Yield of binary- and multi-species swards relative to single-species swards in intensive silage systems

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Abstract

Binary- and multi-species sown mixtures may increase herbage yield and/or reduce inorganic nitrogen (N) requirement compared to perennial ryegrass (PRG) (Lolium perenne L.) swards. A split-plot design was used to compare yields of binary- and multi-species mixtures to single-species swards of three grasses and red clover managed for intensive silage production under varying N application rates. Perennial and Italian (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) ryegrasses had greater annual yields when grown as single species receiving 360 kg N/ha per year than in binary mixtures with red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) receiving 0 kg N/ha per year, whereas timothy (Phleum pratense L.) produced equally high yields in both situations. When no inorganic N was applied, the annual dry matter yield of Mix 1 (10,738 kg/ha; PRG, timothy, red clover and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and Mix 2 (11,679 kg/ha; PRG, timothy, red clover, ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) and chicory (Cichorium intybus L.)) was greater than that of a PRG sward (PRG/0N; 5,885 kg/ha) and derived more from the contribution of legumes than herbs. This yield advantage of mixtures declined as inorganic N input increased, as did the legume and herb proportions in the multi-species swards. When averaged across rates of inorganic N input, Mix 2 had a greater annual yield than Mix 1 (12,464 vs. 11,893 kg/ha). Mix 2 receiving no inorganic fertiliser N and both Mix 1 and Mix 2 receiving 120 kg N/ha per year matched the annual yield achieved by PRG receiving 360 kg N/ha per year. Our results indicate that the yield performance of binary- and multi-species grassland swards should be measured in situ rather than predicted from single-species swards of constituent species.

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Transformation of the nitrogen cycle: recent trends, questions, and potential solutions.

James N Galloway, Alan R. Townsend, Jan Willem Erisman … (2008)

Humans continue to transform the global nitrogen cycle at a record pace, reflecting an increased combustion of fossil fuels, growing demand for nitrogen in agriculture and industry, and pervasive inefficiencies in its use. Much anthropogenic nitrogen is lost to air, water, and land to cause a cascade of environmental and human health problems. Simultaneously, food production in some parts of the world is nitrogen-deficient, highlighting inequities in the distribution of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Optimizing the need for a key human resource while minimizing its negative consequences requires an integrated interdisciplinary approach and the development of strategies to decrease nitrogen-containing waste.

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The evolution and future of Earth's nitrogen cycle.

Donald Canfield, Alexander Glazer, Paul G Falkowski (2010)

Atmospheric reactions and slow geological processes controlled Earth's earliest nitrogen cycle, and by ~2.7 billion years ago, a linked suite of microbial processes evolved to form the modern nitrogen cycle with robust natural feedbacks and controls. Over the past century, however, the development of new agricultural practices to satisfy a growing global demand for food has drastically disrupted the nitrogen cycle. This has led to extensive eutrophication of fresh waters and coastal zones as well as increased inventories of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N(2)O). Microbial processes will ultimately restore balance to the nitrogen cycle, but the damage done by humans to the nitrogen economy of the planet will persist for decades, possibly centuries, if active intervention and careful management strategies are not initiated.

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Impacts of plant diversity on biomass production increase through time because of species complementarity.

Bradley J Cardinale, Justin P Wright, Marc W Cadotte … (2007)

Accelerating rates of species extinction have prompted a growing number of researchers to manipulate the richness of various groups of organisms and examine how this aspect of diversity impacts ecological processes that control the functioning of ecosystems. We summarize the results of 44 experiments that have manipulated the richness of plants to examine how plant diversity affects the production of biomass. We show that mixtures of species produce an average of 1.7 times more biomass than species monocultures and are more productive than the average monoculture in 79% of all experiments. However, in only 12% of all experiments do diverse polycultures achieve greater biomass than their single most productive species. Previously, a positive net effect of diversity that is no greater than the most productive species has been interpreted as evidence for selection effects, which occur when diversity maximizes the chance that highly productive species will be included in and ultimately dominate the biomass of polycultures. Contrary to this, we show that although productive species do indeed contribute to diversity effects, these contributions are equaled or exceeded by species complementarity, where biomass is augmented by biological processes that involve multiple species. Importantly, both the net effect of diversity and the probability of polycultures being more productive than their most productive species increases through time, because the magnitude of complementarity increases as experiments are run longer. Our results suggest that experiments to date have, if anything, underestimated the impacts of species extinction on the productivity of ecosystems.