REPRESENTATION OF PLANT SPECIES IN THE STAND IN DEPENDENCE ON TOTAL PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS, TEMPERATURE, INTENSITY OF FERTILIZATION AND USE IN THE PERIOD 2007-2011

F. Hrabe, A. Nawrath, J. Edison Alba Mejia, J. Skladanka

Abstract: Grasslands in central Europe came to existence as communities substitute to forests and fulfill both the production function and other beneficial functions for the society. For the due fulfillment of these functions, the grass stands have to be managed so that their biodiversity as well as quality and high yields can be maintained. The objective of our work was to compare changes in the representation of plant species in dependence on total precipitation amounts, temperature, fertilization intensity and intensity of use in the period 2007-2011. Characteristics assessed included dry matter yields, proportions of individual agro-botanical groups, Shannon’s diversity index and grass stand quality. It was demonstrated that high supply of nutrients shows in the increased (P<0.05) representation of Alopecurus pratensis whose share increased from 6.3% to 36.4% after the application of 180 kg N. Its proportion however depended on total precipitation amounts, too. In the years 2007 and 2009 when the precipitation in the month of April was markedly below the long-term average, the species’ share was the lowest. Increased shares of Festuca rubra and Poa spp. Compensated the decreased representation of Alopecurus pratensis. The proportion of Trifolium repens was also depending on the year (P<0.05). Higher average temperatures in the spring months (2007) reflected positively in its representation (4.8%). By contrast, its representation was only 0.9% in 2010 when the temperatures were the lowest. High doses of nutrients showed to be beneficial also for the quality and yield of grass stands. Fertilization had an adverse effect on the biological diversity, which was decreasing with the increasing dosing of fertilizers. Higher intensity of exploitation appeared to be appropriate measure to support biodiversity.

Keywords: biodiversity; nitrogen; number of cuts; phosphorus; potassium; primary production

Date published: 2019-01-17