Meaning-making from wordless (or nearly wordless) picturebooks: what educational research expects and what readers have to say

Wordless (or nearly wordless) picturebooks are intriguing in terms of how readers make meaning from them. This article offers a conceptualization of existing studies in the field of education that use wordless picturebooks with young readers. While some of these studies contribute to understanding meaning-making, the pragmatic use of wordless picturebooks often does not take account of their particular nature and of the heightened role of the reader, leading to a mismatch between what the picturebook expects from the implied reader and the researchers’ expectations of what ‘real’ readers must do with these books. By highlighting observations from children’s literature scholarship and reader-response studies, this article aims to encourage a more interdisciplinary understanding of meaning-making. It also seeks to persuade educational researchers and mediators to consider investigative approaches that are not based on verbalization but are more in tune with the invitations that wordless picturebooks extend to young readers

Irrigation impact on harvest efficiency in grazed Old World bluestem

In 1992 and 1993, pastures of WW-Spar Old World bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum L.) were maintained at 2 levels of soil water, rainfall and rainfall plus 25 mm/week of supplementary irrigation. At both moisture levels the grass was maintained at 2 levels of standing crop, averaging 1,548 and 2,154 kg ha(-1), using continuous variable stocking. Measurements were made to determine how different levels of soil moisture interacted with grazing intensity to change leaf area index, leaf-stem and live-dead ratios, tiller density, and the proportion of gross leaf production that was grazed (harvest efficiency). The proportions of live to dead, and leaf and stem biomass, remained constant under the different levels of soil water content. Soil water content alone had no effect on leaf area index, tiller density and the proportion of live or dead, leaf and stem. Winter tiller survival was significantly higher in the pastures with higher soil water content. Increasing soil water content and increasing grazing intensity interacted to reduce the proportion of dead leaf, increase production of new tillers, and increase the proportion of leaf grazed by decreasing leaf that died and was not grazed. This study indicates that if continuously grazed Old World bluestem was maintained at a standing crop of 1,500 kg ha(-1), harvest efficiency would be higher in wet years or under irrigation than if standing crop was higher.</jats:p

Integrated Grazing and Prescribed Fire Restoration Strategies in a Mesquite Savanna: I. Vegetation Responses

This study evaluated the efficacy of prescribed fire applied within landscape-scale rotational grazing treatments to reduce mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) encroachment and restore herbaceous productivity and cover. One-herd, multiple-paddock rotational grazing was used to accumulate herbaceous fine fuel for fires via prefire deferment and to provide periodic postfire deferment for grass recovery. Treatments were an unburned continuous-grazed control, a four-paddock-1 herd system with fire (4:1F), and an eight-paddock-1 herd system with fire (8:1F), with two replicates per treatment (1 294–2 130 ha per replicate). The management plan was to burn 25% of each system (one paddock in the 4:1F; two paddocks in the 8:1F treatments) and defer grazing during all or portions of the 9 mo (May to January) prior to burning. Deferral was ‘‘internalized’’ by grazing on the remaining 75% of each treatment without reducing stocking rate determined for the entire system. Mesquite cover increased on clay-loam soils from 22% to 40% in unburned paddocks over 7 yr (1995–2001). This increase, coupled with extended drought, reduced fine fuel amounts for fire and limited the number and intensity of fires that were applied. It was possible to burn one paddock in the 8:1F treatment (12.5% of total area), but not in the 4:1F treatment (25% of total area) during drought. Fires reduced mesquite and cactus (Opuntia spp.) cover by 25–79% and 24–56%, respectively, but cover of these species increased to prefire levels within 6 yr. All fires reduced (P # 0.05) total herbaceous biomass for 1 yr postfire. The 8:1F treatment increased (P # 0.05) grass biomass on loamy-bottom soils and reduced (P # 0.05) bare ground on clay-loam and loamy-bottom soils in unburned paddocks compared to the unburned continuously grazed control. The 8:1F treatment, through internalized grazing deferment, facilitated the application of fire to reduce woody cover during extended drought without degrading the herbaceous understory.

Irrigation impact on harvest efficiency in grazed Old World bluestem

In 1992 and 1993, pastures of WW-Spar Old World bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum L.) were maintained at 2 levels of soil water, rainfall and rainfall plus 25 mm/week of supplementary irrigation. At both moisture levels the grass was maintained at 2 levels of standing crop, averaging 1,548 and 2,154 kg ha(-1), using continuous variable stocking. Measurements were made to determine how different levels of soil moisture interacted with grazing intensity to change leaf area index, leaf-stem and live-dead ratios, tiller density, and the proportion of gross leaf production that was grazed (harvest efficiency). The proportions of live to dead, and leaf and stem biomass, remained constant under the different levels of soil water content. Soil water content alone had no effect on leaf area index, tiller density and the proportion of live or dead, leaf and stem. Winter tiller survival was significantly higher in the pastures with higher soil water content. Increasing soil water content and increasing grazing intensity interacted to reduce the proportion of dead leaf, increase production of new tillers, and increase the proportion of leaf grazed by decreasing leaf that died and was not grazed. This study indicates that if continuously grazed Old World bluestem was maintained at a standing crop of 1,500 kg ha(-1), harvest efficiency would be higher in wet years or under irrigation than if standing crop was higher.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Herbage response following control of honey mesquite within single tree lysimeters

Justification for controlling honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr. var. glandulosa) on rangelands has been traditionally related to enhanced livestock production from increased herbage production. More recently, however, it has been hypothesized that control would also increase off-site water yield. The objective of this 3-year study was to quantify the effects of control of individual honey mesquite trees inside nonweighable lysimeters on herbage standing crop, leaf area, and aboveground production. Utilizing frequent harvest techniques, estimated aboveground net primary production (ANPP) in intact tree lysimeters averaged 235 g/m2. Estimated ANPP in the treated lysimeters averaged 349 g/m2. The increased ANPP, following removal of the trees, resulted in significantly greater amounts of herbaceous leaf area and standing crop. The increase in ANPP was relatively uniform regardless of distance from the trunk of removed trees and was the result of increased production by those herbage species present at time of control rather than a shift in species composition. The dominant species in both treatments was Texas wintergrass (Stipa leucothrica Trin. & Rupr.). Sideoats grams [Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr.] was a subdominant. The results, in combination with concurrent water yield studies, suggest control of honey mesquite will not enhance water yields dramatically in this region in the absence of livestock grazing.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Some Effects of a Rotational Grazing Treatment on Quantity and Quality of Available Forage and Amount of Ground Litter

A 16-paddock, cell-designed, rotational grazing (RG) system was initiated in March 1981 to evaluate the effects of RG on various vegetation response variables and cow/calf production. This 20-month study was initiated in January 1983 to contrast herbage dynamics in the RG treatment to those in a yearlong continuously grazed treatment (MC). Rate of stocking in the RG treatment was 3.7 ha/cow/year as compared to a moderate rate of 5.9 ha/cow/year in the MC treatment. There was no difference between treatments in herbage growth dynamics. Total herbaceous standing crop, however, was greater in the MC treatment than the RG because of greater amounts of senesced forage. The resultant effect on forage quality, in terms of crude protein (CP) concentration and organic matter digestibility (OMD) was that they were generally greater in the RG than the MC treatment. Litter standing crop was also less in the RG than MC treatment although seasonal dynamics were similar. Results indicate differences between treatments were caused primarily by differences in stocking rates and not grazing systems.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Evaluation of Pedometers for Measuring Distance Traveled by Cattle on Two Grazing Systems

The precision and accuracy of pedometers for measuring distance traveled by cattle on production size grazing systems were studied. Pedometer calibration factors were similar among cattle, but varied because of differences in the sensitivity of pedometers to movement and/or the tightness of the case around the animal's leg. Adjusting pedometer readings by their individual calibration factor provided a precise and accurate measure of travel distance. Cattle on a short duration grazing system tended to walk farther, and travel distance was more variable than with animals on a continuous grazing system.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

14- Vs. 42-Paddock Rotational Grazing: Forage Quality

Research was initiated at the Texas Experimental Ranch in 1981 to quantify the effects of 2 livestock densities on forage quality in a rotational grazing (RG) treatment. Livestock densities evaluated were equivalent to 14 and 42-paddock RG treatments. Baseline data were collected in 1981 from 3 adjacent 30-ha paddocks in a 465-ha, 14-paddock, cell designed RG treatment stocked at a rate of 3.6 ha/cow/year. Near the beginning of the 1982 growing season the center paddock was subdivided into three, 10-ha paddocks to establish the RG-42 treatment. Herbage standing crop was harvested before and after each grazing event during the 40-month period, separated by species or species group into live and dead tissue, and each fraction analyzed for percentage crude protein (CP) and organic matter digestibility (OMD). Livestock density had minimial effect on forage quality. Live tissue was of higher quality than senesced tissue regardless of plant species. Increases and decreases in overall quality during grazing periods were positively associated with rates of plant growth. Number of periods when forage quality increased or decreased during grazing and magnitude of change were unaffected by treatment. Lack of significant treatment effects on forage quality is attributed to the general absence of significant treatment effects on forage production, species composition, and live/dead ratios.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202