Effects of Different Mowing Heights on Plant Functional Traits in Artificial Grassland
Mowing is a key practice in grassland utilization and management,with mowing tech-nology,particularly mowing height,being a central focus in grassland ecology and management research.Research on mowing height plays a critical role in optimizing grassland management,improving forage yield and quality,maintaining grassland ecosystem health and promoting sustain-able development of animal husbandry.This study took mixed seeding artificial grassland as a sam-ple.Different mowing heights(no cutting CK,stubble height 14 cm M14,stubble height 10 cm M10,stubble height 6 cm M6,stubble height 0 cm M0)were tested on Leymus chinensis and Bro-in us inermis and Medicago varia to study their effects on functional traits of mixed pasture plants.This research holds theoretical and practical value for optimizing mixed pasture combinations,im-proving scientific management,and ensuring the sustainable utilization of mixed artificial grassland.The results showed that different mowing heights significantly affected the functional traits of gras-ses(Leymus chinensis and Brom us inermis),but did not significantly impact the functional traits of leguminous grasses(Medicago varia).Under the stubble height of 10 cm,the plant height of Ley-mus chinensis was significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the aboveground biomass,stem mass,leaf total length,total leaf area and total leaf mass of Bromus inermis were significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Plant height,aboveground biomass,stem mass,total leaf mass,total leaf area and total leaf length of Leymus chinensis were significantly higher under 10 cm stubble than under 0 cm stub-ble height(P＜0.05).The stem mass,total leaf mass,aboveground biomass and total leaf area of Leymus chinensis and Bromus inermis were sensitive indexes in response to mowing treatment.The relationship between the plasticity index of Leymus chinensis and Bromus inermis traits in response to mowing and their variability showed an initial decrease followed by an increase as the response degree increased.However,the variability of Medicago varia decreased with the degree of mowing response.There was significant positive correlation between aboveground biomass and total leaf are-a,total leaf mass and stem mass of the three forage species(P＜0.01).In general,moderate mow-ing had positive effects on functional traits of the three forage species.We suggest that 6-10 cm of stubble should be used in mixed sowing of Leymus chinensis+Bromus inermis+Medicago varia Martin.cv.Caoyuan No.2 for dry artificial grassland in semi-arid region of Inner Mongolia.
stubble heightplant functional traitsstem masstotal leaf area
万方数据
维普
