Grassland

As grassland agricultural land, shall be used harvested by mowing grass and herbaceous plants which grow under permanent crops and grazed either or. In general, it is anthropogenically created surfaces that were previously passed by the naturally developed vegetation of the respective Klimates and not original ( pastoral ) Natural pastures such as steppes or savannas. For this reason, fallow grassland developed over time by the natural succession back to forest, moor, heath and the like.

The nursery of the grassland can be to livestock, especially to grazing livestock such as horses or ruminants, fed, and therefore, forms an important basic food source for forage growing farms. Grünlandaufwüchse can be used as a renewable resource beyond; especially on low-yield sites are in grassland but also aspects of the landscape and / or nature conservation instead of the use of biomass produced in foreground.

• 2.1 Using the form 2.1.1 Permanent grassland
• 2.1.2 Temporary grassland, crop rotation
• 2.1.3 grassland fallow

• 2.2.1 intensive grassland ( grassland economy )
• 2.2.2 Extensive grassland
• 2.2.3 habitat for grassland

Delineation, definition, subdivision

The term grassland as a form of land use is as the agricultural open hallway as opposed to arable land that will be wrapped to horticultural land to which UAE also fruit and wine growing areas in the wider sense. count, as well as fallow land, which remains temporarily unused, and numerous forms of ancillary areas ( unproductive areas ) as ways Raine, groves, but also pond economic areas and the like, as well as for timber, representing the forestry branch of farms.

Ecology and Biology

The ecology and biology, for which the agricultural grassland, a - man-made - is secondary vegetation, grassland differ in the narrower and in a wider sense.

• Grassland in the narrower sense, meadows, pastures or Mähder ( Mahdfluren ). It is also referred to as an economic grassland or by the plant sociology, as fat or fat meadows pastures. These areas are mowed usually more than twice a year or grazed and provide with timely use of good fodder. This grassland societies are cultural formations that would not exist without these farming in the climate of Central Europe in this form.
• Grassland in the broader sense includes not only the areas mentioned above still dry meadows and pastures including alpine lawns, wet meadows, dry and semi-dry grass, Nardus grasslands, dwarf shrub heath, and earlier still frequent moor grass - litter meadows and sedge, which used the litter extraction or the occasional grazing ( transhumance ) were used. These plant communities are semi-civilization or cultural formations. True ( naturally formed ) dry, semi- dry, bristle grass or alpine grasslands are very rare.

A hybrid between grassland and fruit orchards areas represent it proceeded the permanently closed plant cover provides grassland very good protection against erosion. At the same time the soil mineralized nutrients as a result of the permanent vegetation during the growing season are continuously used in the formation of plant mass. Through the implementation of dead parts of the grassland plants, the soil is enriched with humus. The lack of tillage on permanent grassland promotes the formation of a rich soil life. In summary, these factors cause an excellent protection of soil and groundwater.

Botanical species composition

Due to various intensity of use, it depends on the types of grassland to different composition of plant communities and species. Especially with the economy grasslands posed by intensive use of a low number of different plant species per area a.

A study commissioned by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation study from 2005 suggests the following characteristic species for a species-rich grassland after natural area, where at least 30 of the proposed 47 species or groups of species have to be to be found. These are grouped into the following different natural environments of decreasing occurrence number:

• Trifolium pratensis, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, Geranium sp., Lychnis flos- cuculi, Crepis sp., Hieracium spp. / Hypochaeris radicata / leontodon spec., Campanula sp., Tragopogon spec., Cirsium oleraceum, Rhinanthus spp., Cenraurea spec., Polygonum bistorta, Filipendula ulmaria, Caltha palustris, Potentilla erecta, Sanguisorba spec., Hieracium pilosella, Plantago lanceolata, Lathyrus pratensis, knautia arvensis / Scabiosa spec., Cirsium palustre, Silene dioica, Symphytum spp., Geum rival, Primula sp., Phyteuma spec millefolium. , Achillea, Medicago lupulina, Ajuga reptans, Saxifraga granulata, Salvia pratensis, Meum athamanticum, Polygala sp., Ranunculus sp., Vicia spec., Lotus spec., Myosotis spec., Cardamine pratensis, Rumex acetosella, thymus sp., Euphrasia spec., Trollius europaea, Anthriscus sylvestris, Heracleum sphondylium, Galium sp., Prunella spec. Lythrum salicaria and

Location and soil conditions

A distinction is facultative and obligate grassland according to the location and ground conditions: In facultative grassland could also be more or less easily other fruits are grown, eg cereals. Obligate grassland, however, is usually a border location, growing on the difficult other fruit; as reasons for this are the high rainfall (eg in Scandinavia), steppe-like dryness or unsuitable for tillage soils such as peat soils, alluvial soils or poorly structured marsh soils in question.

Use the form

Permanent grassland

Permanent grassland are called basic forage areas for long time wear a kurzrasige vegetation under permanent crops. Permanent pasture is thus a scale at least 5 years of vegetation ( meadow or pasture ) with relatively closed sward, which is formed by a plant community of grasses, herbs and legumes. Grassland is maintained grove free or free of forest by more or less regular mowing and / or grazing and serves the biomass production: as feed, for energy ( as a feedstock for biogas plants or as fuel ) or to earlier times as bedding for livestock. The botanical composition of grassland is the result of certain management and use at your location.

Temporary grassland, crop rotation

Under the umbrella term temporary grassland or crop rotation two widely used in Europe historical crop rotation systems are summarized: The Field Grass economy and Egart economy. In both cases, perennial grassland alternates with one or more years of farming. The promoting effect of grassland on soil fertility (high humus content ) for a field - interim use is utilized.

An annual and perennial forage in the form of forage grasses ( grass field ) or mixtures of grass and herbaceous plants is not a grassland, but is attributed to the Ackerfutterbau.

Grassland fallow

A grassland fallow is a plant community that - is no longer used by the people and then is subject to certain natural succession processes - possibly for shorter or longer periods of time ( years or decades ). Characteristics of fallow is the lack of any agricultural or other use of plants aufwuchs (eg social fallow). For permanent waiver of a grassland forest would occur with time ( = potential natural vegetation). For the purposes of this definition, abandoned grasslands, however, are clearly distinguished from so-called rotation and duration of fallow farmland. This is to agricultural policy deliberately administered, usually short-lived fallow stages with the aim of market relief.

Intensity of use

The botanical species composition of green areas is crucially influenced by the intensity of use. This is partly due to the location and intensity of fertilization. For intensive use by multiple cuts or high stocking rate at pasture use, the biodiversity of the grasslands reduced. Because of the large number of grassland plant communities and the diverse nomenclature of grassland types tripartite rough classification according to the intensity of use is common:

Intensive grassland ( grassland economy )

Among Economy grassland a grassland type is understood, which is so heavily used that the production of forage for dairy cattle - economically worthwhile - in competition with corn silage. The incidence is depending on the nature of space and site conditions 3-6 uses per year ( as cut, pasture or Mähweide ). The ground nutrients are extracted in landscape ecologically sound way to use almost exclusively through Hofdung (manure ), mainly as a manure is recycled. The expected yield is between 80 and 120 t DM / ha, the quality of the feed between 5.0 and 6.0 MJ NEL / kg DM. The number of plant species is low with 15 to 20 per 25 m² Reference area for grassland, but is a multiple of the usual in Ackerfutterbau biodiversity.

The stocking of intensively managed grassland is generally more than 200 livestock units ( LU; corresponds for example, 200 adult cattle ) and can be up to 600 LU.

With the introduction of grassland premium in the EU from 1 January 2005 as part of the agrarian reform any managers of grassland areas can make a premium claim. By the year 2013, the premium claim is composed of a surface component and a plant-specific supplement. As of 2013, there will only be a pure surface premium according to the current state of planning. The grassland premium is currently (as of 05 /2006) about 100 euros per hectare per year grassland.

Extensive grassland

Under extensive grassland and species-rich grassland are mainly 1-3 - schürige Hay and Öhmdwiesen to understand. It also includes many years extensively managed pastures at altitudes it. Such grassland is used appropriate to the location and learns only a partial recirculation of nutrients through manure ( manure, liquid manure, slurry ). The plant stands have an average feed value and take a middle position between the economic and the grassland habitat in a species inventory. The number of plant species is 30 to 45 per 25 m² reference surface comparatively high and the issues are colorful blossoms (see also flower meadow ). Regarding the floristic and faunal biodiversity of this type is only surpassed by grassland habitat. In the extensive grassland category, the two mesophilic meadow forms lean lowland hay meadow belong (FFH code 6510 ) and mountain hay meadow (FFH code 6520 ) to the Fauna-Flora -Habitat Directive (FFH ) of the European Community.

The stocking of extensively used grassland is 80 to 150 livestock units.

Extensive grassland must be distinguished from " extensiviertem grassland ", which evolved through reduction of frequency of use and fertilization of species-poor grassland economy out, usually but not (yet) has the bio-ecological value of extensive grassland.

Grassland habitat

Grassland habitat is a collective term for grassland (see stray field ) is not (more) primarily agricultural feed or litter extraction. This is to dry meadows or pastures extreme site conditions, on which general nutrient availability is low, usually due to either too dry or too wet soil. Examples of grassland habitat are: semi-dry grasslands and small harrows meadows. The magnitude of the natural biomass production is on Magerrasen level, which is below 35 t DM / ha. The plant community is the most diverse ecosystem in Central Europe is: On 25 m² reference surface up to 70 species of vascular plants occur. Grassland habitat is often long been under protection (eg juniper heath, moor grass - litter meadows ), or the areas are maintained on behalf of the Nature Conservation Management Agreement ("Agreement nature "). The stocking rate is usually less than 50 livestock units.

Fiscal and legal classification

For the purposes of the EU State aid rules between permanent grassland and arable land following distinction: arable land is " land that is worked regularly, generally under a system of crop rotation ." For the distinction between arable land and permanent crops, permanent grassland, a threshold of five years is assumed. That means: A Meadow reseeding example, after 5 years for " permanent grassland ".

A conversion of grassland to arable land is under EU law in Germany is not ecologically more readily possible.

Use

The depending on the intensity of use of one to six times a year harvested aboveground plant biomass of grassland is used fresh, dried or ensiled mainly as feed for cattle ( dairy cows, beef cattle). Increasingly used the biomass for the production of biogas. It is also possible, but rarely practiced due to procedural and emission-related difficulties, is the burning of the dried crop than herbaceous biomass. The recycling of the crop of intense economic grassland by the use of the fibers is only operated by individual companies

History

Compared to the usual mid-20th century farming grassland, today's grassland management differs in a number of characteristics. The transition from grazing to year-round stabling use grows as a lawn Mahdnutzung at the expense of pasture use, also predominantly liquid manure instead of the previously usual solid manure economy operates. Also the transition from dry forage preparation (hay) on silage use time of the first growth is now earlier in the year, thus allowing a total of more uses per year.