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63-523: The name comes from the Old Polish word byczyna , which means a place for breeding and grazing bulls. The town of Byczyna was first mention in 1054 when it temporarily served as the capital of the Bishopric of Wrocław . It was part of Poland and during its fragmentation period it was part of the duchies of Silesia , Głogów and Namysłów , before it was again under direct rule of Polish King Casimir III

126-499: A sod -forming perennial grass used in agriculture is Thinopyrum intermedium . Grasses are used as raw material for a multitude of purposes, including construction and in the composition of building materials such as cob , for insulation, in the manufacture of paper and board such as oriented structural straw board . Grass fiber can be used for making paper , biofuel production, nonwoven fabrics, and as replacement for glass fibers used in reinforced plastics. Bamboo scaffolding

189-414: A border town, located near Poland. The Battle of Byczyna took place nearby between Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria , who was elected as king of Poland, and Sigismund III Vasa who also was elected as king, on January 24, 1588. Maximilian was defeated. He surrendered and went to imprisonment. The German author Gustav Freytag reports in his memories about yearly border violations at Byczyna. During

252-517: A longer time to recover or leaving land fallow. Patch-burn sets up a rotation of fresh grass after burning with two years of rest. Conservation grazing proposes to use grazing animals to improve the biodiversity of a site. Grazing has existed since the beginning of agriculture ; sheep and goats were domesticated by nomads before the first permanent settlements were constructed around 7000 BC, enabling cattle and pigs to be kept. Livestock grazing contributes to many negative effects on

315-482: A low density on a pasture, so as not to overgraze. Controlled burning of the land can help in the regrowth of plants. Although grazing can be problematic for the ecosystem, well-managed grazing techniques can reverse damage and improve the land. On commons in England and Wales, rights of pasture (grassland grazing) and pannage (forest grazing) for each commoner are tightly defined by number and type of animal, and by

378-577: A photosynthetic pathway, linked to specialized Kranz leaf anatomy , which allows for increased water use efficiency , rendering them better adapted to hot, arid environments. The C3 grasses are referred to as "cool-season" grasses, while the C4 plants are considered "warm-season" grasses. Although the C4 species are all in the PACMAD clade (see diagram below), it seems that various forms of C4 have arisen some twenty or more times, in various subfamilies or genera. In

441-538: A short period of time. Conservation grazing is the use of grazing animals to help improve the biodiversity of a site. Due to their hardy nature, rare and native breeds are often used in conservation grazing. In some cases, to re-establish traditional hay meadows, cattle such as the English Longhorn and Highland are used to provide grazing. A form of rotational grazing using as many small paddocks as fencing allows, said to be more sustainable. Mob grazing

504-596: A smaller part of the vegetation in almost every other terrestrial habitat. Grass-dominated biomes are called grasslands. If only large, contiguous areas of grasslands are counted, these biomes cover 31% of the planet's land. Grasslands include pampas , steppes , and prairies . Grasses provide food to many grazing mammals, as well as to many species of butterflies and moths . Many types of animals eat grass as their main source of food, and are called graminivores – these include cattle , sheep , horses , rabbits and many invertebrates , such as grasshoppers and

567-478: A system of checks and balances, and allowing higher plant biodiversity. In Europe heathland is a cultural landscape which requires grazing by cattle, sheep or other grazers to be maintained. An author of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report Livestock's Long Shadow , stated in an interview: Grazing occupies 26 percent of Earth's terrestrial surface   ... feed crop production requires about

630-541: A third of all arable land   ... Expansion of grazing land for livestock is also a leading cause of deforestation, especially in Latin America... In the Amazon basin alone, about 70 percent of previously forested land is used as pasture, while feed crops cover a large part of the remainder. Much grazing land has resulted from a process of clearance or drainage of other habitats such as woodland or wetland . According to

693-904: A variety that include grasses that are related to modern rice and bamboo . Grasses have adapted to conditions in lush rain forests , dry deserts , cold mountains and even intertidal habitats , and are currently the most widespread plant type; grass is a valuable source of food and energy for all sorts of wildlife. A cladogram shows subfamilies and approximate species numbers in brackets: Chloridoideae (1600) Danthonioideae (300) Micrairoideae (200) Arundinoideae (50) Panicoideae (3250) Aristidoideae (350) Oryzoideae (110) Bambusoideae – bamboos (1450) Pooideae (3850) Puelioideae (11) Pharoideae (13) Anomochlooideae (4) Before 2005, fossil findings indicated that grasses evolved around 55 million years ago. Finds of grass-like phytoliths in Cretaceous dinosaur coprolites from

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756-473: Is a grass used as a culinary herb for its citrus-like flavor and scent. Many species of grass are grown as pasture for foraging or as fodder for prescribed livestock feeds, particularly in the case of cattle , horses , and sheep . Such grasses may be cut and stored for later feeding, especially for the winter, in the form of bales of hay or straw , or in silos as silage . Straw (and sometimes hay) may also be used as bedding for animals. An example of

819-465: Is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses . It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos , the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and pasture . The latter are commonly referred to collectively as grass . With around 780 genera and around 12,000 species, the Poaceae is the fifth-largest plant family , following

882-492: Is a system, said to be more sustainable, invented in 2002; it uses very large herds on land left fallow longer than usual. Many ecological effects derive from grazing, which may be positive or negative. Negative effects of grazing may include overgrazing , increased soil erosion , compaction and degradation, deforestation , biodiversity loss , and adverse water quality impacts from run-off . Sometimes grazers can have beneficial environmental effects such as improving

945-566: Is able to withstand typhoon-force winds that would break steel scaffolding. Larger bamboos and Arundo donax have stout culms that can be used in a manner similar to timber, Arundo is used to make reeds for woodwind instruments , and bamboo is used for innumerable implements. Phragmites australis (common reed) is important for thatching and wall construction of homes in Africa. Grasses are used in water treatment systems, in wetland conservation and land reclamation , and used to lessen

1008-648: Is allowed access to the same grazing area throughout the year. Seasonal grazing incorporates "grazing animals on a particular area for only part of the year". This allows the land that is not being grazed to rest and allow for new forage to grow. Rotational grazing "involves dividing the range into several pastures and then grazing each in sequence throughout the grazing period". Utilizing rotational grazing can improve livestock distribution while incorporating rest period for new forage. In ley farming, pastures are not permanently planted, but alternated between fodder crops and arable crops. Rest rotation grazing "divides

1071-606: Is linked to crop improvement, since meiotic recombination is an important component of plant breeding . Unlike in animals, the specification of both male and female plant germlines occurs late in development during flowering. The transition from the sporophyte phase to the gametophyte state is initiated by meiotic entry. Grasses are, in human terms, perhaps the most economically important plant family. Their economic importance stems from several areas, including food production, industry, and lawns . They have been grown as food for domesticated animals for up to 6,000 years and

1134-640: Is paid each year for each animal 'turned out'. However, if excessive use was made of the common, for example, in overgrazing, a common would be 'stinted'; that is, a limit would be put on the number of animals each commoner was allowed to graze. These regulations were responsive to demographic and economic pressure. Thus, rather than let a common become degraded, access was restricted even further. Ranchers and range science researchers have developed grazing systems to improve sustainable forage production for livestock. These can be contrasted with intensive animal farming on feedlots. With continuous grazing, livestock

1197-546: Is the major cause of degraded riparian habitat on federal rangelands". A 2013 FAO report estimated livestock were responsible for 14.5% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions . Grazing is common in New Zealand ; in 2004, methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture made up somewhat less than half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions, of which most is attributable to livestock . A 2008 United States Environmental Protection Agency report on emissions found agriculture

1260-449: The Aristida genus for example, one species ( A. longifolia ) is C3 but the approximately 300 other species are C4. As another example, the whole tribe of Andropogoneae , which includes maize , sorghum , sugar cane , " Job's tears ", and bluestem grasses , is C4. Around 46 percent of grass species are C4 plants. The name Poaceae was given by John Hendley Barnhart in 1895, based on

1323-659: The Journal of Animal Science found four times as much, and stated: "these measurements clearly document higher CH 4 production for cattle receiving low-quality, high-fiber diets than for cattle fed high-grain diets". Agrivoltaics for grazing would allow for shade for the animals as well as the vegitation so the soil retains a higher moisture level. Grass Gramineae  Juss. Poaceae ( / p oʊ ˈ eɪ s i . iː , - s i aɪ / poh- AY -see-e(y)e ), also called Gramineae ( / ɡ r ə ˈ m ɪ n i . iː , - n i aɪ / grə- MIN -ee-e(y)e ),

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1386-698: The Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous approximately 113–100 million years ago, which were found to belong to primitive lineages within Poaceae, similar in position to the Anomochlooideae. These are currently the oldest known grass fossils. The relationships among the three subfamilies Bambusoideae, Oryzoideae and Pooideae in the BOP clade have been resolved: Bambusoideae and Pooideae are more closely related to each other than to Oryzoideae. This separation occurred within

1449-503: The Americas ). Sugarcane is the major source of sugar production. Additional food uses of sugarcane include sprouted grain , shoots , and rhizomes , and in drink they include sugarcane juice and plant milk , as well as rum , beer , whisky , and vodka . Bamboo shoots are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths, and are available in supermarkets in various sliced forms, in both fresh, fermented and canned versions. Lemongrass

1512-550: The Asteraceae , Orchidaceae , Fabaceae and Rubiaceae . The Poaceae are the most economically important plant family, providing staple foods from domesticated cereal crops such as maize , wheat , rice , oats , barley , and millet for people and as feed for meat-producing animals . They provide, through direct human consumption, just over one-half (51%) of all dietary energy; rice provides 20%, wheat supplies 20%, maize (corn) 5.5%, and other grains 6%. Some members of

1575-453: The Cenozoic contributed to the spread of grasses. Without large grazers, fire-cleared areas are quickly colonized by grasses, and with enough rain, tree seedlings. Trees eventually outcompete most grasses. Trampling grazers kill seedling trees but not grasses. Sexual reproduction and meiosis have been studied in rice , maize , wheat and barley . Meiosis research in these crop species

1638-558: The Civil War . The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 was enacted after the Great Depression to regulate the use of public land for grazing purposes. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization , about 60% of the world's grassland (just less than half of the world's usable surface) is covered by grazing systems. It states that "Grazing systems supply about 9 percent of the world's production of beef and about 30 percent of

1701-617: The Thirty Years' War the town was occupied by the Saxons in 1633 and Swedes in 1646. In the 16th century, a Polish school was established, which flourished in the 17th century, and from 1657 to 1661 its rector was Byczyna-born Polish scholar and translator John Herbinius . After the Prussian annexation in 1742, Byczyna, under the Germanized name Pitschen , entered a period of Germanisation , and

1764-422: The ligule lies at the junction between sheath and blade, preventing water or insects from penetrating into the sheath. Flowers of Poaceae are characteristically arranged in spikelets , each having one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes . The part of the spikelet that bears the florets is called the rachilla. A spikelet consists of two (or sometimes fewer) bracts at

1827-651: The Great from 1341 to 1348. It was granted town rights before 1268. In 1356 it passed to the Czech Crown Lands , and it soon returned under the rule of local Polish dukes of the Piast dynasty , as part of the duchies of Świdnica , Opole , Brzeg , Oleśnica , again Brzeg, Opole and finally Legnica until 1675. Afterwards it was incorporated into the Habsburg -ruled Czech Kingdom. It was

1890-562: The Poaceae are used as building materials ( bamboo , thatch , and straw ); others can provide a source of biofuel , primarily via the conversion of maize to ethanol . Grasses have stems that are hollow except at the nodes and narrow alternate leaves borne in two ranks. The lower part of each leaf encloses the stem, forming a leaf-sheath. The leaf grows from the base of the blade, an adaptation allowing it to cope with frequent grazing. Grasslands such as savannah and prairie where grasses are dominant are estimated to constitute 40.5% of

1953-457: The accumulation of litter ( organic matter ) in some seasons and areas, but can also increase it, which may help to combat soil erosion . This acts as nutrition for insects and organisms found within the soil. These organisms "aid in carbon sequestration and water filtration". When grass is grazed, dead grass and litter are reduced which is advantageous for birds such as waterfowl . Grazing can increase biodiversity . Without grazing, many of

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2016-442: The base, called glumes , followed by one or more florets. A floret consists of the flower surrounded by two bracts, one external—the lemma —and one internal—the palea . The flowers are usually hermaphroditic — maize being an important exception—and mainly anemophilous or wind-pollinated, although insects occasionally play a role. The perianth is reduced to two scales, called lodicules , that expand and contract to spread

2079-401: The bison–fire relationship on a large landscape scale of 30,000 acres (12,000 ha). In the grazed heathland of Devon , the periodic burning is known as swailing. Riparian area grazing is intended to improve wildlife and their habitats. It uses fencing to keep livestock off ranges near streams or water areas until after wildlife or waterfowl periods, or to limit the amount of grazing to

2142-450: The caterpillars of many brown butterflies . Grasses are also eaten by omnivorous or even occasionally by primarily carnivorous animals. Grasses dominate certain biomes , especially temperate grasslands , because many species are adapted to grazing and fire. Grasses are unusual in that the meristem is near the bottom of the plant; hence, grasses can quickly recover from cropping at the top. The evolution of large grazing animals in

2205-594: The environment, including deforestation , extinction of native wildlife, pollution of streams and rivers, overgrazing , soil degradation , ecological disturbance , desertification , and ecosystem stability . Sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs were domesticated early in the history of agriculture . Sheep were domesticated first, soon followed by goats; both species were suitable for nomadic peoples. Cattle and pigs were domesticated somewhat later, around 7000 BC, once people started to live in fixed settlements. In America, livestock were grazed on public land from

2268-830: The erosional impact of urban storm water runoff. Pollen morphology, particularly in the Poaceae family, is key to figuring out their evolutionary relationships and how environments have changed over time . Grass pollen grains, however, often look the same, making it hard to use them for detailed climate or environmental reconstructions. Grass pollen has a single pore and can vary a lot in size, from about 20 to over 100 micrometers, and this size difference has been looked into for clues about past habitats, to tell apart domesticated grasses from wild ones, and to indicate various biological features like how they perform photosynthesis , their breeding systems, and genetic complexity. Yet, there's ongoing debate about how effective pollen size

2331-469: The full list of Poaceae genera . The grass family is one of the most widely distributed and abundant groups of plants on Earth . Grasses are found on every continent, including Antarctica . The Antarctic hair grass, Deschampsia antarctica is one of only two plant species native to the western Antarctic Peninsula . Grasses are the dominant vegetation in many habitats, including grassland , salt-marsh , reedswamp and steppes . They also occur as

2394-478: The grains of grasses such as wheat , rice, maize (corn) and barley have been the most important human food crops . Grasses are also used in the manufacture of thatch , paper , fuel , clothing , insulation , timber for fencing , furniture , scaffolding and construction materials, floor matting , sports turf and baskets . Of all crops grown, 70% are grasses. Agricultural grasses grown for their edible seeds are called cereals or grains (although

2457-487: The heavy grazing. This technique results in a diversity of habitats that different prairie plants and birds can utilize—mimicking the effects of the pre-historical relationship between bison and fire, whereby bison heavily graze one area and other areas have opportunity to rest, based on the concept of pyric herbivory . The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma has been patch-burn grazed with bison herds for over ten years. These efforts have effectively restored

2520-459: The land area of the Earth , excluding Greenland and Antarctica . Grasses are also an important part of the vegetation in many other habitats, including wetlands , forests and tundra . Though they are commonly called "grasses", groups such as the seagrasses , rushes and sedges fall outside this family. The rushes and sedges are related to the Poaceae, being members of the order Poales , but

2583-453: The latest Cretaceous ( Maastrichtian ) aged Lameta Formation of India have pushed this date back to 66 million years ago. In 2011, fossils from the same deposit were found to belong to the modern rice tribe Oryzeae , suggesting substantial diversification of major lineages by this time. In 2018, a study described grass microfossils extracted from the teeth of the hadrosauroid dinosaur Equijubus normani from northern China, dating to

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2646-615: The latter term, when used agriculturally, refers to both cereals and similar seeds of other plant species, such as buckwheat and legumes ). Three cereals—rice, wheat, and maize (corn)—provide more than half of all calories consumed by humans. Cereals constitute the major source of carbohydrates for humans and perhaps the major source of protein; these include rice (in southern and eastern Asia ), maize (in Central and South America ), and wheat and barley (in Europe , northern Asia and

2709-463: The leaves are attached. Grass leaves are nearly always alternate and distichous (in one plane), and have parallel veins. Each leaf is differentiated into a lower sheath hugging the stem and a blade with entire (i.e., smooth) margins. The leaf blades of many grasses are hardened with silica phytoliths , which discourage grazing animals; some, such as sword grass , are sharp enough to cut human skin. A membranous appendage or fringe of hairs called

2772-469: The lemma and palea; these are generally interpreted to be modified sepals. The fruit of grasses is a caryopsis , in which the seed coat is fused to the fruit wall. A tiller is a leafy shoot other than the first shoot produced from the seed. Grass blades grow at the base of the blade and not from elongated stem tips. This low growth point evolved in response to grazing animals and allows grasses to be grazed or mown regularly without severe damage to

2835-403: The local school slowly diminished. In 1757 the town suffered the largest fire in its history. Despite those circumstances, in the 19th century, the town was still largely inhabited by Poles . After World War I and the rebirth of independent Poland, Germany introduced a number of restrictions, including a state of emergency , to hinder the self-organization of local Poles. In the interwar period

2898-640: The opinion of the Center for Biological Diversity , extensive grazing of livestock in the arid lands of the southwestern United States has many negative impacts on the local biodiversity there. Cattle destroy native vegetation, damage soils and stream banks, and contaminate waterways with fecal waste. After decades of livestock grazing, once-lush streams and riparian forests have been reduced to flat, dry wastelands; once-rich topsoil has been turned to dust, causing soil erosion, stream sedimentation and wholesale elimination of some aquatic habitats In arid climates such as

2961-515: The otherwise indigestible (by human gut ) cellulose within grass and other forages into meat , milk , wool and other animal products , often on land that is unsuitable for arable farming . Farmers may employ many different strategies of grazing for optimum production : grazing may be continuous, seasonal, or rotational within a grazing period. Longer rotations are found in ley farming , alternating arable and fodder crops; in rest rotation, deferred rotation, and mob grazing, giving grasses

3024-478: The period when no grazing occurs. Patch-burn grazing burns a third of a pasture each year, no matter the size of the pasture. This burned patch attracts grazers (cattle or bison ) that graze the area heavily because of the fresh grasses that grow as a result. The other patches receive little to no grazing. During the next two years the next two patches are burned consecutively, then the cycle begins anew. In this way, patches receive two years of rest and recovery from

3087-400: The plant. Three general classifications of growth habit present in grasses: bunch-type (also called caespitose), stoloniferous , and rhizomatous . The success of the grasses lies in part in their morphology and growth processes and in part in their physiological diversity. There are both C3 and C4 grasses, referring to the photosynthetic pathway for carbon fixation. The C4 grasses have

3150-424: The range into at least four pastures. One pasture remains rested throughout the year and grazing is rotated amongst the residual pastures." This grazing system can be especially beneficial when using sensitive grass that requires time for rest and regrowth. Deferred rotation "involves at least two pastures with one not grazed until after seed-set". By using deferred rotation, grasses can achieve maximum growth during

3213-622: The relatively short time span of about 4 million years. According to Lester Charles King , the spread of grasses in the Late Cenozoic would have changed patterns of hillslope evolution favouring slopes that are convex upslope and concave downslope and lacking a free face were common. King argued that this was the result of more slowly acting surface wash caused by carpets of grass which in turn would have resulted in relatively more soil creep . There are about 12,000 grass species in about 771 genera that are classified into 12 subfamilies. See

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3276-422: The removal of wild grazing animals), or by other human disturbance. Conservation grazing is the use of grazers to manage such habitats, often to replicate the ecological effects of the wild relatives of domestic livestock , or those of other species now absent or extinct. Grazer urine and faeces "recycle nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other plant nutrients and return them to the soil". Grazing can reduce

3339-415: The same grasses grow, for example brome and bluegrass , consequently producing a monoculture . The ecosystems of North American tallgrass prairies are controlled to a large extent by nitrogen availability, which is itself controlled by interactions between fires and grazing by large herbivores. Fires in spring enhance growth of certain grasses, and herbivores preferentially graze these grasses, producing

3402-412: The seagrasses are members of the order Alismatales . However, all of them belong to the monocot group of plants. Grasses may be annual or perennial herbs , generally with the following characteristics (the image gallery can be used for reference): The stems of grasses, called culms , are usually cylindrical (more rarely flattened, but not 3-angled) and are hollow, plugged at the nodes , where

3465-402: The soil with nutrient redistribution and aerating the soil by trampling, and by controlling fire and increasing biodiversity by removing biomass, controlling shrub growth and dispersing seeds. In some habitats, appropriate levels of grazing may be effective in restoring or maintaining native grass and herb diversity in rangeland that has been disturbed by overgrazing, lack of grazing (such as by

3528-621: The southwestern United States, livestock grazing has severely degraded riparian areas , the wetland environment adjacent to rivers or streams. The Environmental Protection Agency states that agriculture has a greater impact on stream and river contamination than any other nonpoint source . Improper grazing of riparian areas can contribute to nonpoint source pollution of riparian areas. Riparian zones in arid and semiarid environments have been called biodiversity hotspots . The water, higher biomass , favorable microclimate and periodic flood events together produce higher biological diversity than in

3591-682: The surrounding uplands. In 1990, "according to the Arizona state park department, over 90% of the original riparian zones of Arizona and New Mexico are gone". A 1988 report of the Government Accountability Office estimated that 90% of the 5,300 miles of riparian habitat managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado was in an unsatisfactory condition, as was 80% of Idaho 's riparian zones, concluding that "poorly managed livestock grazing

3654-464: The time of year when certain rights can be exercised. For example, the occupier of a particular cottage might be allowed to graze fifteen cattle, four horses , ponies or donkeys , and fifty geese , while the numbers allowed for their neighbours would probably be different. On some commons (such as the New Forest and adjoining commons), the rights are not limited by numbers, and instead a 'marking fee'

3717-513: The town on 18 January 1945. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, Byczyna was reintegrated with Poland. Soon the Polish railway and post were organized as the first post-war Polish institutions in the town. See twin towns of Gmina Byczyna . Grazing In agriculture , grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to convert

3780-476: The town remained part of Germany and has been affected by a recession. Smuggling became widespread, which ended only during the concentration of German troops before the invasion of Poland and start of World War II in 1939. In 1945, the population was mostly evacuated before the advancing Eastern Front , with only a few hundred people remaining, mostly local Poles and Polish forced laborers , of which over 200 were massacred by Soviet troops, after their capture of

3843-459: The tribe Poeae described in 1814 by Robert Brown , and the type genus Poa described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus . The term is derived from the Ancient Greek πόα (póa, "fodder") . Grasses include some of the most versatile plant life-forms . They became widespread toward the end of the Cretaceous period, and fossilized dinosaur dung ( coprolites ) have been found containing phytoliths of

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3906-406: The world's production of sheep and goat meat . For an estimated 100 million people in arid areas , and probably a similar number in other zones, grazing livestock is the only possible source of livelihood." Grazing management has two overall goals: A proper land use and grazing management technique balances It does this by allowing sufficient recovery periods for regrowth. Producers can keep

3969-464: Was responsible for 6% of total United States greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. This included rice production, enteric fermentation in domestic livestock, livestock manure management, and agricultural soil management , but omitted some things that might be attributable to agriculture. Studies comparing the methane emissions from grazing and feedlot cattle concluded that grass-fed cattle produce much more methane than grain-fed cattle. One study in

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