Reports

2008

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Ecological studies in alpine grasslands of Bhutan
Dr Norbert Maczey (CABI, Egham, Surrey, UK)
The fellowship, which was complementary to a project funded under the UK Darwin initiative, was carried out in liaison with the Council of Renewable Natural Resources Research of the Bhutan Ministry of Agriculture during June-July 2008. The main purpose of the fellowship being to provide particular ecological baseline data for the high montane grasslands in the Jigme Dorji National Park and other protected areas in Bhutan.

An examination of the socio-economic contribution of the equine sector in Sweden and its impact on the sustainability of grass-based agriculture
Georgina K. Crossman (Centre for Rural Policy Research, Department of Politics, University of Exeter, UK)
Worked with Professor Hans Andersson and colleagues at the Department of Economics, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden, during May-July 2008.

Research on the development of a rapid and accurate system to determine ME concentration in fresh grass, a system similar to that of grass silage currently used in AFBI Hillsborough Feed Information System
Dr Bai Xue (Institute of Animal Nutrition, Sichuan Agricultural University, Yaan City 625014, Sichuan Province, China)
Worked with Dr Tianhai Yan at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Hillsborough, Northern Ireland UK, for six months from August 2008 to January 2009.

Introducing cattle to a sheep-grazed hill: impacts on vegetation height, biomass and cattle performance
Getahun Kebede Yadete (Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Centre, P.O.Box: 32, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia)
Worked with Dr Tony Waterhouse and colleagues at the SAC Bush Estate in Scotland, UK, during May to November 2008.

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2007

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Study on the use of markers and in-vitro gas production techniques for measuring nutritional characteristics of grazing animals with particular reference to developing countries
Dr. Abule Ebro Gedda (Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Centre, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia)
Worked with Dr R.W. Mayes and Dr E.R. Ørskov of the Macaulay Institute from June to November 2007.

The effect of diet on beef quality
Tesfaye Lemma Gesese (Livestock Production and Management Research Division, Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Centre, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia)
Worked with Professor Nigel Scollan of IGER from April to September 2007 .

Overall objective: To investigate socio-ecological constraints to the effective functioning of common property regimes for managing the grazing of livestock on natural rangeland, in communal areas of central Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Dr James Bennett (Department of Geography, Environment and Disaster Management,Faculty of BES,Coventry University)
Worked with Dr Andrew Ainslie of ARC-Animal Production Institute, Grahamstown Office, South Africa from 26th June 2007 – 31st July 2007.

The Impact of point source nitrogen pollution on prairie grasslands
Carly Stevens (The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK)
Worked with Prof. David Tilman at the University of Minnesota, USA from 2nd July – 8th August 2007.

Will climate change cause a surge in UK clover weevil populations?
Dr Scott N Johnson (SCRI, Dundee, UK)
Worked with Dr Pip Gerard at AgResearch, New Zealand during two periods – from 3 December 2006 to 23 January 2007 and from 1 March to 2 May 2007.

Foraging Behaviour of Grazing Livestock in Semi-Natural Pastures
Dr. Katherine Tozer(Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand)
Worked with Dr Andrew Rook and Mr Robert Orr at IGER-North Wyke, UK during two periods – from 26 May to 29 July 2006 and from 11 May to 11 June 2007 .

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2006

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Research on nutrients in cut grassland receiving long-term manure applications
Wenju Liu (Research Center for Eco-environmental sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
Worked with Dr Peter Christie at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, April – September 2006.

The Effect of Polyphenol Oxidase on Lipolysis in Red Clover
Dr Michael Lee (IGER, Aberystwyth, UK)
Worked with Dr M L Sullivan at US Dairy Forage Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 12 June – 1 August 2006.

Assessing the Nutritive Value of Rangeland Feeds
Belete Shenkute Gemeda (Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Adama, Ethiopia)
Worked with Prof E R Ørskov, Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, February – July 2006.

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