Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T21:21:39.907Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Long-term effects of improvement methods on Molinia caerulea dominant rough grazing on wet hill land. 1. Pasture production, quality and botanical composition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. A. Davies
D. A. Davies
Affiliation:
Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, Wales, SY2 3EB
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Fifteen treatments were applied in 1966 to Molinia caerulea dominant rough grazing on wet hill land at 305 m in mid-Wales. Improvement methods varied from controlled sheep grazing, application of lime, basic slag and nitrogen to the introduction of grasses and white clover with and without cultivations. Pasture productivity, feed quality and botanical composition were studied in the 4th, 9th, 14th and 18th harvest years. Controlled grazing increased D.M. production from 1·1 t/ha on the native vegetation to 3 t/ha in the 18th year. Application of lime, basic slag and 75 kg N/ha gave mean pasture production of 4·5 t D.M./ha which increased to 6·3 t D.M./ha on application of 290 kg N/ha per year. The quickest and greatest improvement was achieved by the introduction of grasses and clover following rotary cultivation or ploughing. At the lower N input these swards produced on average 6·3 t D.M./ha. Reseeds also showed the best response to 290 kg N with mean production on S. 23 perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) swards of 9·0 t D.M./ha. In vitro digestibility, crude protein and water-soluble carbohydrates were also highest on the reseeded swards.

Increased grazing eliminated Molinia before the 4th year and it was replaced by Nardus stricta and Festuca ovina. Subsequently, Agrostis tenuis replaced Nardus. On the swards given fertilizer the rate of botanical change was accelerated with the ingress of Poa spp., Holcus lanatus and Festuca rubra. The proportion of sown grass remained high on the seeded plots throughout the duration of the experiment but the white clover content was lower than expected and it virtually disappeared from most of the swards before the 18th year.

The results show the potential improvement possible on wet hill land. Given good fertilizer and grazing management, this improvement can be maintained for several years.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 109 , Issue 2 , October 1987 , pp. 231 - 241
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Armstrong, R. H., Eadie, J. & Maxwell, T. J. (1978). The development and assessment of a modified hill sheep production system at Sourhope in the Cheviot Hills (1968–76). Hill Farming Research Organisation, Seventh Report, 1974–77, pp. 69–97.Google Scholar
Armstrong, R. H. & McCreath, J. B. (1985). The Hill Sheep Development Programme, 1974–81. Scottish Agricultural Colleges and Hill Farming Research Organisation, 90 pp.Google Scholar
Charles, A. H. (1962). Pasture establishment by surfacesowing methods. Herbage Abstracts 32, 1–7.Google Scholar
Charles, A. H. (1982). Grassland improvement by one pass seeding. Proceedings of the 9th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation, Reading 1982, pp. 125–128.Google Scholar
Davies, D. A., Munro, J. M. M. & Morgan, T. E. H. (1984). Potential pasture production in the uplands of Wales. 6. The relative performance of sown species. Grass and Forage Science 39, 229–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, H. (1969). Influence of soil and management on the botanical composition and productivity of 20 yearold reclaimed hill pastures in mid-Wales. In Hill Land Productivity (ed. Hunt, I. V.), pp. 162–167. British Grass-land Society Occasional Symposium No. 4.Google Scholar
Davies, R. O. (1941). The effect of manuring, grazing and cutting on the yield, botanical and chemical composition of natural hill swards. II. Chemical section. Journal of Ecology 29, 49–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, R. O. (1947). The yield, botanical and chemical composition of natural hill herbage under manuring, controlled grazing and hay conditions. II. Chemical section. Journal of Ecology 35, 89–95.Google Scholar
Davies, D. A. & Munro, J. M. M. (1974). Potential pasture production in the uplands of Wales. 4. Nitrogen response from sown and natural pastures. Journal of the British Grassland Society 29, 149–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, R. O., Jones, D. I. H. & Milton, W. E. J. (1959). Factors influencing the composition and nutritive value of herbage from fescue and Molinia areas. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 53, 268–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eadie, J. (1967). The nutrition of grazing hill sheep; utilisation of hill pastures. Hill Farming Research Organisation Fourth Report, 1964–67, pp. 38–45.Google Scholar
Eadie, J., Hetherington, R. A., Common, T. G. & Floate, M. J. S. (1981). Long-term responses of a range of grazed hill pasture types to improvement procedures. 1. Pasture production and nutritive value. In The Effective Use of Forage and A nimal Resources in the Hills and Uplands (ed. Frame, J.), pp. 167–168. British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No. 12.Google Scholar
Ellison, W., Boyd, D. A. & Church, B. M. (1955). The progress of improvement on upland and hill farms in England and Wales. Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England 116, 34–39.Google Scholar
Floate, M. J. S., Hetherington, R. A., Common, T. G., Eadie, J. & Ironside, A. D. (1981). Long-term responses of a range of grazed hill pasture types to improvement procedures. II. Nutrient cycling and soil changes. In The Effective Use of Forage and Animal Resources in the Hills and Uplands (ed. Frame, J.), pp. 147–149. British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No. 12.Google Scholar
Frame, J. (ed.) (1981). The Effective Use of Forage and Animal Resources in the Hills and Uplands. British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No. 12, 200 pp.Google Scholar
Frame, J., Newbould, P. & Munro, J. M. M. (1985). Herbage production from the hills and uplands. In Hill and Upland Livestock Production (ed. Maxwell, T. J. and Ounn, R. G.), pp. 9–37. British Society of Animal Production Occasional Publication No. 10.Google Scholar
Gardner, A. L., Hunt, I. V. & Mitchell, I. W. (1954). The ‘Muirfad’ technique of peatland improvement. Journal of the British Grassland Society 9, 161–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haggar, R. J., Squires, N. R. W., Elliott, J. G. & Oswald, A. K. (1978). Improving sward competition by selective herbicides and one-pass seeding. Agricultural Research Council Research Review, National Grassland Issue, pp. 2–6.Google Scholar
Hannaway, D. B. (ed.) (1983). Foothills for Food and Forests, Oregon State University Symposium Series No. 2, Corvallis, Oregon, 383 pp.Google Scholar
Hughes, R. (1970). Hill land improvement. Farmer and Stockbreeder National Technical Conference, Hill and Upland Farming. Peebles (unpublished handout).Google Scholar
Hughes, R., Munro, J. M. M. & Warboys, I. B. (1965). Mechanical treatment for improving upland grazing. Journal of the British Grassland Society 20, 49–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, D. (1983). Yield, botanical and chemical composition monitoring of surface seeded areas. Report of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station for 1982, pp. 81–83.Google Scholar
Jones, D. & Thomas, T. A. (1985). A survey of herbage yield, botanical and chemical composition of improved hill swards in the Aberystwyth area. Efficiency in Grassland Production and Utilisation. Agricultural Re-search and Development in Wales, Second Conference, Bangor, April 1985, p. 39 (poster presentation).Google Scholar
Jones, D. I. H. (1957). Factors influencing the mineral content and nutritive value of herbage from fescue and Molinia areas. Ph.D. thesis, University of Wales.Google Scholar
Jones, J. D. G. (1979). Renovation of mountain pastures in Ceredigion. Report of the Welsh Soils Discussion Group 20, 119–130.Google Scholar
Jones, Ll. I. (1967). Studies on Hill Land in Wales. Technical Bulletin No. 2. Welsh Plant Breeding Station, 179 pp.Google Scholar
Luchok, J., Cawthon, J. D. & Breslin, M. J. (eds) (1979). Hill Lands. Proceedings of an International Symposium, Morgantown, West Virginia 1976, 770 pp.Google Scholar
Maxwell, T. J. & Gunn, R. B. (eds) (1985). Hill and Upland Livestock Production. British Society of Animal Production. Occasional Publication No. 10, 168 pp.Google Scholar
Milton, W. E. J. (1934). The effect of controlled grazing and manuring on natural hill pastures. Welsh Journal of Agriculture 10, 196–211.Google Scholar
Milton, W. E. J. (1936). The buried viable seeds of enclosed and unenclosed hill land. Investigations on the Improvement of Hill Grazings. Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Series H, no. 14, pp. 58–84.Google Scholar
Milton, W. E. J. (1938). The composition of natural hill pastures under controlled and free grazing, cutting and manuring. Welsh Journal of Agriculture 14, 182–195.Google Scholar
Milton, W. E. J. (1940). The effect of manuring, grazing and cutting on the yield, botanical and chemical composition of natural hill pastures. 1. Yield and botanical section. Journal of Ecology 28, 326–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milton, W. E. J. (1947). The yield, botanical and chemical composition of natural hill herbage under manuring, controlled grazing and hay conditions. 1. Yield and botanical section. Journal of Ecology 35, 65–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry Of Agriculture, Fisheries And Food (1980). Redesdale Experimental Husbandry Farm Annual Review 1980, pp. 18–22.Google Scholar
Munro, J. M. M. (1973). Land improvement strategy in Wales. In Hill Pasture Improvement and its Economic Utilisation (ed. Gething, P. A., Newbould, P. and Patterson, J. B. E.). Colloquium Proceedings No. 3, pp. 47–52. Henley-on-Thames: The Potassium Institute Ltd.Google Scholar
Munro, J. M. M. (1979). Herbage variety evaluation under hill and upland conditions in Wales. In Hill Lands (ed. Luchok, J., Cawthon, J. D. and Breslin, M. J.). Proceedings of an International Symposium, Morgantown, West Virginia 1976, pp. 150–156.Google Scholar
Munro, J. M. M. (1985). Grassland systems in the hills and uplands. Efficiency in Grassland Production and Utilisation. Agricultural Research and Development in Wales. Second Conference, Bangor, April 1985, pp. 15–19.Google Scholar
Munro, J. M. M., Davies, D. A. & Thomas, T. A. (1973). Potential pasture production in the uplands of Wales. 3. Soil nutrient resources and limitations. Journal of the British Grassland Society 28, 247–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Economic Development Office (1973). UK Farming and the Common Market: Hills and Uplands, 39 pp. London: National Economic Development Office.Google Scholar
Newbould, P. & Floate, M. J. S. (1979). Problems of hill and upland soils. Soils and Upland Management. Welsh Soils Discussion Group. Report No. 20, pp. 1–31.Google Scholar
O'Toole, M. A. (ed.) (1986). Hill Land Symposium 1984. Galway, Ireland 1984, 567 pp. Dublin: The Agricultural Institute.Google Scholar
Roberts, M. (1973). Increased production from Welsh Mountain sheep by improvement of mountain pastures. In Hill Pasture Improvement and its Economic Utilisation (ed. Gething, P. A., Newbould, P. and Patterson, J. B. E.). Colloquium Proceedings No. 3, pp. 159–162. Henley-on-Thames: The Potassium Institute Ltd.Google Scholar
Smith, A. & Allcock, P. J. (1985). Influence of age and year of growth on the botanical composition and productivity of swards. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 105, 299–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stapledon, R. G. (1933). The improvement of rough and hill grazings. In An account of the Organisation and Work of the Station from its Foundation in April 1919-July 1933, pp. 143–155. Aberystwyth: Welsh Plant Breeding Station.Google Scholar
Turner, S. J., Lloyd, T. & Mathias, P. (1985). Investigation of the factors affecting the white clover content of reseeded upland grassland. Efficiency in Grassland Production and Utilisation. Agricultural Research and Development in Wales. Second Conference Bangor, April 1985, p. 37.Google Scholar
Wildig, J. (1981). The economics of the Pwllpeiran Mountain pasture improvement scheme. In The Effective Use of Forage and Animal Resources in the Hilh and Uplands (ed. Frame, J.), pp. 111–119. British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No. 12.Google Scholar