Herbage Productivity and Botanical Composition of Hill Pasture as a Function of Clipping and Site Features
Complex topography and varied soil of hill-land pastures create microsite conditions that support an array of floristic associations and herbage production patterns. This complicates management for forage and livestock production because the seasonal distribution and quantity of forage vary. Our objective was to determine herbage production and floristic composition of a hill pasture as a function of site characteristics and canopy management. An existing 3-ha hill pasture watershed was oversown with white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and orchard-grass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and fertilized with reactive phosphate (PO 4 ) rock (PR). Replicated plots on each of four sites were clipped once (stockpiled), twice (hay harvest), or three times (long rotation) annually. Site had a significant impact on cumulative herbage production, whereas the influence of clipping was mixed. The least (1.9 Mg ha -1 ) amount of herbage production in a given season occurred on a northeast (NE)-facing site and the greatest (4.6 Mg ha -1 ) in a natural drainage area (ND) traversing the pasture. Herbage production increased by about 80% with overseeding and PR, but the relative ranking of production among sites stayed the same. Botanical composition was also strongly influenced by site, with velvetgrass (Holcus lanatus L.) predominating in ND and red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) occurring primarily on the NE site. The stockpiled treatments became dominated by grasses and weeds 4 yr after treatments were imposed, regardless of site, and were similar to the least productive site (NE-facing) in the pasture. Our results suggest that application of amendments to the more productive portions of a site are likely to have greater return.
ANALYSIS OF THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FOLIAGE BY TWO‐DIMENSIONAL POINT QUADRATS
Summary 
‘Relative frequency’, yielded by point quadrat analysis of vegetation, is a measure of the area of the foliage in vertical projection. Because this projected area varies according to the foliage angle (i.e. the angle between foliage and horizontal), values of relative frequency fluctuate as attitudes change with environmental variation; also, misleading estimates are obtained when comparisons are made between species of different habit. By using horizontal as well as vertical point quadrats it is possible to estimate the foliage angle and the foliage denseness (i.e. total area of foliage per unit volume of space). If the frequencies of contacts with foliage per unit length of point quadrat are F90 and F0 for vertical and horizontal quadrats respectively, foliage angle (α) is given by tan α/2(F0/F90) and foliage denseness (F) by F=F90 sec α. 
 
The vegetation is analysed within horizontal layers. An apparatus is described which can give the required data, and which avoids the errors inherent in point quadrat methods that use needles of appreciable thickness. 
 
The total area of foliage per unit area of ground can be obtained by summation of F for all layers. 
 
Trials show that the method is practicable in the field, and that it gives values of α and F which reflect the character of the vegetation. 
 
Values of F obtained by this method agreed with direct estimates for the same vegetation within 2.5%. 
 
Some assumptions made by the method are discussed; provided that certain precautions are taken, the errors resulting from these are small or none.
Genetics of the phenotypic evolution in sheep: a molecular look at diversity-driving genes
Background After domestication, the evolution of phenotypically-varied sheep breeds has generated rich biodiversity. This wide phenotypic variation arises as a result of hidden genomic changes that range from a single nucleotide to several thousands of nucleotides. Thus, it is of interest and significance to reveal and understand the genomic changes underlying the phenotypic variation of sheep breeds in order to drive selection towards economically important traits. Review Various traits contribute to the emergence of variation in sheep phenotypic characteristics, including coat color, horns, tail, wool, ears, udder, vertebrae, among others. The genes that determine most of these phenotypic traits have been investigated, which has generated knowledge regarding the genetic determinism of several agriculturally-relevant traits in sheep. In this review, we discuss the genomic knowledge that has emerged in the past few decades regarding the phenotypic traits in sheep, and our ultimate aim is to encourage its practical application in sheep breeding. In addition, in order to expand the current understanding of the sheep genome, we shed light on research gaps that require further investigation. Conclusions Although significant research efforts have been conducted in the past few decades, several aspects of the sheep genome remain unexplored. For the full utilization of the current knowledge of the sheep genome, a wide practical application is still required in order to boost sheep productive performance and contribute to the generation of improved sheep breeds. The accumulated knowledge on the sheep genome will help advance and strengthen sheep breeding programs to face future challenges in the sector, such as climate change, global human population growth, and the increasing demand for products of animal origin.