Management practices and plant populations are changing
Rising temperatures, longer growing seasons, increasing drought stress, and more frequent heavy rainfall events – all these changes are impacting our grassland areas.
Traditional sowing and cutting dates no longer align with current stand development. Spring forage growth is increasing, while summer yield depression is significantly more pronounced in most years than before. Conversely, late summer and autumn forage growth is considerably higher. This puts pressure on the plant stand, leading to changes. Generally, the proportion of water-demanding, shallow-rooted, valuable forage grasses is declining. This creates gaps in the stand, which are filled by deep-rooted herbs and legumes, including problematic species such as cowslip and broadleaf dock. Open, patchy stands also promote damage from cockchafer larvae. All of this negatively impacts forage yield and quality if countermeasures are not taken in time.
The goal is a dense, well-structured plant stand with a high proportion of drought-tolerant grasses and legumes. Depending on the intensity of use and the location, well-known drought-tolerant species such as orchardgrass, tall oatgrass, alfalfa, bird's-foot trefoil, and red clover are suitable. However, there are also other species with good drought tolerance, such as tall fescue or meadow fescue. The performance of these new species, which varieties of commercially available species are particularly well-suited under the aforementioned stresses, and the breeding of climate-resistant red clover are currently the subject of several research projects at the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein. The feasibility of using deep-rooting herbs in grassland seed mixtures (e.g., cultivated varieties of ribwort plantain and chicory) is also being investigated.
Climate-tolerant meadows. What can the farmer do?
When the possibilities of improved stand management have been exhausted, optimizing the stand structure through reseeding or even new sowing is the order of the day. Necessary measures must always be implemented as soon as possible after the problem becomes apparent. However, preventative measures are even more effective.
Sparse and poorly developed stands can be sustainably improved in their composition through regular reseeding with a suitable seed mixture. It is important to adapt the choice of seed mixture to the location and management intensity. For example, it makes perfect sense to differentiate between the various reseeding mixtures offered for up to 3 cuts (NA), 4 or more cuts (NI), after renovation using a heavy harrow (NIK), or for dry sites with cutting (NATRO) or grazing (NAWEI), as the range of species and varieties contained in each mixture is optimized for the respective conditions.
There is already good practical experience with the regular overseeding of red clover to re-enrich even intensively used stands with this valuable legume and increase their forage value. However, this measure must be carried out regularly, as red clover is not persistent within the stand. Under suitable site conditions, sowing alfalfa into existing grassland stands is also possible.
Regular reseeding is highly recommended as a preventative measure to stabilize grassland stands. Reseeding should ideally take place during wet periods, as this is when it works best. Even drought-tolerant species establish themselves more effectively under moist conditions. Wet years are reseeding years!
When establishing new grassland areas, choosing the right seed mixture is also of great importance with regard to location and intended use. Therefore, the three cornerstones of seed quality for grassland mixtures should always be considered when selecting the right seed mixture:
- Compliance with the recommended Austrian mixture framework to ensure that the right species are included in the right proportions, depending on the climate zone, location and type or intensity of use.
- Use only varieties that have been tested for yield, quality, and persistence over many years under Austrian site and climate conditions. Only such varieties (see the Austrian Variety List, ÖAG Variety List) guarantee success in practice.
- Use only guaranteed dock-free seeds
Priv.- Doz. Dr. Andreas Steinwidder in conversation with Dr. Bernhard Krautzer (HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein)
Link to the article from our media partner landwirt-media.com
Weiterführende Unterlagen:
- The technical brochure on climate change adaptation, based on the podcast series, contains short and informative technical articles for further reading and
- Supplementary sets of slides for teaching and consulting in all agricultural areas.
