Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2013, 61(5), 1431-1440 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun201361051431

The effect of mineral fertilization on belowground plant biomass of grassland ecosystems

Ján Tomaškin1, Ján Jančovič2, Ľuboš Vozár2, Judita Tomaškinová1
1 Department of environmental management, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovak Republic
2 Department of grassland ecosystems and forage crops, Faculty of agrobiology and food resources, Slovak University of agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic

Aim of the work was to determine the effect of different doses of mineral fertilization on belowground and aboveground plant biomass production of three different types of grasslands, to state R:S ratio (root:shoot) and turnover period of belowground plant biomass of grasslands. In the contribution, we assess production of underground biomass, tillering zone and aboveground biomass on three types of grasslands - permanent grassland (PG), over-sown grassland (OSG) and temporary grassland (TG) in sub-mountain area of central Slovakia. There were applied four levels of mineral nutrition in each grassland (non-fertilized variant, var. 30 kg.ha-1P and 60 kg.ha-1 K. var. 90 kg.ha-1 N + P30K60, var. 180 kg.ha-1 N + P30K60). The root biomass has the most significant share in the total biomass of grasslands (49.9-54.2 %), followed by tillering zone (33.3-36.0 %) and with the lowest share of aboveground biomass (11.9-16.8 %). A dominant share of root biomass and tillering zone ensure significant extra-productive functions of grasslands that contribute to the stability of agriculture landscape. We recorded the lowest amounts of root mass on TG (7.31 t.ha-1) and OSG (7.76 t.ha-1), the highest amounts on PG (8.52 t.ha-1). The specific nitrogen stimulating influence on root biomass production has been proven. Production of tillering zone was lower on OSG and TG (5.11 or 5.42 t.ha-1), significantly higher on PG (5.72 t.ha-1). We observed a significantly higher production of tillering zone with variants which were fertilized with nitrogen than on non-fertilized and PK fertilized. The lowest harvests of aboveground biomass were noticed on TG (5.80 t.ha-1), significantly higher on PG and OSG (6.35 or 6.54 t.ha-1). Mineral nutrition had a significant impact on production of aboveground biomass.
R:S ratio of the assessed grasslands achieved the values from 4.02 to 5.16. Higher values on PG (5.16) are indicating its higher resistance to drought. Turnover time of root biomass was the longest on PG 3.5-5.0 years, on OSG and TG 2.5-3.5 years. Based on achieved results, we recommend using the fodder plants cultivation system on PG or OSG. Permanent grasslands are proved as ecologically more stable and more resistant to drought than temporary grasslands; they can together with optimal mineral nutrition provide adequate production of root biomass (8.5 t.ha-1) and a harvest of aboveground biomass (6.3 t.ha-1).

Keywords: aboveground biomass, grass sod, grassland, plant biomass, root, R:S ratio, tillering zone, turnover time of root biomass

Received: March 4, 2013; Published: September 28, 2013  Show citation

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Tomaškin, J., Jančovič, J., Vozár, Ľ., & Tomaškinová, J. (2013). The effect of mineral fertilization on belowground plant biomass of grassland ecosystems. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 61(5), 1431-1440. doi: 10.11118/actaun201361051431
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