Experimental Assessment of the Effects of Nitrogen Addition Under Hay- Cutting and Aftermath Grazing on the Vegetation of Meadows on a Somerset Peat Moor

Abstract

Grassland on lowland peat has considerable potential for agriculture and conservation. The limited use of fertilizer on the Somerset Moors, designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area has enabled the impact on vegetation of applying a range of nitrogen levels to be investigated using a randomized block experiment with large plots at Tadham Moor. From 1986 to 1990, the plot measurements each year included the individual percentage cover of some 100 species; these enabled the derivation of a number of measures of plant community structure. The applications of fertilizer encouraged grasses (notably Lolium perenne and Holcus lanatus) which came to dominate the sward at the expense of most other species (...)