Ground flora in plantations of three years old short rotation willow coppice

I. Pučka¹³, D. Lazdiņa² and I. Bebre²³

¹Daugavpils University, Parades str. 1, LV-5401 Daugavpils, Latvia
²Latvian State Forest Research Institute ‘Silava’, Rigas street 111, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
³Latvia University of Agriculture, Liela street 2, LV-3001 Jelgava, Latvia
*Correspondence: irena.pucka@du.lv

Abstract:

Short rotation willow coppice plantations are widely used for biomass production over the world. However, their effect on local biodiversity has not been fully elucidated. Ground flora cover of willow plantations are functionally diverse and contains high richness of plant species. The vegetation structure depends on soil type, previous land use, management practices (for example herbicide and fertilizer use) and frequency of harvesting. Investigation of ground vegetation and soil analyze were conducted in seven willow SRC plantations in Central Latvia, Skrīveri municipality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of light availability, plantation age, and soil properties on ground vegetation species composition in three years old short rotation willow coppice. Plantations consist of various willow clones, planted in rows. Weed control was carried out during the first year of plantation establishment.

The qualitative and quantitative proportion of species, including species percentage cover and the mean Ellenberg indicator values were calculated. In total, 64 vascular plant species and two tree species were found in the willow coppice ground vegetation layer. Perennial plants dominate in ground vegetation (constitutes 81% of the identified species). For most species, percentage cover was 10–20% within each plot, but percentage cover of Achillea millefolium L., Elytrigia repens (L.) Nevski and Agrostis gigantea Roth was more than 40% in some plots.

Key words:

Ellenberg indicator values, ground flora, plantations, weed species, willows

Changes in soil weed seed bank according to spring barley maturity stages

V. Pilipavicius

Department of Soil Management, Lithuanian University of Agriculture, Studentu g. 11, LT–53067 Akademija, Kaunas r. Lithuania; e-mail: vpilip@nora.lzua.lt

Abstract:

Soil weed “seed bank” was studied according to harvesting time at different stages of spring barley maturity at the Research Station of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture, during the period of 1997–1999. The aim of the experiment was to identify weed seed species in the soil “seed bank” and changes in the total amount of the soil “seed bank”, harvesting spring barley at different stages of maturity. In two years of the three, earlier harvesting of spring barley at the milky stage of maturity essentially decreased reserves of the soil “seed bank”. The soil “seed bank” was established by counting 179–344 million ha^–1 seeds at the stem elongation–milky stage of spring barley maturity and 230–304 million ha^–1 seeds after harvesting spring barley at the hard stage of maturity. During the experiment, 20 weed seeds species belonging to 11 plant families: Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cruciferae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, Polygonaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Violaceae, were identified in the soil “seed bank”. During the three years of the experiment, seeds of the white goosefoot Chenopodium album L. and the common chickweedStellaria media (L.) Vill. dominated.

Key words: