The objective of this study was to investigate how storage temperatures influence the bacterial community of oat silage during the ensiling process via PacBio single molecule, real-time sequencing technology (SMRT). Forage oat was ensiled at four different temperatures (5 °C, 10 °C, 15 °C, and 25 °C) and ensiling days (7, 14, 30, and 60 days). With the rise in storage temperature, the lactic acid content showed an increased trend. Acetic acid production was observed highest in silage fermented at 5 °C compared with other treatments, and Enterococcus mundtii was also the dominant bacterial species. Lactiplantibacillus pentosus and Loigolactobacillus rennini were exclusively detected in silages at 10 °C, 15 °C, and 25 °C, and dominated the fermentation after 60 days of ensiling at 10 °C and 25 °C, respectively. In addition, L. pentosus, L. rennini, and E. mundtii may be related to changes in the fermentation products due to the differences in ensiling temperature. In conclusion, results of this study improve our understanding of the complicated microbial composition underlying silage fermentation at low temperatures, which might contribute to target-based regulation methods for enhancing silage quality and developing new inoculants.

There are few studies on the application of lactic acid bacteria in the reduction of anti-nutrient factors in paper mulberry silage. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different lactic acid bacteria on the fermentation quality and the amount of anti-nutritional factors in paper mulberry silage. Two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum (GX, isolated from paper mulberry silage; GZ, provided by Sichuan Gaofuji Biotechnology Co. Ltd.) were added as silage additives. On days 7, 15, 30 and 60 of the ensiling process, the fermentation quality, and the amount of anti-nutritional factors were measured. Compared with the control group, inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum could rapidly reduce pH values, leading to lower NH₃-N/TN. Besides, it also significantly increased the lactic acid content (p < 0.05). The two strains of L. plantarum significantly reduced the content of hydrolysed tannin, condensed tannin, total tannin, oxalic acid, phytic acid and saponin (p < 0.05). Overall, this study found that the addition of lactic acid bacteria could significantly improve the fermentation quality of paper mulberry and reduce the amount of anti-nutrient factors (p < 0.05).

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of wilting and additives on the fermentation quality, structural and non-structural carbohydrate composition of mulberry silages. The selected LAB strains Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum 'LC279063' (L1), commercial inoculant Gaofuji (GF), and Trichoderma viride cellulase (CE) were used as additives for silage preparation. Silage treatments were designed as control (CK), L1, GF, or CE under three wilting rates, that is wilting for 0, 2 or 4 hours (h). After ensiling for 30 days, the silages were analyzed for the chemical and fermentation characteristics. The results showed that wilting had superior effects on increasing the non-structural carbohydrate concentration and degrading the structural carbohydrate. After ensiling for 30 days, L1 generally had a higher fermentation quality than other treatments, indicated by the lower pH value, acetic acid, propionic acid and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) content, and the higher lactic acid, water soluble carbohydrate (WSC), glucose, galactose, sucrose and cellobiose concentration (p<0.05) at any wilting rate. Wilting could increase the ratio of lactic acid/acetic acid and decrease the content of NH3-N. The results confirmed that wilting degraded the structural carbohydrate and increased the non-structural carbohydrate; and L1 exhibited better properties in improving fermentation quality and maintaining a high non-structural carbohydrates composition compared with the other treatments.

The grassland condition in Qinghai Province has changed dramatically after implementation of the Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP). The changes in grassland Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and those in grassland area and grassland Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RESI) reveal that the policy has indeed played a crucial role in grassland ecological recovery. Although in the first round of policy implementation from 2011–2015, the quality of grassland has not improved significantly, and degradation even occurred in some areas, the second round of the policy implementation reversed this trend. As the world’s only ecological subsidy policy for grassland ecosystems, it should continue to be implemented and monitored for better recovery of grassland ecology and production activities of herders that are concerned.