Using plant traits to compare sward structure and composition of grass species across environmental gradients

Duru, Michel; Cruz, Pablo; Magda, Danièle

doi:10.1658/1402-2001(2004)007[0011:upttcs]2.0.co;2

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…We focused on shoot competition, as it is known to be central in determining a plant community’s response to nitrogen deposition ( Hautier, Niklaus & Hector, 2009 ). We used the fast-growing Dactylis glomerata L., which is favoured by nutrient-rich soils, and the slow-growing Festuca rubra L., favoured by nutrient-poor soils ( Van der Werf et al, 1993 ; Duru, Cruz & Magda, 2004 ). These species commonly coexist in European grasslands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aboveground insect herbivory increases plant competitive asymmetry, while belowground herbivory mitigates the effect

Borgström

Strengbom

Viketoft

et al. 2016

PeerJ

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Insect herbivores can shift the composition of a plant community, but the mechanism underlying such shifts remains largely unexplored. A possibility is that insects alter the competitive symmetry between plant species. The effect of herbivory on competition likely depends on whether the plants are subjected to aboveground or belowground herbivory or both, and also depends on soil nitrogen levels. It is unclear how these biotic and abiotic factors interactively affect competition. In a greenhouse experiment, we measured competition between two coexisting grass species that respond differently to nitrogen deposition: Dactylis glomerata L., which is competitively favoured by nitrogen addition, and Festuca rubra L., which is competitively favoured on nitrogen-poor soils. We predicted: (1) that aboveground herbivory would reduce competitive asymmetry at high soil nitrogen by reducing the competitive advantage of D. glomerata; and (2), that belowground herbivory would relax competition at low soil nitrogen, by reducing the competitive advantage of F. rubra. Aboveground herbivory caused a 46% decrease in the competitive ability of F. rubra, and a 23% increase in that of D. glomerata, thus increasing competitive asymmetry, independently of soil nitrogen level. Belowground herbivory did not affect competitive symmetry, but the combined influence of above- and belowground herbivory was weaker than predicted from their individual effects. Belowground herbivory thus mitigated the increased competitive asymmetry caused by aboveground herbivory. D. glomerata remained competitively dominant after the cessation of aboveground herbivory, showing that the influence of herbivory continued beyond the feeding period. We showed that insect herbivory can strongly influence plant competitive interactions. In our experimental plant community, aboveground insect herbivory increased the risk of competitive exclusion of F. rubra. Belowground herbivory appeared to mitigate the influence of aboveground herbivory, and this mechanism may play a role for plant species coexistence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aboveground insect herbivory increases plant competitive asymmetry, while belowground herbivory mitigates the effect

Borgström

Strengbom

Viketoft

et al. 2016

PeerJ

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“…While canopy structure strongly influences the photosynthetic capacity of a plant community (Monsi et al, 1973; Sheehy and Cooper, 1973), the structure of a pasture canopy can also have a large impact on herbage intake by grazing animals (Barrett et al, 2003). Individual bite weight of a grazing animal is a product of bite volume and canopy density (Casey and Brereton, 1999), which is influenced by canopy height, tiller density, proportion of leaf and stem, and physical characteristics of the leaf such as the angle of attachment to the tiller, dimensions, and rigidity (Rhodes and Collins, 1993; Duru et al, 2004). The canopy structure of grasses also influences the energy required to graze them (Griffiths and Gordon, 2003; Illius et al, 1995).…”

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confidence: 99%

Canopy Structure and Neutral Detergent Fiber Differences among Temperate Perennial Grasses

2007

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Intake of animals grazing grass pasture is in part influenced by canopy density. Our objective was to determine the vertical distribution of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) within temperate perennial grass swards. The study was conducted in 2004 and 2005 on a Plano silt loam (fine‐silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiudolls). When leaf height of each grass reached 25 cm in spring, summer, and fall, canopy layers were harvested from 20 to 25, 15 to 20, and 10 to 15 cm. Differences in canopy density were usually not significant when precipitation was below normal. With abundant spring precipitation, quackgrass [Elymus repens (L.) Gould] had greater upper canopy density (1.9 mg dry matter [DM] cm−3) than any of the other grasses studied. Grasses typically grazed at shorter heights such as bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) had greater density in the lower canopy layer (1.0–1.3 g DM kg−1). While soft‐leaf tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.), and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) had lower density in the upper canopy than timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and quackgrass in the spring, the reverse was true in the summer. Herbage NDF of grasses generally increased from the upper to lower canopy layer (mean difference of 50 g kg−1); perennial ryegrass and meadow fescue often had the lowest NDF throughout the canopy (range of 392–452 and 418–469 g kg−1, respectively). Pasture intake may benefit from a diverse species composition because animals can graze a mixture having optimum density and NDF throughout the canopy.

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“…A higher proportion of leaves in the basal stratum represents a greater distribution of leaves along the canopy height and a greater leaf mass for the LI 95% swards, which resulted in greater residual LAI. The leaf area has been found to correlate positively to digestibility and nutritive value (Duru et al, 2004;Pontes et al, 2007). Therefore, the increased residual LAI associated with greater leaf availability resulted in a greater allowance of high-quality forage on LI 95% swards.…”

Section: Forage Nutritive Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritive value and morphological characteristics of Mombaça grass managed with different rotational grazing strategies

et al. 2019

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Light competition increases and plants’ growth pattern change to optimize light utilization when the leaf area index increases. It has been previously shown that using 95% canopy light interception (LI) as a grazing frequency criterion resulted in a greater proportion of leaves and a lower proportion of stem. The objective of the study was to characterize the forage production, morphological composition and nutritive value of Panicum maximum cv Mombaça. The experiment was carried out during summer, autumn–winter and spring. Treatments corresponded to combinations of two pre-grazing conditions (95% and maximum LI at pre-grazing; LI95% and LIMax, respectively) and two post-grazing heights (PGHs; 30 and 50 cm). The statistical design was a randomized complete block, with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Swards managed with LI95% had greater proportions of leaves and lower proportions of stems compared to LIMax. Leaf proportion was lower during autumn–winter compared to summer and spring. The LI95% had greater crude protein (CP) and digestibility (IVOMD), and lower acid detergent fibre (ADF) concentrations than LIMax. The 50 cm PGH pastures had greater CP content and IVOMD, and lower ADF content than 30 cm PGH pastures. Lower IVOMD was observed during autumn–winter than summer and spring. The variability observed on morphological characteristics was primarily associated with seasonality, whilst the nutritive value was primarily affected by grazing management. The pre-grazing target of LI95% combined with 50 cm PGH was the combination that resulted in an increased proportion of leaves, decreased stems in basal stratum and the greatest nutritive value of the produced forage.

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Using plant traits to compare sward structure and composition of grass species across environmental gradients

Cited by 10 publications

References 22 publications

Aboveground insect herbivory increases plant competitive asymmetry, while belowground herbivory mitigates the effect

Aboveground insect herbivory increases plant competitive asymmetry, while belowground herbivory mitigates the effect

Canopy Structure and Neutral Detergent Fiber Differences among Temperate Perennial Grasses

Nutritive value and morphological characteristics of Mombaça grass managed with different rotational grazing strategies

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