Comparative study of forage toxic metals of conventional versus non-conventional pastures in relation to animal mineral
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Comparative study of forage toxic metals of conventional versus non-conventional pastures in relation to animal mineral nutrient allowance Wuyi Liu 1 & Kafeel Ahmad 2 & Zafar Iqbal Khan 2 & Nabila Mughal 2 & Kinza Wajid 2 & Mudasra Munir 2 & Ifra Saleem Malik 2 & Humayun Bashir 2 & Naunain Mehmood 3 & Hira Muqadas 4 & Ijaz Rasool Noorka 2 Received: 6 April 2020 / Accepted: 4 June 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract At present, the forage production is the foundation of beef cattle and sheep industries in graziery. This study was designed to assess the toxic metal composition of the conventional pastures and non-conventional pastures in consideration of mineral needs of ruminants. At all the surveyed sites, these mean soil metal concentrations were measured to be higher or lower than the referred threshold levels. Specifically, these concentrations of Co, Pb, and Cr were observed as much higher than the referred threshold levels of 0.01–0.06 mg/kg (Co), 0.05 mg/kg (Pb), and 0.02 mg/kg (Cr). On the contrary, the mean soil concentrations of Cd were observed to be relatively lower than the threshold levels of 0.50–10 mg/kg at all sites. The estimated mean concentrations of Co, Cd, Pb, and Cr in both conventional and non-conventional forage species were measured to be lower than the referred threshold levels. The supplementation of these metals for livestock grazing from pasture was unnecessary based on these findings. However, further research should be conducted for ecological safety and conservation of ruminant forages, so that both the conventional and non-conventional pastures are employed as livestock friendly consuming forages. Keywords Soil . Forage . Trace minerals . Pastures . Toxic metals . Transfer factor
Introduction The mineral composition of forages varies much according to various factors (Gomide 1978; Reid and Horvath 1980; Aregheore 2002; Khan 2003; Khan et al. 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016a, b, 2018; Ahmad et al. 2018; Khan et al. 2019). The changes in plant composition, stage of growth, availability of Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues * Wuyi Liu [email protected] * Zafar Iqbal Khan [email protected] 1
Department of Biological Sciences, Fuyang Normal University, Qing He West Road No. 100, Fuyang 236037, Anhui, China
2
Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
3
Department of Zoology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan
4
Department of Zoology, Women University Multan, Multan, Pakistan
pasture, and soil moisture content often largely affect the dietary mineral intakes of grazing animals (Hannam and Reuter 1987; Smith and Loneragon 1997; Islam and Adams 2000; Khan 2003; Khan et al. 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018; Ahmad et al. 2018; Jakobsen et al. 2019). Forage production is the foundation of beef cattle and sheep industries. For example, beef cattle derive 85% of their food intake from forage, with the remaining 15% being derived from supplements and/or feed yard diets (Mulliniks et al. 2010; Khan et
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