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<p>The aim of the study was to assess the impact of cut vegetative shoots of chosen lawn grass cultivars of <em>Festuca</em> being left on the lawn sward surface on the species composition, sodding and appearance, and over-wintering of the lawn. The influence of decomposing biomass was studied in a field experiment between 2008 and 2014. Each cultivar was sown as a monoculture on microplots with an area of 1 m². The control consisted of sites from which the cut sward had been removed immediately after cutting.</p><p>The results obtained may indicate an allelopathic effect of the cut sward of the cultivars left on the lawn surfaces. The following had the most negative effects on the species composition of the lawn sward (from greater to lesser negative impact): <em>F. ovina</em> ‘Espro’, <em>F. rubra</em> ‘Areta’, <em>F. arundinacea</em> ‘Asterix’, and <em>F. ovina</em> ‘Pintor’. With the exception of ‘Espro’, these cultivars also limited the presence of dicotyledonous plants in the lawn sward. The cover of dicotyledonous plants and other unsown grasses was also recorded on the sites with <em>F. rubra</em> ‘Olivia’ and ‘Nimba’. The greatest negative influence on the sodding of the lawn swards was demonstrated by the latter <em>F. rubra</em> cultivar, whereas <em>F. ovina</em> ‘Espro’ had the greatest negative influence on the appearance. However, no differences were found in assessments of over-wintering of the cultivars at the study sites. However, taking into account the scale of these impacts on the characteristics evaluated, the cultivars of <em>Festuca</em> species tested can be recommended for extensive use, where a cut sward can be left on the surface of the lawn. Some caution in this respect is recommended when it comes to <em>F. ovina</em> ‘Espro’ and <em>F. rubra</em> ‘Areta’ and ‘Nimba’.</p>

The study objective was to analyze and assess the vegetation changes of the meadows (Mo linio-Arrhenatheretea class) located in the valley of the Bystra River in eastern Poland after a period of 38 years, and to identify the direction of plant communities succession. The studies were conducted in the years 1973 and 2011 on grasslands belonging to farmers. The floristic diversity was identified based on the phytosociological structure and mean number of species calculated based on the number of species in the particular relevés of the phytocenosis under study. The highest frequency of occurrence was demonstrated by the Poa pratensis-Festuca rubra community within which more than half of the patches persisted over the 38-year period. New communities (Scirpetum sylvatici, Alopecuretum pratensis, Lythro-Filipenduletum) appeared after the withdrawal of habitats of the Phragmitetea class, due to the lowering of the groundwater level. A portion of the meadows and pastures were transformed into arable fields, gardens or building plots. Among ecological indicators, the greatest differences were observed in the mean soil moisture values between the two years compared, both for all meadows and the predominant community, which indicates an increase in habitat humidity.

The objective of the study was to elucidate correlations between meadow plant species, the content of some biogenic elements in groundwater, sward harvesting frequency and the level of the groundwater table at the beginning and at the end of a growing season. An adequate choice of species grown in organic soil may be of particular significance for nutrient management and prevention of water eutrophication due to biogenic elements. A lysimeter experiment was conducted on peat-muck soil. The chemical composition of groundwater sampled underneath the rhizosphere of P. pratensis, Ph. pratense and L. perenne was assessed in several years. Two fixed levels of the groundwater table were maintained in the lysimeters: 50 and 90 cm below the ground surface. Grass was harvested three or five times during a growing season. The content of nitrate-nitrogen and ammonium-nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sodium and magnesium was determined in the analysed groundwater. The results showed significant variation in the mean (over the research period) content of selected mineral components (except for phosphate ions) in the piezometer water collected under the rhizosphere of specific grass species. The species L. perenne absorbed mineral components most effectively. The highest concentration of the majority of the components studied was found in water beneath the rhizosphere of P. pratensis. Significantly higher concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen (but not ammonium-nitrogen) and potassium were found in water in the springtime. The biogenic element content found in objects with a three-cut harvesting regime was lower than in waters underneath grasses harvested five times. Regardless of the species and harvesting frequency, a significantly higher content of specific cations and anions in piezometer water was found in objects with a lower level of the groundwater table.

The paper presents floristic diversity of some plant communities in the Nadwieprzański Landscape Park (middle part of the Wieprz River valley). Phytosociological relevés were made in the years 2005-2007 with Braun-Blanquet method. Species richness was a base to calculate the Shannon-Wiener diversity index. The Wieprz River valley has the character of a floodplain. In its middle reaches, communities of the Molinio- Arrhenatheretea class accounted for nearly 75% of all plant communities in grasslands. Herbaceous communities were represented by associations from the Filipendulion alliance. The greatest diversity (H’ = 3.4) was characteristic for vegetation of the Valeriano-Filipenduletum association. It formed small patches in abandoned meadows. Small patches of plants from the Lythro-Filipenduletum ulmariae association, having a slightly smaller floristic diversity (H’ = 3.0) were found on abandoned meadows located in highly silted and poor organic soils. Characteristic species of herbaceous communities (Filipendula ulmaria, Valeriana officinalis and Lythrum salicaria) occurred also in the sward of abandoned thistle meadows. Typical thistle meadows (Cirsietum rivularis), with the predominance of Cirsium rivulare developed in land depressions, not far from the Wieprz River, in the vicinity of abandoned drainage ditches and along the edges of the valley. However, the total abandonment of these meadows leads to changes in floristic composition of the sward and to succession towards herbaceous communities.

Celem badań przeprowadzonych w Nadwieprzańskim Parku Krajobrazowym była charakterystyka zbiorowiska Poa pratensis-Festuca rubra, występującego na łąkach w środkowym fragmencie doliny Wieprza.  Zbiorowisko z Poa pratensis i Festuca rubra wyróżniono na podstawie 114 zdjęć fitosocjologicznych. Na badanym obszarze zbiorowisko występowało zarówno na glebach organicznych, jak i mineralnych, o zróżnicowanej zasobności w składniki pokarmowe oraz szerokim przedziale pH. Omawiany zespół opanowuje pasma łąk zlokalizowanych w dość suchych siedliskach w dolinie rzeki oraz w strefie przejścia doliny w pola uprawne, w pobliżu zabudowań. Ruń poszczególnych płatów odznaczała się wyraźną dominacją wiechliny łąkowej lub kostrzewy czerwonej. W siedliskach suchszych dominowała kostrzewa czerwona, a w wilgotniejszych – wiechlina łąkowa. Gatunki panujące w zbiorowisku osiągnęły V stopień stałości oraz charakteryzowały się wysokimi współczynnikami pokrycia (D = 2558 i D = 1281). W runi badanych płatów obok dominujących gatunków stwierdzono niewielki udział gatunków charakterystycznych dla rzędu Arrhenatheretalia.

The study objective was to assess the impact of the vegetative shoots of the lawn cultivars of Poa pratensis (one of the most valuable lawn grasses), cut and left on the lawn surface, on the species composition and overwinter survival of a lawn. The investigation was conducted in a field experiment. Each cultivar was sown in monoculture, on microplots covering 1 m2 each. In the control objects, the cut biomass was removed immediately after the cutting. The investigation showed that ‘Bila’ had the strongest negative impact on the share of sown lawn grass cultivars (sensitivity to the biomass of the same cultivar remaining after cutting). The smallest share of other, unsown grass species in objects where the cut biomass remained was observed in lawns with ‘Nandu’ and, in the case of dicotyledons – with ‘Bila’. The biomass left on the lawn surface after cutting did not have a significant influence on the overwinter survival of the plants. The negative impact of P. pratensis biomass, both on the sown cultivars and other groups of plants, can indicate its allelopathic properties. Therefore, the grass of this species should not be left on the lawn after cutting. The aboveground biomass cut and left on the lawn surface was shown to have a clearly varied influence on the soil pH: in the case of the ‘Ani’ and ‘Bila’ cultivars, the influence was unequivocally negative. In addition, the biomass of these cultivars did not result in significantly increased levels of assimilable forms of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium in the soil.