ABSTRACT
Worldwide, 80% of the energy required by cattle to reach market weight is derived from rangelands and pastures (Wheeler et al. 1981; Oltjen and Beckett 1996). Managing these forage resources requires knowing
CONTENTS
5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 87 5.2 ANPP Estimation through Successive Biomass Harvests ..................... 89 5.3 ANPP Estimation through Remote Sensing ............................................ 92 5.4 RUE Estimation through ANPP and APAR............................................. 93
5.4.1 ANPP Estimation ............................................................................. 94 5.4.2 APAR Estimation ............................................................................. 94 5.4.3 RUE Estimation ................................................................................ 95
5.5 Forage Monitoring System Based on Remote Sensing ........................... 98 5.6 Other Uses of Remote Sensing for Livestock Systems ...........................99 5.7 Conclusions ...................................................................................................99 Acknowledgments .............................................................................................. 100 References ............................................................................................................. 100
their production. Forage production, also known as forage growth rate, is a portion of the aboveground net primary production (ANPP), a key ecosystem variable. At the individual level, ANPP represents the difference between photosynthesis and respiration (Chapin et al. 2002), whereas at the landscape level, ANPP represents the rate of biomass production per unit of area and time. At the ecosystem level, ANPP represents the rate of production of available energy for primary consumers.
