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A Long-Term Data Sequence (1960-2013) to Analyse the Sustainability of Hay Quality in Irrigated Permanent Grasslands Under Climate Change

Received: 8 March 2016    Accepted: 18 March 2016    Published: 17 October 2016
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Abstract

Face to climate, land and water use changes, sustainability of crop systems and quality of production is in debate. Long term database concerning hay's mineral contents, dry matter and climate dynamics (rainfall and temperature) have been collected and are used here to argue these questions. Such data are scarce, but here were made available, as they were used to obtain and maintain the certification of the crop, specifically Certified Origin Product (COP) hay. Database collected cover 1960-2013 period, in Crau area, South-Eastern France. Permanent grasslands have been established in this plain since the XVIth century and depend on border irrigation. Statistical tests show that a steady state of the total mineral content and dry matter within long-term has been reached. There is no significant correlation between rainfall and mineral content in hay. Additionally, there is no impact of temperature change on dry matter. Furthermore, the total mineral content of hay is systematically the largest in the third cut and the smallest in the first cut. Our findings suggest that irrigation plays a key role for grasslands sustainability. Irrigated grasslands in Crau area appear as a model of intensive agroecology, with COP productions of high value (hay and animal productions), a crop system, created in the XVIth century and that demonstrates its resilience face to the present global changes. It is however presently jeopardized by urban sprawl.

Published in American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 4, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajaf.20160406.11
Page(s) 140-151
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Crop Quality, Hay, Crau, Fertilization, Irrigation, Long-Term

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    Gihan Mohammed, Fabienne Trolard, Guilhem Bourrié, Marina Gillon, Didier Tronc, et al. (2016). A Long-Term Data Sequence (1960-2013) to Analyse the Sustainability of Hay Quality in Irrigated Permanent Grasslands Under Climate Change. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 4(6), 140-151. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20160406.11

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    ACS Style

    Gihan Mohammed; Fabienne Trolard; Guilhem Bourrié; Marina Gillon; Didier Tronc, et al. A Long-Term Data Sequence (1960-2013) to Analyse the Sustainability of Hay Quality in Irrigated Permanent Grasslands Under Climate Change. Am. J. Agric. For. 2016, 4(6), 140-151. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20160406.11

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    AMA Style

    Gihan Mohammed, Fabienne Trolard, Guilhem Bourrié, Marina Gillon, Didier Tronc, et al. A Long-Term Data Sequence (1960-2013) to Analyse the Sustainability of Hay Quality in Irrigated Permanent Grasslands Under Climate Change. Am J Agric For. 2016;4(6):140-151. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20160406.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20160406.11,
      author = {Gihan Mohammed and Fabienne Trolard and Guilhem Bourrié and Marina Gillon and Didier Tronc and François Charron},
      title = {A Long-Term Data Sequence (1960-2013) to Analyse the Sustainability of Hay Quality in Irrigated Permanent Grasslands Under Climate Change},
      journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {140-151},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20160406.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20160406.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20160406.11},
      abstract = {Face to climate, land and water use changes, sustainability of crop systems and quality of production is in debate. Long term database concerning hay's mineral contents, dry matter and climate dynamics (rainfall and temperature) have been collected and are used here to argue these questions. Such data are scarce, but here were made available, as they were used to obtain and maintain the certification of the crop, specifically Certified Origin Product (COP) hay. Database collected cover 1960-2013 period, in Crau area, South-Eastern France. Permanent grasslands have been established in this plain since the XVIth century and depend on border irrigation. Statistical tests show that a steady state of the total mineral content and dry matter within long-term has been reached. There is no significant correlation between rainfall and mineral content in hay. Additionally, there is no impact of temperature change on dry matter. Furthermore, the total mineral content of hay is systematically the largest in the third cut and the smallest in the first cut. Our findings suggest that irrigation plays a key role for grasslands sustainability. Irrigated grasslands in Crau area appear as a model of intensive agroecology, with COP productions of high value (hay and animal productions), a crop system, created in the XVIth century and that demonstrates its resilience face to the present global changes. It is however presently jeopardized by urban sprawl.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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    AU  - Gihan Mohammed
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    JF  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JO  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8591
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    AB  - Face to climate, land and water use changes, sustainability of crop systems and quality of production is in debate. Long term database concerning hay's mineral contents, dry matter and climate dynamics (rainfall and temperature) have been collected and are used here to argue these questions. Such data are scarce, but here were made available, as they were used to obtain and maintain the certification of the crop, specifically Certified Origin Product (COP) hay. Database collected cover 1960-2013 period, in Crau area, South-Eastern France. Permanent grasslands have been established in this plain since the XVIth century and depend on border irrigation. Statistical tests show that a steady state of the total mineral content and dry matter within long-term has been reached. There is no significant correlation between rainfall and mineral content in hay. Additionally, there is no impact of temperature change on dry matter. Furthermore, the total mineral content of hay is systematically the largest in the third cut and the smallest in the first cut. Our findings suggest that irrigation plays a key role for grasslands sustainability. Irrigated grasslands in Crau area appear as a model of intensive agroecology, with COP productions of high value (hay and animal productions), a crop system, created in the XVIth century and that demonstrates its resilience face to the present global changes. It is however presently jeopardized by urban sprawl.
    VL  - 4
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Author Information
  • INRA, Avignon University, Modelling Agricultural and Hydrological Systems in the Mediterranean Environment Laboratory, Domaine Saint-Paul, Site Agroparc, Avignon, France

  • INRA, Avignon University, Modelling Agricultural and Hydrological Systems in the Mediterranean Environment Laboratory, Domaine Saint-Paul, Site Agroparc, Avignon, France

  • INRA, Avignon University, Modelling Agricultural and Hydrological Systems in the Mediterranean Environment Laboratory, Domaine Saint-Paul, Site Agroparc, Avignon, France

  • Avignon University, INRA, Emmah, Campus Jean-Henri Fabre, Site Agroparc, Avignon, France

  • Committee of Crau’s Hay, Saint Martin-de-Crau, France

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