Ir. R.P.O. Schulte : On the stability of mixed grasslands

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7 Mar 2001 13:30
Unit: Wageningen University
Promotor: prof.dr.ir. P.C. Struik (Crop Physiology)
Co Promotor: dr.ir. E.A. Lantinga

 Recent years have seen an increased interest in the use of legumes, in particular of white clover, in grassland. However, these mixed grasslands have been reported to show lower levels of production stability than grass monocultures. The causes behind this low stability have been the subject of this PhD research. New quantification methodologies were developed to analyse the stability of grassland ecosystems. These methodologies enabled the deduction of a number of ecosystem properties from the yield patterns of two long-term grassland experiments. The largest production stability was observed in grasslands showing the most dynamic nutrient flows. As a result, two types of management strategies for mixed swards were proposed. Regular liming, the maximisation of grazing, and the use of targeted mixtures of grassland species are structural strategies which ensure stability on the long term. Dynamic strategies are required to counteract fluctuations caused by climatic conditions. However, these can not be prototyped, due to the individuality of each grassland. Instead, these require a familiarity of each farmer with his ecosystem.
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