheep as this information will be useful for breeding programs in dryland areas and it will add to the small ruminant genetics in South Africa. Because this study was conducted in a drought period, I recommend that diet selection should be observed during a regular wet and dry period as this would indicate how these animals adapt to what forage is available to them. These studies can act as management strategies for herders as it can provide information on how to use the natural resources sustainably.

Analisando a entrada significativa de turistas nas fazendas de criação extensiva de gado bovino no Pantanal de Aquidauana/MS, na tentativa de conhecer melhor o espaço, nos últimos anos, foram realizadas entrevistas com pantaneiros/as, sempre observados no seu dia-a-dia. Procurou-se verificar então, através de literatura específica e da observação do comportamento sócio-ambiental dos atores locais, se houve alguma influência e/ou alteração deste comportamento em relação às informações externas chegadas através dos turistas, por meio desta recente atividade iniciada na fazenda. Após diversas visitas à região de Aquidauana, no Mato Grosso do Sul, para estudos científicos, procurou-se identificar possíveis mudanças que pudessem ter ocorrido a partir do início da década de 1990, em relação à interferência na cultura tradicional dos pantaneiros da região fazendeiros, peões, as mulheres destes, suas famílias - em virtude de, nesta época, o turismo ecológico ter começado a entrar com mais força na região, pois, até então, apenas o chamado turismo de pesca era praticado. Também neste mesmo período um marketing maciço direcionado para o turismo no Pantanal teve início, devido à grande projeção que obteve a novela Pantanal, exibida pela extinta Rede Manchete. Desde então, tradicionais fazendas de criação extensiva de gado começaram a receber turistas tanto do Brasil como também do exterior. O turismo ecológico começa a entrar com força na região. / Analyzing the significant entry of tourists in the farms involved in cattle raising in Pantanal de Aquidauana/MS, in order to know the space better, in the last few years, interviews have been made with the pantaneiros/as, always focused on the day by day. Then attempts to verify, through the specific literature and the observation of the natives socio-environmental behavior, if had suffered some influence or alteration of this behavior regarding external information, which came with the tourists, through this recent activity that has begun on the farm. After several visits to Aquidauanas region, Mato Grosso do Sul, to scientific studies, sought to identify possible changes that might have occurred since the beginning of the 1990s, in relation to the interference of the pantaneiros traditional culture farmers, pawns, their wives, their families since at this time, the eco tourism had started to come stronger in the region, because, until then, only the fishing tourism was practiced. Also in the same period, a mass marketing directed to Pantanals tourism had begun, because of the huge projection that achieved with the soap opera, Pantanal, showed by the extinct Rede Manchete. Since then, traditional farms involved in cattle raising had begun to welcome tourists both in Brazil and abroad. The eco tourism begin to come powerfull in the region.

Quando a cidade de Corumbá foi fundada no século XVIII demorou muito tempo para encontrar sua vocação econômica. Assim, dentro das referências revisadas para a elaboração deste trabalho desta tese, não houve constatação de uma vocação econômica específica que tenha relevância pelo menos até os 50 primeiros anos do século XIX, só a partir daí, é que a economia corumbaense teve um rumo, quando prevalece o comércio para a extração de excedente e na qual existe uma articulação devido à navegação e a comunicação com os portos principais da Bacia do Prata. Fato diferente ao acontecido com a cidade logo após o conflito bélico. A delimitação temporal estabelecida para este projeto de pesquisa obedece a alguns critérios adotados para sua definição. A delimitação inicial do período, 1870, se justifica em razão do fim da guerra da Tríplice Aliança, evento este que teve uma relevância marcante para esta região do Brasil, porque foi ocupada pelas tropas paraguaias deixando um rastro de destruição e desolação por toda Corumbá, isso ocorreu justamente no momento em que a cidade estava definindo a sua vocação econômica. Já a escolha do ano de 1914 se deve a alguns fatos como a chegada ao Pantanal a estrada de ferro Noroeste do Brasil, que à época se estendia até as margens do Rio Paraguai, a 70 quilômetros de Corumbá. O clima pantaneiro favorece uma adaptação à atividade pecuária, assim a introdução do gado no início do século XVIII, a atividade pecuária encontrou no sul de Mato Grosso as condições climáticas e ecológicas propícias à sua reprodução e proporcionou a fixação da população em torno das grandes fazendas de criação. Desta maneira, a grande parte riqueza desta parte do Mato Grosso foi o gado, base de sua economia no início do povoamento e também foi o fator de articulação da economia incipiente no Pantanal em Corumbá, quando a atividade agrícola ainda era restrita à zona litoral do país. Esta articulação consiste na ligação com outros setores econômicos. Desta forma, o setor primário consiste na própria exploração da atividade pecuária. No setor secundário estavam as charqueadas que, apesar de não apresentarem uma transformação completa da matéria-prima em outro produto, propiciam agregação de valor à carne. E no setor terciário, a distribuição dos produtos que se daria, num primeiro momento, pela via fluvial e mais adiante, pela ferroviária nos principais centros consumidores. Outros produtos passaram pelo porto corumbaense, mas o mais importante foi borracha, ambos comercializados tanto visando o mercado externo, assim como a importação de produtos para toda a região do Mato Grosso. / When the city of Corumba was founded in the 18th century, it took a long time for finding its economic vocation. Thus, among the references herein revised, we found no evidence of a specific and relevant vocation at least until the first 50 years of the 19th century. From that moment on, the corumbaense economy took a direction towards the commerce of the extractions, articulated by the navigation growth and the communication among the main harbors of the Prata river basin, what differs from what happened to the city right after the war. The temporal limits herein established followed some criteria and the starting point of 1870 was chosen for marking the end of the War of Triple Alliance, whose event was strongly relevant for this Brazilian region because the troops occupation of the territories brought together a trail of destruction and desolation all over Corumba city, what happened when the economic vocation was being chosen. The year of 1914 closed the period of research. It coincided with the arrival of the railroad Noroeste do Brasil [Northeast of Brazil], which, at that time, reached the margins of Paraguay river, 70 km away from Corumba. The pantanalian climate favored the adaptation of livestock activity, which dated the beginning of the 18th century, especially in south of the Mato Grosso state, whose climate and ecologic conditions were propitious to reproduction, proportioning the formation of a new villages around the big livestock farms. Thus, the great wealth of this part of the state was based on livestock, which was the basis of the economy during the population settlement and were the main economic factor of the in both Pantanal and Corumba regions in a period which the agriculture was still restricted to the coastal areas of Brazil,whose articulation was bonded to other economic sectors. Thus, the primary sector consisted on the livestock itself. The secondary sector was formed by the charqueadas [area destined to jerk beef maturation] which, although showed no modification on the raw materials, added financial value to the meat. The tertiary sector was the distribution of the products to consume centers, firstly done by waterways and later by railways. Other products were commercialized on corumbaense harbor the most important one was the rubber and their destination were both the foreign market and the importation around Mato Grosso state.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Orientador: Ricardo Velludo Gomes de Soutello Soutello / Resumo: Foi avaliada a influência do sombreamento em sistema silvipastoril em relação ao grau de parasitismo por endoparasitas e ectoparasitas em novilhas Angus Nelore, analisando o grau de infecção por helmintos nos animais e quantificação de larvas na pastagem, o grau de infestação por carrapatos e mosca-dos-chifres, parâmetros hematológicos e o ganho de peso destes animais. O experimento foi conduzido na Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA) de Andradina, com 72 novilhas ½ Angus ½ Nelore, com peso médio inicial de 276 ± 5,67 kg e 09 meses de idade, em uma área total de 25 hectares, dividida em 12 piquetes, com três tratamentos e quatro repetições. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, sendo o tratamento 1, sistema de pastejo convencional sem sombra e os tratamentos 2 e 3 com linhas simples e linhas triplas de eucalipto, respectivamente. As novilhas receberam tratamento antiparasitário somente dois meses antes do início do experimento. As avaliações foram realizadas a cada 28 dias, de junho de 2017 a abril de 2018. Os dados foram coletados por meio da pesagem dos animais, coletas de fezes para exames quantitativos e qualitativos de helmintos gastrintestinais, coleta de sangue para hemograma, contagens de larvas infectantes de helmintos na pastagem, de mosca dos chifres e de carrapatos nos animais. Os dados climáticos foram gerados pela estação meteorológica localizada próxima a área experimental. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos a análise de vari... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The influence of shading in silvopastoral system in relation to the degree of parasitism by endoparasites and ectoparasites in Angus Nellore heifers was evaluated, analyzing the degree of infection by helminths in the animals and quantification of larvae in the pasture, the degree of infestation by ticks and horn fly, hematological parameters and the gain of weight of these animals. The experiment was carried out at the Paulista Agency of Agribusiness Technology (APTA) of Andradina, with 72 heifers ½ Angus ½ Nelore, with a mean initial weight of 276 ± 5.67 kg and 9 months of age, in a total area of 25 hectares, divided into 12 pickets, with three treatments and four replicates. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with treatment 1, conventional shade grazing system and treatments 2 and 3 with single lines and triple eucalyptus lines, respectively. Heifers received antiparasitic treatment only two months before the start of the experiment. The evaluations were performed every 28 days, from June 2017 to April 2018. Data were collected by weighing the animals, stool samples for quantitative and qualitative examinations of gastrointestinal helminths, blood collection for blood counts, larval counts infecting helminths in grazing, fly horns and ticks in animals. The climatic data were generated by the meteorological station located near the experimental area. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and Tukey test at the significance level of 5% of probability and... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

A pecuária é um setor do agronegócio que vêm se destacando na economia nacional. Com a intenção de amparar esta importante cadeia produtiva, a atuação dos serviços de fomento e defesa sanitária animal tornam-se cada vez mais necessárias. A compreensão integral do espaço sobre o qual estes serviços exercem sua influência, tornaria mais efetiva as estratégias de atuação frente aos problemas enfrentados. Em 2001, o Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento realizou um estudo soroepidemiológico visando conhecer a situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina em 14 Unidades Federativas. O trabalho incluiu um questionário epidemiológico aplicado na intenção de avaliar os possíveis fatores de risco para a doença nos rebanhos. O mesmo possibilitou a realização de uma análise descritiva da pecuária em diversas regiões. Os resultados demonstraram que a cadeia produtiva no país é altamente heterogênea, revelando diferenças significativas mesmo dentro dos Estados. De maneira geral, as frequências encontradas a respeito de investimento em tecnologia, intensificação dos manejos, utilização da inseminação artificial, utilização de raças especializadas, e participação de assistência veterinária, demonstrou-se crescente à medida que se avança em direção às Unidades Federativas da região Sul. A comercialização de reprodutores demonstrou-se intensa e realizada diretamente entre as propriedades. O comércio informal do leite e da carne bovina ainda corresponde por uma parcela significativa do mercado. Tendo em vista a escassez de projetos com este foco, reflete-se a respeito da necessidade de outros projetos deste tipo, considerando que os cenários em que as criações estão inseridas, deveriam ser tomados como ponto de partida na elaboração de estratégias de atuação frente aos problemas encontrados no setor. / Livestock is an agribusiness sector highlighted in the current national economy. With the intention of supporting this important activity, the performance of animal health promotion and defense services become increasingly necessary. With a full understanding of the environment on which these services exert its influence, strategies actions to minimize the problems faced become more effective. In 2001, the Ministry of Livestock Agriculture conducted a seroepidemiological study aiming to explore the epidemiological situation of bovine brucellosis in 14 Federal Units. The study included an epidemiological questionnaire which objective was to assess the possible risk factors for disease in livestock. It also allowed the development of a descriptive analysis of livestock breeding and raising in various regions. The results showed that the productive chain in Brazil is highly heterogeneous, revealing significant differences even within the same state. In general, frequencies of investment in technology, management practices, use of artificial insemination, use of specialized breeds, and veterinary care, increases as one moves toward the Federal Units located in the South of Brazil. The sale of breeding proved to be intense and conducted directly between the properties. The informal trade of milk and beef still accounts for a significant portion of the market. Given the lack of projects with this focus, the need for other projects of this type appears to be relevant when one considers that the scenarios in which the creations are found should be the starting point to develop strategies to act face the problems found in the industry.

Submitted by Cátia Araújo (catia.araujo@unipampa.edu.br) on 2017-01-25T12:07:05Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Análise da secagem de Azevém (Lolium multiflorum) em leito fixo com escoamento de ar.pdf: 1759730 bytes, checksum: c7b966ec881ab3aa3f2074dfd2e095f2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Cátia Araújo (catia.araujo@unipampa.edu.br) on 2017-01-25T12:07:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Análise da secagem de Azevém (Lolium multiflorum) em leito fixo com escoamento de ar.pdf: 1759730 bytes, checksum: c7b966ec881ab3aa3f2074dfd2e095f2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-25T12:07:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Análise da secagem de Azevém (Lolium multiflorum) em leito fixo com escoamento de ar.pdf: 1759730 bytes, checksum: c7b966ec881ab3aa3f2074dfd2e095f2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-09 / No Rio Grande de Sul a pecuária é uma das principais e tradicionais atividades econômicas com a produção alicerçada no campo nativo. Porém, nas estações frias ocorre a necessidade da implementação de pastagens para suprir o vazio forrageiro, pois o campo nativo é composto predominantemente de gramíneas de verão. O azevém (Lolium multiforum) é a gramínea mais utilizada no sul do Brasil, devido à facilidade e ao baixo custo de implementação. Entretanto, esta forrageira possui problemas quanto à qualidade das sementes no que se refere à baixa taxa de germinação e ao vigor. Isso ocorre em função de apresentar um processo natural de debulha, resultando em uma colheita de sementes com alto grau de umidade. Uma forma de minimizar os problemas encontrados na qualidade destas sementes é a aplicação de tecnologias adequadas no seu beneficiamento. Dentre as etapas envolvidas no beneficiamento das sementes a secagem é tida como processo fundamental. A secagem é caracterizada pela transferência de calor e de massa, permitindo a redução do teor de água em níveis adequados, possibilitando assim, a preservação da qualidade fisiológica do produto. Neste contexto, foram estudadas as condições de secagem do azevém em secador de leito fixo com escoamento de ar paralelo visando obter melhor qualidade nas sementes. O estudo foi dividido em quatro etapas. A primeira etapa consistiu na caracterização física e fisiológica das sementes, onde foram obtidos os valores de densidade real, densidade bulk, diâmetro médio das partículas, esfericidade, porosidade do leito estático e índices de germinação. Na segunda etapa foi o estudo da reumidificação das sementes visando colocar sementes adquiridas no mercado local em condições de umidade semelhantes as encontradas em sementes recém colhidas e limpas. A terceira etapa baseou-se no estudo das isotermas de dessorção das sementes reumidificadas para a determinação da umidade de equilíbrio. Este estudo foi feito para a temperatura de 40 °C utilizando-se o método estático para o qual foram utilizadas soluções ácidas em diversas concentrações. Por fim, na quarta e última etapa, foi desenvolvido o estudo da secagem das sementes reumidificadas em um secador de leito fixo com escoamento de ar paralelo operando na temperatura de 40 °C e sob condições de altura da bandeja de 0,50, 0,75 e 1,0 cm, de velocidade do ar de 1,0, 1,5 e 2,0 m/s e de tempo de secagem de 2,0, 2,5 e 3 h. Os dados obtidos nas secagens foram analisados através de um planejamento experimental fatorial completo 23 com duplicata no ponto central, tendo como respostas o índice de umidade final e o índice de germinação. Também determinaram-se os valores da difusividade efetiva de cada ensaio de secagem. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que as condições de secagem aplicadas nas sementes podem influenciar significativamente sua umidade final, sua qualidade fisiológica e os valores da difusividade efetiva do processo. / The livestock is one of the major and traditional economic activities with production rooted in native pasture in Rio Grande do Sul. But in the cold seasons is the need to implement the empty pastures to supply fodder, because the field is composed predominantly of native summer grasses. Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is the most widely used grass in the southern of Brazil, due to the ease and low cost of implementation. However it has problems as forage seed quality regarding low rate of germination and vigor. This is due to present a natural process of threshing, resulting in a harvest of seeds with high moisture content. One way to minimize the problems encountered in the quality of these seeds is the application of appropriate technologies in processing. Among the steps involved in the processing of seed drying process is considered fundamental. It is characterized by heat transfer and mass, allowing the reduction of the water content at appropriate levels, thus enabling the preservation of physiological quality of the product. In this context the work studied the drying conditions of ryegrass in fixed bed dryer with air flowing parallel to obtain better quality seeds. The study was divided in to four stages. The first step was to determine the physical and physiological characteristics of the seed which were obtained the values of true density real and bulk density, average, particle, diameter, sphericity, porosity of the static bad end germination rates. In the second phase of the study aimed at putting rewetting seeds seeds purchased at local markets in damp conditions similar to those found in fresh seeds and clean. The third stage was based on the study of sorption isotherms of seeds reumidificadas for the determination of moisture content. This study was done to a temperature of 40 ° C, using the static method with solutions at various concentrations. Finally, the fourth and final step of the study was conducted reumidificadas seed drying in a fixed bed dryer with air flowing parallel operating at a temperature of 40 ° C and under conditions tray height 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 cm air speed of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m / s and drying time of 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 hours. The data obtained were analyzed by drying in an experimental design with 23 duplicate at the midpoint having answers as the final moisture content and germination. We also determined the effective diffusivity values for each studied drying process. The results showed that the drying conditions applied in the seed can significantly influence their final moisture, physiological quality and effective diffusivity values of the process.

A thesis report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree in Master of Science in GIS and Remote Sensing Faculty of Science University of the Witwatersrand. March 2017 Johannesburg, South Africa / Grass nitrogen is the main indicator of forage conditions in a rangeland environment. The main objectives of the research were to map the quality and quantity of common grass communities and to predict Nitrogen (N) content across different grass communities. A machine-learning algorithm of Support Vector Machines (SVM) was tested in the mapping of grass quality and quantity. An overall accuracy of 72.68% was achieved for the mapping analysis which demonstrated the capability of the Sentinel-2 10m resolution in discriminating the spectral properties of different grass communities. The foliar nitrogen was predicted using univariate regression, stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR), multivariable regression methods, partial least square regression (PLSR) and random forest (RF). Foliar N was predicted using multivariate regression models; the best model was selected based on the highest coefficient of determination (R2) value, and the low root mean square error (RMSE). The best RF model for foliar N estimation was based on the simple ratio (SR) index because the model attained the highest prediction accuracy of 35%. The study demonstrates the applicability of Sentinel-2 MSI utility in mapping and estimation of leaf N at a landscape scale .The results of both regression models (univariate and multivariate) such as random forest and partial least squares indicated that the inclusion of the Sentinel-2 MSI red edge bands provides an opportunity to accurately map and estimate leaf bio-chemical composition using remote sensing techniques. / MT 2017

Differentials between rancher costs of operating on private and public range were studied in an attempt to define market areas for livestock grazing in western United States. The problem of defining market areas is basically a problem of grouping differentials between rancher costs of grazing on private leased range and National Forests that are reasonably homogeneous and statistically testing differences among means of the different groups. Several methods were used to group forests with reasonably uniform differentials into market areas for cattle. A grouping of forests which have the same ave rage grazing fee does not, however, yield market areas which are statistically different from each other.

Thesis M.Sc.(Agricultural Economics) --University of Limpopo, 2015 / Livestock production particularly cattle production is a major component of Southern African rural agriculture with a population of some 14.1 million cattle. Cattle occupy a unique role in human livelihoods and they are raised for meat, milk, and as draft animals for pulling carts and plows. Cattle farmers in communal areas are rational in the ways in which they use and manage their herds, and economic benefits are contributory drivers of their behaviour. The title of the study was the determinants of cattle ownership and herd size in Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study had two objectives; firstly, to determine the socio-economic factors affecting the household decision to keep cattle and secondly, to analyse the determinants of herd size in livestock keeping households. The study was conducted in Mutale Local Municipality located in Vhembe District of Limpopo Province in South Africa. The study employed a sample of 185 small scale farmers from five villages covering about 5% of each village’s population. The statistical programme used to analyse the data was STATA 2010. For empirical analysis, the study used three analytical techniques namely: the logistic regression model, the OLS model and the Heckman selection model. Empirical results revealed that nine variables were significant in determining the probability of a household to own cattle namely; gender of household head, marital status of household head, age of the household head, household total size, benefits from livestock, previous cattle ownership in the family, homestead category, other income source and also the land area . Most of the variables that explained the decision of a household to keep cattle were also associated with explaining the decision of a household to keep a given number of cattle. Based on the findings of this study, several policy recommendations were proposed, namely; encouragement of youth participation in agriculture, promotion of gender equality and improvement of women’s consideration in decision-making processes in agricultural production, provision and conservation of agricultural grazing land and livestock infrastructural development. Additional policy recommendations were; intensification of the cattle input support schemes (feed, water and disease control), incentives for cattle farmers to consider farming as a business than just a cultural norm, provision of job opportunities in homelands and provision of livestock production institutions.