Species rich grasslands (natural and semi-natural) are one the most threatened ecosystems in Europe due to various reasons: change of traditional management, abandonment and re-growth or land-use intensification (eutrophication, fragmentation …). To monitor changes in floristic composition of species rich grasslands due to intensified management we selected 15 farms in western part of Slovenia (Karst region) at the junction of Alps, Dinaric and Sub-Mediterranean regions. This is one of the hot spots of species biodiversity in Europe. Fifteen farms were selected and on each farm two locations/ grasslands with known, but different intensity of management (particularly regarding fertilization) were chosen. On sample plots (25 m2 ) a vegetation relevé was made, soil samples collected, forage/ biomass yield determined, and farmers interviewed regarding their fertilization management. Species richness of plots was not affected by the use of fertilizers (average 36.6 versus 40.1 species on non-fertilized plots), and only portion of legumes was higher on plots with higher P2O5 content in the soil. A higher share of species important for nature conservation was found on non-fertilized plots, but this was in positive correlation with pH and not with K2O and P2O5 content of the soil. Forage from the areas where species important for nature conservation were found was characterized by lower concentration of net energy for lactation. Among invasive alien species Erigeron annuus was most frequent on fertilized plots.
F.27 Contribution to preserving/protecting natural and cultural heritage
COBISS.SI-ID: 43258925Dry species rich grasslands are (beside wetlands) one of the most threatened ecosystems in Europe due to changes of traditional management reflected in land-use intensification (eutrophication etc.), abandonment and re-growth. The plant biodiversity, forage yields and its feed value were studied during the long-term fertilization experiment, which was designed in 1983 on the karst dry grassland near Rožice village in Sub-Mediterranean Slovenia. We set-up 4 x 4 m plots according to 9 treatments in 4 replicates; two were non-fertilized plots (control). On each plot (16 m2), soil samples were collected and forage / biomass yield and its feed value were determined. In the period of 2002–2018, we performed vegetation relevés on randomly selected plots to monitor changes in floristic composition and abundance of species according to different fertilizing treatments. The results show that the species diversity was affected by the use of different combinations and amounts of fertilizers. The highest species richness (average: 42; min: 35; max: 46) was found on non-fertilized plots. They differed significantly from all other treatments except from the treatment with N, which was the most variable treatment in number of species, and from PK treatment with high number of species (average: 39). The lowest species richness (average: 29; min: 22; max: 36) was found on NPK plots with the large quantity of N (160 kg N ha-1 year-1). This treatment significantly differed from all others except from two NPK treatments (with 60 and 80 kg N ha-1year-1), both with low average number of species (33).During the period of 1983–2018, the vegetation type and structure (density and height) on NPK plots compared with non-fertilized ones were changed, too. The vegetation became denser and higher on fertilized plots than on the non-fertilized ones. The vegetation type of Danthonio-Scorzoneretum villosae (still present on non-fertilized plots and on surrounding grasslands) was transformed to Arrhenatheretum s.lat. (present on fertilized plots). Considering both, agricultural and nature conservation interests, the treatment with PK fertilization shows the smallest change in composition and structure of vegetation, and also the lowest loss in plant biodiversity.
F.27 Contribution to preserving/protecting natural and cultural heritage
COBISS.SI-ID: 45126445In the long-term fertilization experiment with 9 treatments in 4 replicates, which was designed in 1983 in Rožice near Kozina, the plant biodiversity, forage yields and its feed value were studied. Two non-fertilized treatments, fertilization with P and K (PK), four fertilization treatments with N, P and K (NPK, 60 to 160 kg N ha-1 year-1), fertilization with P (P) and fertilization with N (N) were investigated. In the period 2005-2018, the first mowing was most commonly performed around June 10th, and according to the growing conditions, the plots were cut from one to three times a year. In the 2002-2018 period, the highest species diversity with an average of 42 species was found on non-fertilized plots, and the lowest diversity (with an average of 29 species) on NPK sample plots with large quantities of N (160 kg N ha-1 year-1). A relatively large number of species (with a mean of 38 species) were also found on PK treatment. Three protected species were recorded on the sample plots: Istrian hellebore (Helleborus istriacus), three-toothed orchid (Orchis tridentata) and green-winged orchid (Orchis morio), and one invasive alien species: annual fleabane (Erigeron annuus). Protected species were mostly present individually on non-fertilized plots and very rarely in NPK treatments, while invasive annual fleabane was most commonly found on NPK fertilized plots. Average annual forage yields in the period 2005-2018 were 2.44 t, 4.64 t, from 5.40 to 6.07 t, 3.6 t and 4.04 t of dry matter per ha on non-fertilized plots, PK fertilized plots, NPK fertilized plots, P fertilized and N fertilized plots, respectively. The lowest net energy for lactation (NEL) was typical for NPK forage (4.67-4.70 MJ), followed by non-fertilized (4.75 MJ) and PK fertilized treatment (4.83 MJ kg-1 dry matter). The forage from PK treatment contained more crude protein (113.8 g) than forage from NPK treatments (from 97.0 to 101.2 g) and non-fertilized treatment (92.6 g kg-1 dry matter). It was concluded that, from the viewpoint of fertilization, agricultural and nature conservation interests are generally opposed. Considering both interests, the most appropriate treatment is PK fertilization.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 5784680The collection contains information on the flora, plant communities, fauna (butterflies, beetles etc.), their locations, native range, environmental parameters, number of specimens, sex, etc. It includes also relevant metadata, such as geographic information (country, region, cities, rivers, peaks), ecological data (habitat types, syntaxons, soil types, anthropogenic impacts, the use of) data types (descriptions, images, synonyms). Over 2 million records of different taxa from Slovenia, Balkan Peninsula and other Europaean regions are collected in the database. More than 10.000 records from 150 releves for the last 2 decades on the fertilizing project near Rožice village are included in the database, which are the very important source to study the biodiversity patterns.
F.16 Improvements to an existing information system/databases