Botanical composition, forage yield and quality under different improved Mediterranean rangeland

Abstract

Proliferation of invasive of annual plant species and thorny shrubs such as Christ’s thorn (Paliurus spina-christi) is common in Mediterranean rangelands due to climatic shifts and heavy grazing. Improved practices are needed to manage such invasive species. This study assessed how improved rangeland practices affected herbage yield and quality, botanical composition in the Canakkale in western Turkey. The rangeland practices were: 1. control (no improvement practices (C), 2. removal of Christ’s thorns followed by forage crop planting (R), 3. use of herbicides to treat Christ’s thorn shrubs (H), 4. removal of Christ’s thorn shrubs by grubbing with dozers and rippers (M), and 5. the shrubs were cut out in the rangelands dominated with Christ’s thorn. The field has been plowed deep by a tractor. Then, it had been used as field for 10 years (sown with wheat). At the end, it has been turned back in the form of rangelands by sowing forage crops (F). The seeding practice has been done into bare parts of the rangelands that were occurred due to the removal of Christ’s thorn. The treatment plots were seeded with perennial ryegrass, orchardgrass and alfalfa. Control had the greatest number of species (45 species) whereas mechanically-treated plot had the least (28 species). All treatments increased herbage yield and grazed herbage quantities of the rangelands. The mechanically-treated rangeland increased yield by 2.5 folds compared with control. Treatments did not affect herbage quality of the rangelands. Results indicate that improvement practices improved rangelands invaded with Christ’s thorn shrubs.