Nitrogen transfer from forage legumes to nine neighbouring plants in a multi-species grassland

Karin Pirhofer-Walzl, Jim Rasmussen, Henning Høgh Jensen, Jørgen Eriksen, Karen Søegaard, Jesper Rasmussen

    103 Citationer (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Legumes play a crucial role in nitrogen
    supply to grass-legume mixtures for ruminant fodder.
    To quantify N transfer from legumes to neighbouring
    plants in multi-species grasslands we established a
    grass-legume-herb mixture on a loamy-sandy site in
    Denmark. White clover (Trifolium repens L.), red
    clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and lucerne (Medicago
    sativa L.) were leaf-labelled with 15N enriched urea
    during one growing season. N transfer to grasses
    (Lolium perenne L. and xfestulolium), white clover,
    red clover, lucerne, birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus
    L.), chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), plantain (Plantago
    lanceolata L.), salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor L.)
    and caraway (Carum carvi L.) was assessed. Neighbouring
    plants contained greater amounts of N derived
    from white clover (4.8 gm-2) compared with red clover
    (2.2 gm-2) and lucerne (1.1 gm-2). Grasses having
    fibrous roots received greater amounts of N from
    legumes than dicotyledonous plants which generally
    have taproots. Slurry application mainly increased N
    transfer from legumes to grasses. During the growing
    season the three legumes transferred approximately
    40 kg N ha-1 to neighbouring plants. Below-ground N
    transfer from legumes to neighbouring plants differed
    among nitrogen donors and nitrogen receivers and may
    depend on root characteristics and regrowth strategies
    of plant species in the multi-species grassland.
    OriginalsprogEngelsk
    TidsskriftPlant and Soil
    Vol/bind350
    Udgave nummer1-2
    Sider (fra-til)71-84
    Antal sider14
    ISSN0032-079X
    DOI
    StatusUdgivet - jan. 2012

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