XVI International Botanical Congess

The objectives of this research team are to: 1) identify plant successional processes leading to development of productive pasture plant communities from abandoned cropland and conventionally seeded fields, 2) elucidate ecological and environmental factors that control persistence of white clover populations in productive pastures, 3) examine legume/grass interactions relating to competition and defoliation, 4) determine the effect of management variables on animal and pasture productivity, and 5) assess the role of insect pests and white clover viruses on intensively grazed pastures. Results from research at the molecular, physiological and ecological levels on these objectives have led to new insights of plant communities in grazed pasture swards.