The Impact of Two Different Cutting Regimes on Grassland Species Diversity

Abstract

Since 1995, a field experiment has been conducted on semi-natural grassland to compare the effects of different cutting regimes (2 cuts per year, 4 cuts per year) over several years (1998, 2002, and 2019) on the botanical composition of the swards. Each year (from 1995 to the present), vegetation inventories were inventoried before the first cut in May using the direct estimation technique. Species diversity was assessed using standard parameters (H - Shannon's diversity; D1 - Simpson's diversity; D2 - Simpson's dominance, E - Simpson's evenness). The total number of plant species was statistically different in the observed years. However, the different management measures had no significant effect on the total number of plant species. Based on the results, we found that the different cutting regimes also significantly influenced the proportion of grasses and legumes in the sward, while they did not significantly change the proportion of herbs. A less frequent cutting regime (2 cuts per year) was characterized by a higher proportion of legumes and a lower proportion of grasses. In contrast, the results for treatment with 4 cuts per year were just the opposite. The values of all examined species diversity indices showed that the less intensive grassland
management (2 cuts per year) had a significantly higher species diversity than the more intensive one (4 cuts per year).