A novel grass hybrid to reduce flood generation in temperate regions

Abstract

We report on the evaluation of a novel grass hybrid that provides efficient forage production and could help mitigate flooding. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is the grass species of choice for most farmers, but lacks resilience against extremes of climate. We hybridised L. perenne onto a closely related and more stress-resistant grass species, meadow fescue Festuca pratensis. We demonstrate that the L. perenne × F. pratensis cultivar can reduce runoff during the events by 51% compared to a leading UK nationally recommended L. perenne cultivar and by 43% compared to F. pratensis over a two year field experiment. We present evidence that the reduced runoff from this Festulolium cultivar was due to intense initial root growth followed by rapid senescence, especially at depth. Hybrid grasses of this type show potential for reducing the likelihood of flooding, whilst providing food production under conditions of changing climate.

Root imaging showing comparisons in root distribution and ontogeny in novel Festulolium populations and closely related perennial ryegrass varieties

“…It might be inferred from the current research that root frequency in Lolium and Festulolium could be predicted based on measures of foliar yield. However, root architecture and ontogeny in these grasses, as shown by MacLeod et al (2013), have important implications on soil structure, hydrology, biota, and ecosystem services. Moreover, variants to root architecture may bring alternative benefits associated with crop production.…”

“…The accumulated evidence from research such as that of MacLeod et al (2013) and Li et al (2017) would suggest that root turnover in certain Festulolium hybrids may have a significant impact on increasing soil porosity, be causal in soil water retention, and may mitigate incidents of flooding as well as impacting on carbon sequestration. However, the impacts of plant roots over soil structure have alternative explanations.…”

Plant age effects on soil infiltration rate during early plant establishment

“…The willow is a fast-growing species, and a common candidate for slope stabilisation in multiple soil bio-engineering projects (Steele et al, 2004;Mickovski et al, 2009;Wu et al, 2014). The grass was bred by the Welsh Plant Breeding Station in the 1970s, and has been recently selected for flood mitigation purposes (Macleod et al, 2013).…”

Sustainable grassland systems: a modelling perspective based on the North Wyke Farm Platform

“…The cultivar used in the planned reseeding treatment was grown at the site in a previous study. The annual average cut biomass over the period 2007–2009, after its establishment, was 9718 kg DM ha −1 (Macleod et al , ), whereas our simulated cut biomass in 2014 was 9131 kg DM ha −1 with a relative error of 6%. Although there is some overestimation during the establishment phase, simulation gives realistic values for the post‐establishment phase; therefore, the estimation of grass biomass with this treatment can be considered reliable for future climate predictions.…”