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The Role of Grassland in EU Soil Protection Strategy
3-15Views:74The three most important life quality criteria are: healthy and good-quality food, clean water and pleasant environment. All three are closely related to the sustainable management of natural resources; conservation of soil and water resources; rational land use and landscape preservation. Soils are conditionally renewable natural resources, consequently, their rational use, conservation, and the maintenance of their multipurpose functionality have particular significance both in the national economy and environment protection. The main soil functions are: integrator (transformer) of other natural resources; most important media for biomass production; storage of heat, water, nutrients, pollutants; buffer of various natural and human-induced stresses; huge natural filter (preventing groundwater pollution); detoxication media of various harmful substances; habitat for soil biota, gene-reservoir, media of biodiversity; conservator of the natural and human heritage.
The maintenance of these functions is the key-element of sustainable development on all levels of the decision-making process: Globe → continent → region → country → subregion → settlement → farm → field. The EU Strategy for soil protection focuses attention on 8 environmental threats, for their prevention, elimination or moderation:
– water and wind erosion;
– decrease in organic matter resources;
– compaction and structure destruction;
– soil sealing;
– the increasing frequency, duration and degree of extreme moisture events: flood, waterlogging – drought;
– point and non-point (diffuse) soil pollution;
– salinization/alkalization/sodification;
– decline in biodiversity (decreasing number and activity of soil organisms, narrowing their species spectra).
The EU-conform Soil Conservation Strategy of Hungary was elaborated during the last decades on the basis of long-term soil survey, soil analyses, soil mapping and soil monitoring activities. It comprises three main tasks:
– the prevention, elimination or moderation of soil degradation processes;
– the reduction of the unfavourable economic, ecological, environmental and social consequences of extreme moisture regimes;
– the control of the biogeochemical cycle of elements: optimum nutrient supply of plants; prevention of harmful soil pollution and contamination of the „food chain”.
Grassland management has to play a significant role in these actions. In addition to fodder production, rational grassland management can considerably contribute to the storage, buffer, filter and gene-reservoir functions of soil, to the improvement of soil moisture regime, to the moderation of extreme moisture conditions, and to the reduction of soil losses caused by water or wind erosion. In spite of these favourable impacts grasslands (covering about 12% of Hungary) have never been in the focus of Hungarian agriculture.
Grasslands were always restricted to marginal lands (sands, salt affected soils, peatlands, floddplains) with low and risky (highly weather-dependent) biomass production and low animal carrying capacity. Relatively productive grasslands were upturned for corn in large hilly areas (resulting serious erosion losses and landscape deterioration); the huge floodplain grasslands were used for other agricultural crops after flood control and river regulation; peatland grasslands were also considerably reduced by the drainage of these areas and used (not always successfully and efficiently) for arable crops. Huge areas became seriously degraded wastelands or „weedlnds” due to irregular grazing, lack of weed control, plant nutrition, water management. Under improper management not only the biomass production decreased considerably but the soil conservation functions of grassland were also deteriorated, sometimes dramatically. The poor and degraded grassland vegetation were not able to prevent (or at least moderate) water erosion losses in hilly areas, wind erosion losses in the dry sand regions or „over-drained” ameliorated peatlands, and even their gene-reservoir functions are sometimes threatened seriously.
Rational grassland management is an important element of both the European and Hungarian Soil Conservation Strategy. Its scientific bases are well-known. The details have to be determined by further research and scientific programs. The existing knowledge should be broadcast using all available information channels: teaching and education on various levels; demonstrations; media programs, etc. A proper system of stimulating economy regulations should be developed and formulated in various-level legal documents. But first of all an environment-friendly moral must be developed accepting the concept of sustainable grassland management.
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Földalatti ökoszisztéma-mérnök fajok szerepe a gyepek fenntartásában
49-55Views:133In this review we would like to analyze the effects of the subterranean rodents on vegetation using results from research of several taxons in different vegetation types and climate. Ecosystem engineers are organisms that modify, maintain, and create habitats. Subterranean rodents belong to this group. These species have an impact on the vegetation the microtopographical features of the soil and bulk density, they can change the structure, organic matter and moisture content of the soil they reduce the proportion of nitrogen. The fossorial rodents occur almost all over the world (expect Australia and Antarctica). These herbivorous species burrow tunnels under the ground and with this they have an impact on the floral diversity and dominance relations, the structure and composition of the association, the amount of biomass production as well as the distribution of plants and seeds. They can take effect directly with consumption of plants and indirectly with affect the plant-soil relations. At the basis of the results the activity of the subterranean rodents enhanced the diversity in most of the cases (of course there were also negative results and some researcher didn't find any differences between the mounds and the plots with no mounds). Their effect on the biomass was usually negative but they changed the species composition of their habitat at all times.
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Effects of organic fertilization on the structure and yield of extensive grassland plant populations
3-8Views:119The effects of different organic fertilizer inputs were investigated on natural grassland with solonyec soil conditions at the Karcag Research Institute. Mature sheep manure applied at 0-10-15-20 t/ha at single irrigation in early spring induced positive changes in stand structure and yield even in the semiarid spring of 2022. In the non-irrigated part of the experiment, the difference in the rates of organic manure was hardly affected.
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Arsenic accumulation in English Ryegrass (Lolium perenne)
67-68Views:51Arsenic contamination globally occurs in groundwater especially in deeper layers. Soil type, structure, water availability and land use both effect its concentration which varies between 10-170 µg/l. As more deep wells have been erected to access underground aquifers, arsenic accumulation became regular risk. Plants are in direct contact with groundwater therefore potential accumulators for heavy metals or metalloids. Through the food chain, both animals and humans are able to build up certain amount of metals and metal like salts. These elements accumulate in living tissues and may interrupt crucial physiological cycles (transcription, CO2-release). We focused on English ryegrass (Lolium perenne) because its known genome sequence and wide cultivar availability. This species is often used as optimal roughage for ruminants and horses. Also used as lab-plant because its fast germination rate.
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Possibilities of restoration of natural or seminatural grasslands: Papers of the „Challenges and Aspects in Grassland Management” conference held on 22-23 May 2008.
19-27Views:97The number of natural grassland restoration projects increased in the last decade in Hungary, and probably the area of restored grasslands will be significantly extended in the next years due to New National Rural Development Program. To contribute to the success of this activity, in this paper we review the most important theoretical and practical aspects of natural grassland restoration methods. In the course of grassland restoration, habitats dominated by grasses and/or sedges have been restored in place of arable lands. In order to perform “natural” restoration, we should consider the ecological conditions of the landscape, and reconstruct natural or seminatural grasslands including of native plant species. Essentially, rehabilitation of natural landscape is supported also by creating new seminatural grassland patches. The basic principles of the natural grassland restoration are:
1. When a spontaneous secondary succession starts to proceed on an abandoned field without invasion of any alien plant species, the re-ploughing of the abandoned field has to be ignored.
2. Generally, the old fields surrounded by species-rich natural or seminatural grassland pathes can succesfully be restorated. Then, as a consequence of newly restored vegetation patches the recovery of the whole landscape can be accelerated. Furthermore, by restoring isolated grassland patches surrounded by arable lands a more diverse landscape pattern could be developed.
3. Spontaneous secondary succession of grasslands should be assisted.
4. The development of typical species composition of a seminatural grassland can be promoted by methods of spreaded hay. For successful process the hay has to be cut in a habitat type similar to ones that will be restored.
5. Applying seed-mix for sowing can be useful to prevent spreading weeds drastically in the early stages of succession.
6. Ideally, the seed-mix is originated from own harvesting or gathering from similar (or the same) habitats. If it is not possible, commercially available seed-mix can be applied, in which the dominant species is the same as in the restored habitat, with similar proportion.
7. Seed-mix consists of alien species has to be avoided.
8. If the composition or structure of the restored grassland is not appropriate after some years, the renewal of the grassland could be necessary. During the improvement process the reploughing of the restored grassland is avoided, but spreading seeds or hay, and direct sowing can be applied.
9. The loading of nutrient is not necessary in any stages of grassland restoration.
10. Applying chemicals is avoided; any herbicides can be used only when extensive invasion of alien plant species occurs.
11. The mechanical intrusions on soil are also avoided.
12. The restored grasslands is required regular or continuous management, which could be a preserving mowing or moderate grazing. The aspects of nature conservation should be considered.
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Use of farmyard manure in grassland
39-41Views:282A gazdálkodási körülmények átalakulása miatt nagyban megváltozott a gyephasznosítási gyakorlat. Hazánkban túlsúlyba kerültek az olyan gyepterületek, ahol természetvédelmi célú gyepgazdálkodást írnak elő a különböző rendeletek, vagy ezt a gazdálkodási formát maguk a tulajdonosok vállalják támogatás fejében. Teljesen mindegy, hogy milyen gazdálkodást végzünk, ha „a füvet betakarítjuk és lehordjuk a területről”, azt valamilyen tápanyag formájában pótolnunk kell a talaj számára. A szervesanyagok használata a fenntartható tápanyagpótlásban egyre nagyobb hangsúlyt kell, hogy kapjon.