Farm structure and grassland phytodiversity – A comparison of beef and dairy cattle farms
2009 | conference paper
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Farm structure and grassland phytodiversity – A comparison of beef and dairy cattle farms
Stroh, H. G. ; Klimek, S. & Isselstein, J. (2009)
In:Nedělník, Jan; Macháč, Radek; Cagaš, Bohumír (Eds.), Alternative Functions of Grassland. Proceedings of the 15th European Grassland Federation Symposium. Brno, Czech Republic. 7–9 September 2009 pp. 46-49. 15th European Grassland Federation Symposium, Brno, Czech Republic.
EGF.
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Details
- Authors
- Stroh, H. G. ; Klimek, S. ; Isselstein, J.
- Editors
- Nedělník, Jan; Macháč, Radek; Cagaš, Bohumír
- Abstract
- In this study we investigated the influence of two different livestock systems on phytodiversity in temperate managed grassland. Within our study area a total of 30 farms were selected that were grouped into 15 spatially neighbouring pairs, each consisting of one beef and one diary cattle farm. Plant species richness and species cover was estimated at eight grassland fields within each farm (n = 240). At the field scale our results revealed that species richness (α-diversity) was significantly higher in beef cattle grasslands. Soil nutrients (phosphorus and potassium content) did not differ significantly between fields of the two different farm types while the nitrogen input was significantly lower in the beef cattle fields. At the farm level (γ-diversity) no difference in species richness was found, which indicated that dairy farms generally have potential to maintain or restore species rich grassland at least at the whole farm level.
- Issue Date
- 2009
- Publisher
- EGF
- Organization
- Fakultät für Agrarwissenschaften ; Department für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften ; Abteilung Graslandwissenschaft
- Conference
- 15th European Grassland Federation Symposium
- Series
- Grassland Science in Europe
- ISBN
- 978-80-86908-15-1
- Conference Place
- Brno, Czech Republic
- Event start
- 2009-09-07
- Event end
- 2009-09-09
- Language
- English