Intensive Meadows on Organic Soils of Temperate Climate–Useful Value of Grass Mixtures after the Regeneration

Abstract

Meadows on organic soils perform an essential role as a source of fodder and biomass for energy purposes. In the case of intensive meadows, it is crucial to use grass mixtures that enable obtaining high yields of good quality; however, on organic soils, the grass species composition changes dynamically. We carried out the full cultivation (ploughing) for grassland restoration. The floristic composition of meadow sward in the first year of full use (2013) was similar to the composition of mixtures used for sowing (2012) individual plots. Festuca arundinacea and Phleum pratense showed greater resistance to low temperatures in winter and excess water in spring compared to Lolium perenne. In comparison, we obtained the highest yield (fresh and dry mass) from mixtures with Festuca arundinacea and Lolium perenne. We obtained the best quality forage from the first swath and the object with the highest share of Lolium perenne. For grassland restoration in the analysed habitat, it is reasonable to use grass mixtures with varied compositions, in which the share of Lolium perenne is between 25–50%.