Plant Diversity, Functional Group Composition and Legumes Effects versus Fertilisation on the Yield and Forage Quality

Gintarė Šidlauskaitė,Žydrė Kadžiulienė,Vilma Kemešytė,Monika Toleikienė

doi:10.3390/su14031182

Gintarė Šidlauskaitė, Žydrė Kadžiulienė + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031182

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Abstract

Elevating plant diversity and functional group composition amount in the swards may contribute to lower N fertiliser use. The excessive use of fertilisers in agriculture is one of the causes of environmental pollution issues. We investigated the effects of plant diversity, functional community composition, and fertilisation on the dry matter yield and its quality at the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Central Lithuania. The study aimed to determine the productivity potential of single-species and multi-species swards with three, four, six, and eight plant species in the mixtures including four grasses and four legumes. Two experimental backgrounds were used with N0 and N150 kg ha−1 yr−1 for all treatments. In the two-year experiment manipulating species richness and functional group diversity had a positive effect on the dry matter yield and produced better quality of the forage when compared with single-species swards. Crude protein in the forage of grass–legume mixtures was significantly greater than for grass monocultures. Investigating fertilisation background was a concern; it had a positive effect on the single-species sward yield but decreased the yield of multi-species swards.

Highlights

IntroductionIn the last decades many field experiments were performed to find out how functional traits of different plant species influence the productivity of swards [4,5,6,7,8]
The mixture with the highest plant species diversity had a 48% higher dry matter yield compared to the average annual yield of perennial ryegrass and Festulolium
In the first year of sward use, 9611 kg ha−1 was the remarkable result of six plant species in a sown mixture including two legumes, white clover and lucerne, and it was grown without N fertilisation

Summary

Introduction

In the last decades many field experiments were performed to find out how functional traits of different plant species influence the productivity of swards [4,5,6,7,8]. Functional traits are physiological, morphological, or phenological characteristics that describe a plant’s fitness by representing its ability to grow, reproduce, and survive [9]. Productive sward plants are characterised by dense root traits and long-lived tissue, which could inhibit nutrient deficiencies [10]. Legumes are very important [10] and are designed to respond to nutrient deficiencies in the soil [11]. The consumption of plant-based protein is on the rise [12]

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