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The dispersal of traditionally managed hay meadow plants via farmyard manure application

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

A.R. Edwards  and
A. Younger
A.R. Edwards*
Affiliation:
Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6AR, UK
A. Younger
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle, upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
*
*Correspondence: Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The dispersal of plants within botanically rich grassland is an important area of study if such swards are to be maintained. The application of farmyard manure provides a possible mechanism by which seeds contained within hay can be returned/introduced to grasslands. In this study, hay, dung and manure samples taken from farms with botanically rich meadows contained very limited quantities of seeds of desirable species. Digestion by cattle, and storage within a manure heap for 6 months or longer, further reduced seed germination. Samples were characterized by an abundance of the grass, Poa trivialis, with few forbs present. Confirmation of the negative effect of the digestive processes of cattle on seed viability was achieved using an in vitro laboratory experiment. However, this experiment did show that the perennial herbs, Filipendula ulmaria and Sanguisorba officinalis, were able to survive digestion at least as well as P. trivialis. The burial of known quantities of seeds in a manure heap also showed these perennial herbs to be at least as resistant to damage as P. trivialis. The results demonstrate that, given appropriate timing of the hay cut, seeds of species with high conservation value could become incorporated into manure for subsequent dispersal. However, manure dispersal would appear to be of limited value for many species desirable from a conservation viewpoint.

Keywords

digestionendozoochorymanuremeadowseed dispersal
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 137 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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