Effects of Vegetation Management and Raising the Water Table on Nutrient Dynamics and Vegetation Change in a Wet Grassland

Abstract

Effects of vegetation management and raising the water table on nutrient dynamics and vegetation change in a wet grassland Oomes, M.J.M.; Olff, H.; Altena, H.J.Published in: Journal of Applied Ecology IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date : 1996 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Oomes, M. J. M., Olff, H., & Altena, H. J. (1996). Effects of vegetation management and raising the water table on nutrient dynamics and vegetation change in a wet grassland. Journal of Applied Ecology, 33(3), 576-588. CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. The results of a restoration experiment carried out on a permanent grassland on peaty, heavy clay in the Netherlands are described. The experiment started in 1985, 7 years after fertilizer application had ceased, and was designed to provide insight into ecologically significant processes accompanying restoration. An analysis was made of the effect of management regime and of raising the water table on nutrient availability, dry matter production, tissue nutrient concentration, dynamics of species numbers and plant species replacement. Three management practices were compared: cutting and removal (RR), cutting and mulching (MM), sod removal in 1985, and thereafter cutting and removal of the hay (RS). Data are presented on changes during a 5-year period. 2. No trend was discernible in soil pH, total C, N and P in the RR treatment; extractable P and K decreased sharply in the field with the raised groundwater level. 3. Nine years after fertilizer application ceased, dry matter production had fallen from 10-11 to 6-7 t ha-l yearly. In the subsequent 5 years of the experiment it declined to 5-6 t ha-' year' when all cut biomass was removed, and to about 4 t ha-' year' after sod removal. Mulching caused an increase to 11 t ha-' year'. No effect was seen of the raised water level. 4. The dry matter yield of the first June cut in the RR treatment decreased. The tissue K concentration also decreased, but no increase of the tissue P concentration was detected. It was concluded that the availability of K and to some extent of P was more important than N availability in explaining the decrease in dry matter production. Th...

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