Fodder value of selected seminatural grasslands of the valuable areas in Miechow Upland

Abstract

Ecosystems of xerothermic grasslands that are not used for agriculture are subjected to secondary succession towards xerothermic shrubs and various forms of the forest. In order to counteract the decline of the area of these habitats, various types of activities are undertaken, including extensive use by grazing animals, mainly sheep. Therefore, it is justified to assess this type of communities in terms of their fodder value. The aim of the study was to assess the xerothermic grasslands sward in terms of the botanical composition, yield and content of basic nutrients. As a result, it was found that the floristic composition of the analyzed vegetation was dominated by Brachypodium pinnatum and Inula ensifolia, which allowed isolation of seperate patches: herbaceous and grassy-herbaceous. That association of Inuletum ensilfoliae is characterized by high species richness, with an average number of species in phytosociological releves from 46 to 63. In that community there were included also 35 protected species. In terms of the obtained dry matter yield, the crops are yielding rather poorly and only a few communities that yielded at the medium level were isolated. In terms of nutrients, the sward of xerothermic grasslands contained low levels of total protein, and only a few samples of plants were characterized by an adequate content of crude fiber.