Long-term experiments - overview

Overview of long-term experiments:

Comprehensive research is being conducted at the Department of Biology and Ecology, focused on long-term monitoring and experimental evaluation of ecological processes in grassland ecosystems of the Jizera and Lusatian Mountains. This research is facilitated by long-term experiments that provide a unique framework for studying how vegetation and soil characteristics respond to different management practices, which vary in both intensity and type of anthropogenic intervention.

The primary aim of the research is to quantify how traditional and modern forms of grassland management (grazing, mowing, mulching, application of mineral or organic fertilizers, as well as land abandonment – complete cessation of agricultural use) influence plant species richness, shifts in species composition, and selected plant functional traits. At the same time, key soil ecosystem processes in grasslands are being monitored, including soil nutrient availability for plants, soil microbial communities, and the representation of different groups of soil fungi. Grassland productivity, structural properties, and their role in carbon sequestration are also being evaluated.

The collected data are contributing to a deeper understanding of mechanisms driving successional development in Central European grassland ecosystems, while also providing a scientific basis for developing sustainable strategies for the management of cultural landscapes. The research emphasizes the critical importance of appropriately designed management interventions for the conservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of ecosystem functions in grassland habitats in the context of ongoing global environmental change.

Divergrass team's long-term experiments

1. Betlém – grazing experiment with heifers 

1a. Betlém – grazing experiment

Publications:

The effects of first defoliation and previous management intensity on forage quality of a semi-natural species-rich grassland

Effect of 15-year sward management on vertical distribution of plant functional groups in a semi-natural perennial grassland of central Europe

Sward-height patches under intensive and extensive grazing density in an Agrostis capillaris grassland

Long-term defoliation by cattle grazing with and without trampling differently affects soil penetration resistance and plant species composition in Agrostis capillaris grassland

Cover estimation versus density counting in species-rich pasture under different grazing intensities

Effects of long-term grazing management on dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) in Agrostis capillaris grassland

Behavioural patterns of heifers under intensive and extensive continuous grazing on species-rich pasture in the Czech Republic

Restoration of grazing management and its effect on vegetation in an upland grassland

Effect of continuous grazing on forage quality, quantity and animal performance

Changes in plant densities in a mesic species-rich grassland after imposing different grazing management treatments

Studying spatial and temporal dynamics of sward structure at low stocking densities: the use of an extended rising-plate-meter method

1b. Betlém – grazing, cutting, abandonment 

1c. Betlém – grazing + fertilization

2. Mníšek

Publication:

Long-term effects of different mulching and cutting regimes on plant species composition of Festuca rubra grassland

3. Filipov

Publications:

Long-term effects of mulching, traditional cutting and no management on plant species composition of improved upland grassland in the Czech Republic

What is the effect of long-term mulching and traditional cutting regimes on soil and biomass chemical properties, species richness and herbage production in Dactylis glomerata grassland?

4. Horní Maxov (NR Malá Strana)

Publication:

What is a suitable management for Typha latifolia control in wet meadows?

5. Bukovec – Pralouka

Publications: 

Effect of long-term cutting versus abandonment on the vegetation of a mountain hay meadow (Polygono-Trisetion) in Central Europe

Relationship between soil and biomass chemical properties, herbage yield and sward height in cut and unmanaged mountain hay meadow (Polygono–Trisetion)

6. Bukovec – burned area 

7. Hrabětice

8. Mařeničky

9. Oldřichov v Hájích - grazing experiment with sheep 

Publication:

Changes of sward characteristics in cut meadow after introduction of intensive sheep grazing

Long-term experiments in abroad, on which the Divergrass team is working

Germany

1. Rengen (Bonn)

Publications: 

Response of grassland vegetation composition to different fertilizer treatments recorded over ten years following 64 years of fertilizer applications in the Rengen Grassland Experiment

Plant density and seed production of Rhinanthus minor under long-term Ca, N, P and K fertiliser application in the Rengen Grassland Experiment (Germany)

Competitive ability of Rhinanthus minor L. in relationto productivity in the Rengen Grassland Experiment

Dactylorhiza maculata, Platanthera bifolia and Listera ovata survive N application under P limitation

2. Grazing experiment FORBIOBEN (Göttingen)

Publications:

Soil organic carbon stocks and belowground biomass in patches in heterogeneous grassland

3. Steinach 

Publication:

The Steinach Grassland Experiment: Soil chemical properties, sward height and plant species composition in three cut alluvial meadow after decades-long fertilizer application

Austria

1. Admont 320

Publication: 

The Admont Grassland Experiment: 70 years of fertilizer application and its effects on soil and vegetation properties in an alluvial meadow managed under a three-cut regime

2. Admont 317

Publication: 

Long-term effect of increasing nitrogen level on plant species composition in an alluvial meadowLong-term effect of increasing nitrogen level on plant species composition in an alluvial meadow

3. Zachenschöberl 

Publication: in preparation

Great Britain (Wales)

1. Brignant

Publications: 

What is the effect of 19 years of restoration managements on soil and vegetation on formerly improved upland grassland?What is the effect of 19 years of restoration managements on soil and vegetation on formerly improved upland grassland?

The effect of 19 years of restoration managements on forage quality and herbage-soil relationships within improved upland grassland

Plant species composition and plant species richness under longterm Brignant grassland experiment in Wales

2. CSP experiment 

Publication: 

Comparative Analysis of Pasture Composition: DNA Metabarcoding Versus Quadrat-Based Botanical Surveys in Experimental Grassland Plots

Slovakia

1. Experiment in NP Nízké Tatry 

Publication: 

Restoration management of cattle resting place in mountain grassland