Study site Ohrazení

Ohrazení

The locality is a species rich wet meadow (molinion with some species of Violion canine according to the phytosociological classification) located 10 km south-east of České Budějovice, Czech Republic, 48^° 57^’ N, 14^° 36^’ E, 510 m a.s.l., close to the village of Ohrazení. Mean annual temperature is between 7 and 8^°C, and mean annual precipitation is 600 - 650 mm. Traditional meadow management consisted of regular mowing occurring once or twice a year. This was stopped at the end of the 1980’s and the meadow was not mown again until the start of the experiment in 1994. The community is dominated by a tussock grass Molinia caerulea. Other common grasses are Anthoxanthum odoratum, Nardus stricta, Agrostis canina, Briza media, Festuca rubra, Holcus lanatus, Dantonia decumbens, and a number of sedges, e.g. Carex panicea, C. palescens, C. leporina and C. hartmanii. The most common herbs are Myosotis nemorosa, Potentilla erecta, Prunella vulgaris, Lathyrus pratensis, Cirsium palustre, Galium uliginosum, and Lysimachia vulgaris.
In 1994, 24 permanent plots, 2x2m each, were established in the meadow. The plots were sampled before three treatments (fertilization, mowing, and removal of the dominant species, Molinia caerulea, applied in factorial design, 3 replicates of each treatment combination) were started. The fertilization treatment consisted of annual application of 65 g of a commercial NPK fertilizer per square meter, applied in two dosages, 50 g in autumn and 15 g in spring (starting in 1997 the total dosage was applied only in spring). The mowing treatment was annual scything of the quadrats in June, with removal of the cut biomass after mowing. Molinia caerulea was manually removed by screwdriver in April 1995 with a minimum of soil disturbance. New individuals were removed annually.

For pictures see the virtual galery.

Optimized for Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer 7