Describing the Dynamic: Measuring and Assessing the Value of Plants in the Pasture.

The dynamic nature of pastures makes them hard to quantify. Near constant changes in photosynthesis, growth forms (reproductive vs. vegetative), energy use/storage, growing points, forage quality, and intra- and inter-species competition makes succinctly describing pastures  a challenge. Yet understanding how these the morphological and developmental parameters change in relation to both biotic (grazing, pathogens, insects) and abiotic (drought, cold, heat) events provide the scientific basis for optimizing management plans. Challenges include 1) the cost, primarily skilled labor, to measure many of these parameters, and 2) having a scientific team large enough fully analyze and interpret the data. New technologies offer opportunities to inexpensively measure pasture growth dynamics. Lasers, ultrasound, drones, high resolution satellite images, stereo-photography, global positioning systems, and radio frequency identification systems offer innovative researchers new methods to rapidly quantify the soils, plants, animals and even the people of pasture ecosystems. The successful research teams of tomorrow will be as dynamic and as diverse as the pastures they hope to measure. Blending traditional soil, plant and animal scientists with engineers, computer scientists, geographers, economists, human nutritionists, sociologists and psychologists can bring new perspectives about “what makes a pasture good”. Linking research teams to end users – not just farmers but also investors, consumers, environmentalists, critics, and policy makers – provide the opportunity to use dynamic pasture measurements to build a happier, healthier planet.