Volatile Plant Secondary Metabolites in \u3cem\u3eEremophila glabra\u3c/em\u3e and Their Influence on Animal Foraging Preference

One response to global climate change effects on Australia is to investigate the use in sustainable farming systems of native plants, which have evolved to cope in their harsh environment (Monjardino 2009). The EnrichTM project has screened many Australian native plants for their potential use as methane reducers in ruminants, as anthelmintics, and as nutrition sources systems (Revell 2010). Eremophila glabra is one plant that shows promise in this regard, but first the foraging animal must want to eat it. This decision is assisted by the animal\u27s assessment of the emitted volatile plant secondary metabolites (PSM) (Provenza 2007). In this paper we investigate the relationship between volatile PSM in leaf material and animal preference for a number of E. glabra accessions

Making Decisions to Identify Forage Shrub Species for Versatile Grazing Systems

Grazing systems in many parts of the world face large challenges, including a declining natural resource base (e.g. soil fertility), marked fluctuations in feed production across seasons and years, climate change (including the contribution of greenhouse gases from livestock), and market demands for sustainable and ethical production systems. The ‘Enrich’ project was established in Australia (Revell et al. 2008; Bennell et al. 2010) within this broad context of emerging challenges to explore the potential of using Australian native perennial shrub species as part of the feedbase for sheep and cattle in southern Australia. The underlying rationale was to: add perennial shrub species into the existing annual-based pasture feedbase so that the forage system could tolerate extended dry periods but provide green edible plant material during periods where a ‘feed gap’ would otherwise exist; be productive on marginal soils where other productive options are limited (Masters et al. 2010); and have a positive effect on gut function and health (Vercoe et al. 2007); i.e. a versatile grazing system. This paper outlines the research approach that was taken, and reports on a ‘decision tree’ to prioritise species from an initial large list, based on a wide range of plant characteristics and how they can be used in a grazing system