Cutting frequency vs. N application: effect of a 20‐year management in Lolio‐Cynosuretum grassland |
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Authors: | V Pavl? J Schellberg M Hejcman |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Plant Ecology and Weed Science, Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic;2. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic;3. Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany;4. Department of Nutrient Management, Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic |
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Abstract: | The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different long‐term management options on re‐establishment of traditional species‐rich grassland in a Lolio‐Cynosuretum grassland. The experiment was set up in 1987 in a low‐fertilized mown pasture in the Eifel Mountains (Germany). Two and four cuts per year each with three levels of nitrogen fertilizer application were compared to no application of P and K fertilizer. Biomass production increased as a result of N application, whereas crude protein content and digestibility of organic matter improved in the four‐cut treatments. During a 20‐year period, we found a significant shift in dominant grass species without any significant effect on species richness. Lolium perenne and Elytrigia repens were replaced by Holcus lanatus and Alopecurus pratensis, especially in the two‐cut treatments with N application. In the unfertilized plots, several individuals of Platanthera bifolia appeared when swards were cut only twice per year, probably as a result of nutrient depletion together with low cutting frequency. An increase in number of cuts mainly supported plant species well adapted to intensive management, even under low N application and relatively low plant‐available P content in the soil. Therefore, we conclude that cutting frequency was a key driver on plant species composition in this experiment. The re‐establishment of traditional species‐rich grassland from intensively managed Lolio‐Cynosuretum was not achieved within 20 years of cutting management combined with absence of P and K application. |
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Keywords: | meadow management intensity plant species richness after‐effect of fertilization Platanthera bifolia RDA |
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