LONG-TERM
EFFECT OF IMPROVEMENT FACTORS OF NARDUS STRICTA GRASSLANDS, THE MINERAL
FERTILIZED VARIANT
Teodor MARUȘCA[1]
Abstract.
On a
Nardus stricta subalpine grassland in the Bucegi Massif, located at 1800 m
altitude in the juniper floor (Pinus mugo), in 1995 an experiment was set up to
improve them through different methods of calcium amendment, overseeding and
reseeding, periodically fertilized with mineral fertilizers (NPK). The calcium
amendment stimulated on average over the last 5 years (2019 - 2023), of the 28
years since administration, the species Trifolium repens which reaches 9.8%
compared to 2.7% for the unamended variants, Poa pratensis to 18.9 % fined vs.
absent in unamended and Agrostis capillaris at 26.1% vs. 24.3 in unamended. By
amending with 7.5 t/ha of lime dust (CaO), the pastoral value after 24-28 years
reaches an average of 77.5 compared to 60.4 in the non-amended variants, 27%
higher. Likewise, the production of green mass in the same period reaches 11.79
t/ha for the fined variants compared to 6.72 t/ha for the non-fined ones, with
an increase of 81%. Overseeding with grass mixtures has been shown to be better
in terms of production than reseeding or natural grassland with wild species.
The average production of cow's milk per hectare was evaluated at 3970 litters
in the amended variants and 3,120 liters in the unamended one, 850 l/ha more.
In the oversown varieties, the average milk production was 3,680 liters per
hectare compared to 3460 l/ha, 220 liters more. The factors: calcium amendment
and overseeding over a period of almost 30 years in the case of mineral
fertilization have the greatest influence on the productivity of subalpine
meadows of Nardus stricta in the Carpathians.
Keywords: subalpine
grasslands, calcium amendment, overseeding, reseeding, productivity
DOI 10.56082/annalsarsciagr.2024.2.91
Abstract
Article
Volume
13 No 2 – 2024