Background: Meadow fescue (Schedonorus pratensis (Huds.) P.Beauv.) is highly adapted to managed rotational grazing systems with sufficient rest periods to promote regrowth and sward longevity. It is not well adapted to intensive grazing with set stocking that results in limited regrowth periods and defoliation heights less than 10 cm.

Methods: Six populations were identified on farms that used relatively intensive grazing with a combination of set stocking and rotational grazing and a relatively sparse population density of meadow fescue plants. These populations were subjected to three cycles of selection for persistence on their farm of origin and on an experimental research farm where the plots were frequently mowed with a residual sward height of 5 cm. Original and selected populations were evaluated under both defoliation regimes.

Results: Five of the six populations responded to selection with increased persistence under grazing, but four of these had correlated selection responses toward reduced forage accumulation, suggesting selection for a more prostrate growth habit.

Conclusions: Selection under frequent mowing led to some increases in persistence, but the increases were significantly less than for the selections under grazing pressure, strongly indicating selection pressure for different plant traits between grazing and mowing.

Background: The centromeric histone variant CENH3 is crucial for chromosome segregation and haploid induction in plants, yet its evolutionary patterns in legumes remain poorly characterized.

Methods: We investigated CENH3 phylogeny and molecular evolution across legumes, focusing on Vicia using phylogenetic reconstruction, sequence alignment, and evolutionary selection analyses.

Results: Our phylogenetic reconstruction delineated legume species into two major clades (A and B) and revealed a profound contrast between the hypervariable N-terminal tail and the highly conserved histone fold domain (HFD). Within the HFD, the CENP-A targeting domain (CATD) exhibited absolute functional constraint, while the N-terminus demonstrated remarkable evolutionary plasticity. In the genus Vicia, although the exon-intron structure was entirely conserved, substantial sequence polymorphism was identified. Comparative analysis between Vicia sativa L. and Vicia villosa Roth. highlighted species-specific epitope divergence alongside conserved centromere localization. Evolutionary analyses revealed that CENH3 is predominantly under purifying selection, with localized positive selection in specific lineages, whereas canonical H3 exhibited a binary selection pattern dependent on phylogenetic distance.

Conclusions: Our findings elucidate the evolutionary dynamics of CENH3 in legumes and identify the highly conserved yet functionally distinct CATD as a promising, specific target for developing efficient haploid induction systems through genome editing.

Background: The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has significant grassland degradation. The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae Hodgson), a small burrowing mammal, traditionally viewed as a pest, may strongly shape vegetation, yet its fine-scale spatial ecology remains unclear.

Methods: Using custom-made wildlife trackers and high-resolution multispectral unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) mapping to quantify fine-scaled movements, habitat utilization, and activity patterns of 10 plateau pikas in a summer pasture.

Results: lateau pikas demonstrated scale-nested habitat preferences: preferred fragmented vegetation at a 5-m scale, while favoring larger vegetation patches at a 1-m scale. Mean home range was 1633 m² (range 494-7443 m²), larger and more variable than prior reports. Activity patterns showed a distinct diurnal pattern, with aboveground activity from sunrise to sunset, and only belowground activity at night.

Conclusions: Integrating high-resolution tracking with UAV yields novel, fine-scale insights into plateau pika spatial ecology. Pikas in a summer pasture had larger, variable home ranges and were strictly diurnal. They employed a scale-nested strategy, depending on a mosaic of vegetation and bare soil to provide foraging opportunities, safety from predators, and burrowing sites. These findings suggest that preventing the formation of optimal pika habitat through precise grazing management is an effective strategy to limit pika habitat use and abundance.

The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is a critical grassland region for China's ecological security and sustainable pastoral development. Its grassland animal husbandry currently confronts systemic challenges: extreme seasonal nutritional imbalance in forage, multi‑type consumer co‑grazing competition involving livestock, wild ungulates, rodents, and phytophagous insects, escalating ecology-production-livelihood tensions, and ongoing climate change. To address these challenges, this perspective proposes a framework for achieving high-quality development of ecological conservation-oriented grassland animal husbandry. The core objective is to shift from the singular pursuit of production efficiency to the integrated enhancement of both production and ecological functions. The main innovations of this work lie in (1) a multidimensional carrying capacity framework that integrates grass-livestock balance, protein balance, multi‑type consumer dynamics, and fodder supplement capacity; (2) a high‑yield, high‑quality cultivated grassland technology system to overcome seasonal nutrient deficits; and (3) three regional transformation models: the Hainan Prefecture Model focusing on synergy between ecological restoration and clean energy, the Biodiversity Conservation+ Model combining technology and multi‑stakeholder governance, and the Three‑Grassland‑Type Coupling Model for spatial optimization of nature reserve, livestock grazing, and cultivated grasslands. The resulting systematic pathway supports a sustainable development paradigm that harmonizes ecological security, resource efficiency, and socioeconomic benefits for the Plateau and similar alpine pastoral regions worldwide.

Background: Soil health describes critical soil functions influenced by land management. Although some key soil characteristics are inherent (such as texture, mineralogy, and landscape position), there are other soil properties and processes that are altered by land management (such as soil organic matter, nutrient concentrations, and the capacity to infiltrate and store water) to form the basis of soil health evaluation.

Methods: This perspective overview of soil health in humid grazing lands focused on key soil health attributes that should be considered to evaluate the sustainability of forage and grazing lands. Soil compaction, nutrient concentrations, and organic matter, along with their biological fractions, were emphasized.

Results: Soil bulk density is commonly measured to assess soil compaction. Density often increases with stocking rate, but it can be moderated by the accumulation of surface-soil organic C and N. Many soil nutrients are concentrated near the soil surface, but soil type and management can influence these distributions. Soil-test biological activity increases with time in forage management systems and is often greater with grazing than haying due to livestock excretal return to soil. Root-zone enrichment of soil organic C was enhanced under grasslands compared with croplands but lower than under woodlands. However, root-zone enrichment of total soil N was greater under grasslands than under other land uses, suggesting that the quality of organic matter under grasslands was greater than under woodlands, an essential feature that supports agricultural production.

Conclusions: This perspective overview of soil health in humid grazing lands illustrates the positive soil health benefits achievable with balanced agroecological farming approaches using forages.

Background: Grasslands provide key ecosystem services (ES), and yet, the cultural value linked to flower colour remains poorly quantified. This study presents a literature-based approach to estimate human appreciation of flower colours in grassland as a cultural ES.

Methods: We introduce a flower colour appreciation value (FCAp value) that combines a flower colour appreciation index (FCAp index) with species abundances and flower colour area (FCAr). Four supramontane grasslands in Monti Sibillini (central Italy)—Bromopsis erecta Huds., Carex macrolepis DC., Sesleria nitida Ten. and Sesleria juncifolia Suffren—were selected, representing continuous and discontinuous grassland types.

Results: FCAp values peaked between May and July. Continuous B. erecta grasslands showed the highest values, while discontinuous S. juncifolia showed the lowest values. Green provided the largest contribution to total appreciation, whereas secondary colours (pink, yellow, purple and white) varied among grasslands. Blue, despite a high FCAp index, had limited influence due to low abundance and reduced FCAr.

Conclusions: Inherent limitations related to the colour appreciation scale and phenological uncertainty leave room for refinement: this rapid and standardised method provides a valid alternative to resource-intensive field campaigns, particularly in remote or rugged study areas. It complements remote-sensing and valuation approaches, enhances assessment of cultural ES and supports integration of landscape aesthetic values into grassland management and ES bundles.

Background: Grassland reseeding typically requires intensive tillage. This disrupts soil nutrient dynamics, especially under varying drainage conditions.

Methods: This study evaluated the combined effects of tillage legacy, drainage and soil depth on key soil properties within a long-term grassland experiment. Treatments compared two no-tillage durations (5 years of no tillage, 5YNT; 30 years of no tillage, 30YNT), two drainage systems (drained and undrained) and two depths (0-10 and 10-30 cm) following reseeding. Total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and pH were measured.

Results: Significant three-way interactions were detected for all variables. At 0-10 cm, undrained 30YNT plots showed 69% greater TC and 66.9% higher TP than the lowest values recorded in 5YNT × drained combinations at 10-30 cm. TN followed a similar pattern, with substantial enrichment under long-term no-tillage. Reseeding reduced TC, TN and TP within 5 years, particularly in surface soils, with the largest proportional losses in undrained plots where nutrient concentrations had been high prior to tillage.

Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of conserving long-term no-tillage systems to enhance nutrient retention and promote sustainable grassland productivity. Conventional tillage of nutrient-rich pastures should be avoided to prevent major nutrient losses.

Heitutan, a term referring to extremely degraded alpine grassland on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, epitomizes a critical challenge in global ecological restoration. Likened to a “cancer cell,” Heitutan can gradually encroach on healthy grassland. Its widespread occurrence on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau originates from the deep-rooted paradox between natural and socio-economic systems in alpine pastoral areas, which results in the structural and functional collapse of the ecosystem. Consequently, the ecological restoration of Heitutan involves the reconstruction of an integrated social-ecological system. From this perspective, this review synthesizes current understanding of Heitutan's formation mechanisms, restoration approaches, post-restoration management models, and pertinent ecological ethics. We highlight that enhancing the scalability of in situ-based restoration technologies, along with strengthening socio-economic tolerance for trial-and-error and adaptive capacity within restoration zones, is vital for successful restoration. For the realistic requirement of long-term restoration in the cold and high-altitude region, we propose establishing a “Heitutan-restoration grassland” system through reseeding with perennial native plants as a sustainable and practical framework. This system provides a viable pathway to combat grassland degradation. It enables government investment to effectively integrate the ecological construction with pastoral development within the Heitutan restoration engineering on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.