Abstract
Herbage production and nutrient content are affected by light interception and soil fertility. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of artificial shade and fertilization on herbage production, growth characteristics, and nutrient content of the grass species Dactylis glomerata and Festuca ovina, and the legume species Trifolium subterraneum and Medicago lupulina. Each plant species was placed under three shading treatments of 90% (heavy shade), 50% (moderate shade) and 0% (control). Fertilization (225 kg/ha N, 450 kg/ha P, and 225 kg/ha K) was applied to half of the pots of every species and shading treatment. Reduced light intensity (90% shading) significantly lowered herbage production from 18% for F. ovina to 48% for D. glomerata and decreased the root:shoot (R/S) ratio of all species but the moderate reduction of light intensity (50%) did not affect R/S ratio and herbage production of the grasses and M. lupulina, while it resulted in an increase of the production of T. subterraneum by 10.5%. Reduced light intensity increased by 25% on average, the crude protein concentration of the grass species while moderate shading did not affect the crude protein concentration of T. subterraneum. Fertilization increased herbage production from 16% for F. ovina to 59% for D. glomerata and ameliorated its nutrient content. Among the tested species, D. glomerata and T. subterraneum demonstrated the highest shade tolerance and could be incorporated into silvopastoral systems of the Mediterranean region.
Highlights
Silvopastoral systems include the competition between woody plants, herbaceous vegetation and grazing animals (Nair, 1989)
Significant differences were detected among the shading treatments and the fertilization levels for dry matter (DM) production, R/S ratio, nutrients and Nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) for all the tested species
There was no significant difference between herbage production of the control and the 50% shading treatment for D. glomerata, F. ovina and M. lupulina
Summary
Silvopastoral systems include the competition between woody plants, herbaceous vegetation and grazing animals (Nair, 1989). Woody plants affect in various ways the understory herbaceous vegetation and have an essential role in minimizing erosion by reducing run off and improving water conservation (Young, 1989), modifying the microclimate by moderating extremes in daily photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and soil temperatures (Feldhake, 2001), and by reducing evapotranspiration (Belesky, 2005). They can affect the quantity and quality of forage produced (Devkota and Kemp, 1999). This reduced TNC under shading may increase forage digestibility of the forages (Garrett and Kurtz, 1983)
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