Dodd, Mike; Silvertown, Jonathan; McConway, Kevin; Potts, Jacqueline and Crawley, Mick
(1994).
| DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Link: | http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1007/BF02882911 |
|---|---|
| Google Scholar: | Look up in Google Scholar |
Abstract
The Park Grass Experiment at Rothamsted consists of a series of fertilizer treatments which have been applied to a species-rich hay meadow annually since 1856. Detailed botanical analyses of the plots between 1862 and 1992 were classified to one of the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) communities using the similarity measured by Czekanowski coefficient using computer program MATCH. Results indicated that `'control'' unfertilized plots were a relatively stable Cynosurus cristatus-Centaurea nigra dicotyledon-rich grassland. However mineral fertilized plots moved towards a species-rich Arrhenatherum elatius grassland MG1e after 50-80 years and remained there. Plots receiving nitrogen fertilizer moved first to MG1e then on to a Lolium perenne-Alopecurus pratensis grassland MG7D. Perhaps the most interesting plot was one which received a low rate of the soil acidifying ammonium sulphate fertilizer; the species composition changed towards a MG7D (Lolium perenne-Alopecurus pratensis) community between 1856 and 1903 but since then a liming treatment has been applied to part of the plot and the species composition on that part has recovered to a MG5 community resembling the control plots, taking 70-90 years to do so.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Copyright Holders: | 1994 Springer |
| ISSN: | 1874-9348 |
| Keywords: | community stability; computer aided vegetation classification; grassland; long-term experiment; match; nvc |
| Academic Unit/Department: | Science > Environment, Earth and Ecosystems Mathematics, Computing and Technology > Mathematics and Statistics |
| Interdisciplinary Research Centre: | Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research (CEPSAR) |
| Item ID: | 28236 |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Frain |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Apr 2011 15:55 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Oct 2011 08:26 |
| URI: | http://oro.open.ac.uk/id/eprint/28236 |
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