Seasonal dynamic of herbage biomass under the long term intensive and extensive grazing management

Teowdroes Kassahun Teka, BSc

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

Grasslands main role is to provide sufficient feed for livestock, and there has been huge interest to understand and quantify available biomass from different management strategies that can meet livestock demand and landscape management. A fourteen year (2002-2015) study was conducted on upland grassland maintained under long-term experiment in the Jizerské hory (Oldrichov v Hájích village), Czech Republic. The study analyzed the effect of intensive (IG) and extensive (EG) grazing on the dynamic of biomass production in the course of the grazing season. The sward height was maintained under 5 and 10 cm for IG and EG treatments respectively. Total biomass production in the grazing season was found to be higher under IG than EG and varied between (2.4 to 5 t DM ha-1 year-1) under IG and (2.3 to 4.7 t DM ha-1 year-1) under EG. Double peak (spring and summer) curves of biomass growth during the growing season was found nine times in the fourteen year experiment which makes it very unique form what is commonly found us a single peak curve in the spring in Czech uplands. Sward height was found to be a significant predictor of herbage biomass with strong relationship between sward height and herbage biomass under IG (R2 =0.933) and (R2= 0.748) in EG. Considering the number of herbivores in Czech Republic it is clear that EG is a better landscape management that can fulfill the livestock needs and mitigate temporary or permanent abandonment of grasslands.

Keywords

Heifers grazing, Ex-closure cages, Grassland, Biomass yield

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 19. 4. 2016

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: prof. Dr. Ing. Vilém Pavlů

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta životního prostředí

Magisterský studijní program / obor:
Inženýrská ekologie / Nature Conservation