Abstract
Cultivated pastures are effective supporting systems of natural grassland preservation and sustainable agriculture in arid regions of northwest China. The adaptive combination of forage species enhances the yields and ecological functions of cultivated pastures. Legume–grass intercropping is a valuable sowing regime because of the niche differentiation and resource acquisition. Understanding the effects of species interactions in legume–grass intercropping systems can provide scientific and practical guidance on cultivated pasture management. In this study, we conducted a field experiment to determine the advantages and effects of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) annual grass intercropping on cultivated pastures. We analyzed the data on population traits, community characteristics and dry matter in the growing period to evaluate the effects of variety and sowing patterns with the following treatments: three alfalfa varieties (Algonquin, Leafy king, WL354HQ) sown in monocultures and mixed with oat (Avena sativa L.) or sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf.) with two seeding ratios. Our results suggest that in mixtures, the plant traits of alfalfa were determined by their own characters at the earlier stage but were affected more by companion grass at the later stage. The annual forage grass companion impaired the growth of alfalfa during the growth period. In mixtures, sudangrass displayed a stronger inhibiting effect on alfalfa than oat. Alfalfa–grass intercropping was proved to be a feasible cropping practice in terms of yield, production stability and weed control, due to their complementary use of resources in comparison with alfalfa monocropping. Alfalfa–annual grass intercropping is a beneficial alternative strategy to obtain effective cultivated pastures in arid regions.
Highlights
Overgrazing and the degradation of natural grassland have been inevitable and represent constraints on husbandry development in the arid regions of northwest China [1]
The plant density, coverage proportion, community density, dry matter biomass (DM) and biomass proportion of the alfalfa varieties in monocultures tended to rise with time and fall (Tables 2–4; Figures 1 and 2). These findings indicated that the growth performance of alfalfa peaked at the middle stage, while weeds became competitive at the later stage
We found that alfalfa–annual grass intercropping tended to increase the production ability and ecological functions in the mountain–basin systems (MBS)
Summary
Overgrazing and the degradation of natural grassland have been inevitable and represent constraints on husbandry development in the arid regions of northwest China [1]. Changes in grazing regimes, such as grazing exclusion and rotational grazing, have limitations in the conservation and restoration of natural grasslands. The typical vast compound landforms including mountain, oasis and desert in this region were defined as mountain–basin systems (MBS) by Zhang [2]. The MBS comprises interacting subsystems with the exchange of energy, material, life and culture [3].
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