The choice of the white clover population alters overyielding of mixtures with perennial ryegrass and chicory and underlying processes

Abstract

Legume-based forage plant mixtures are known to increase biomass production over the mixture species grown as pure stands (overyielding), which has partly been attributed to enhanced nitrogen availability by legumes. However, the relative importance of underlying processes of these positive diversity effects and their drivers are not fully understood. Here we assessed if outcome and causes of diversity effects depend on the legume-species genetic identity. Over five years, we cultivated different white clover (Trifolium repens) populations, a grass and forb species in pure stands and clover-based mixtures and recorded biomass yield. Complementarity and selection effects of mixtures and relative yields of mixture species were calculated based on both unfertilized and nitrogen-fertilized non-leguminous pure stands. Results showed that the clover population altered the overall strength of diversity effects as well as the direction and magnitude of their temporal trends, at least for the grass component of mixtures. Differences in diversity effects between clover populations diminished when fertilized instead of unfertilized non-leguminous pure stands were considered. Hence, a part of these differences likely results from dissimilar effects of clover populations on nitrogen availability. The findings reveal the possibility to improve overyielding of legume-based forage plant mixtures by decisions on legume-species genetic identity.