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Many mountain pastures consist of a mosaic of grassland and shrub communities. Ongoing changes in mountain agriculture have affected the balance between the two elements of the mosaic. In order to understand the consequences of these changes for ecosystem functioning, we studied patterns in vegetation, root structure and soil properties along transects of varying grassland-to-shrub proportions. Our hypothesis was that differences in the vegetation aboveground are accompanied by differences belowground, related to soil properties and depth. The research was conducted at a subalpine site in the Trentino region (South-eastern Alps), consisting ofNardus strictagrasslands alternating with shrub patches ofRhododendron ferrugineum. Our investigation showed that the composition of vegetation was mainly governed byR. ferrugineumcover and less by soil properties. Plant species richness peaked at low to intermediate degrees of shrub cover and composition between transects became more similar with increasing shrub cover. WhereR. ferrugineumcover was higher, Hemicryptophytes caespitosae were replaced by Nano-phanerophytes with consequences for belowground structures. At increasing shrub cover, root length density decreased, especially in the top soil, while root weight density remained stable and C content increased insignificantly. We discuss that theses structural changes along the gradient ofR. ferrugineumcover affect a number of ecosystem services. The presented evidence suggests that maintaining grasslands with a low cover ofR. ferrugineumbalances a number of services, namely plant species diversity, carbon stabilization in soil and the prevention of soil erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is a perennial cool-season grass commonly used for sport and ornamental turfgrasses in transition zones. It is a rather difficult species to establish due to slow germination and the relatively moderate growth rate of seedlings. Early autumn is considered the best time for sowing Kentucky bluegrass in temperate regions. Spring sowing is not recommended as low soil moisture and high temperatures can have a negative impact on germination. However, unavoidable circumstances often force turfgrasses to be sown in spring with high probability of failure. The risk of failure may increase in the near future as a consequence of climate change, so more knowledge is required on the ability of Kentucky bluegrass cultivars to germinate at high temperatures. A laboratory study evaluated the germination response of fourteen cultivars selected among those most used in northern Italy. They were compared in a conditioning chamber under five regimes of alternating temperatures (20/30 °C, 23/33 °C, 26/36 °C, 29/39 °C, 32/42 °C). Germination was recorded weekly starting from sowing. The germination patterns were similar up to 26/36 °C. At 29/39 °C only five cultivars had a germination of over 50%. At the highest temperature regime none of the cultivars had more than 3% germination. It is concluded that only when very extreme high temperatures occur, growers need to pay attention to the choice of cultivars to avoid problems during the germination-emergence phase, but based on the climate change scenario this is likely to happen with greater frequency in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread use of warm-season turfgrasses in transition zones of Europe, such as northern Italy, has been hampered by the long dormancy periods. To encourage the conversion from cool- to warm-season grasses, research is needed to identify cultivars that exhibit early spring green-up. A 2-year study was conducted at the agricultural experimental farm of Padova University from November 2006 to October 2008 to compare water-soluble carbohydrate and protein content in stolons of four bermudagrass [ Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] cultivars and determine their effect on spring green-up. Samples of 'La Paloma', 'NuMex Sahara', 'Princess 77' and 'Yukon' were collected monthly, and water-soluble carbohydrates ( WSC) and crude protein ( CP) content of stolons were measured. Dry weight values of WSC and CP for each cultivar were regressed against days needed to reach 80 % green cover in spring (D80). 'Yukon' exhibited the highest rhizome dry weight and WSC content during the winter months and was the fastest to reach 80 % green cover. Conversely, 'Princess 77' was the slowest cultivar to green-up in both years. Regression analysis revealed a stronger relationship between D80 and WSC than between CP content and D80. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-row vegetation in vineyards is classified as a service crop as it provides many ecosystem services. The vegetation is often removed but maintaining them can mitigate the negative effects on the environment. However, the type of species or mixture choice can affect their success. A field trial was conducted in an organically-managed vineyard of Cabernet sauvignon Vitis vinifera L. cultivars in north-eastern Italy, in which three blends of grass species (Shedonorus arundinaceus, Lolium perenne and Festuca rubra) and two grass-legume mixtures were grown in the inter-rows and compared with resident vegetation and regularly tilled bare soil. Each vegetation type, including resident vegetation, was subjected to mulching and non-mulching treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of seeded species or mixtures in the inter-row spaces of the vineyard in north-Italy as an alternative management to resident vegetation and tilled soil. The experiment was conducted over two years to monitor the persistence of the sown vegetation and the influence of vegetation types on vine performance and grape composition, and on soil compaction and erosion. The relative abundances of each species, vegetation height, percentage green cover and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), vine shoot length, number of leaves per vine shoot, leaf area, bunch weight, vine NDVI, soil compaction and erosion, and depth and width of tractor tyre prints were measured. Over time, weed invasion altered the botanical composition of all vegetation types except for the S. arundinaceus blend, which remained stable throughout the study period. Our results showed that vine parameters were not affected by the type of vegetation in the inter-rows, nor were there differences between the grassed and bare soil inter-rows. Soil compaction and erosion, and tractor tyre prints were not directly affected by the type of vegetation cover, but they were affected by tillage in the plots with bare soil in the inter-rows or where it was used to prepare the soil for sowing. Soil compaction and erosion were related to the percentage vegetation cover. Mulching did not affect any of the parameters measured. Therefore, species selection plays a crucial role in inter-row vegetation management and in minimising environmental impacts. S. arundinaceus gave high protection against soil erosion due to its high persistence throughout the year and had the lowest growth rate thus requiring fewer cuttings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Pornaro et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Diet selection by grazing livestock may affect animal performance as well as the biodiversity of grazed areas. Recent DNA barcoding techniques allow to assess dietary plant composition in faecal samples, which may be additionally integrated by the description of gut microbiota. In this high throughput metabarcoding study, we investigated the diversity of plant, fungal and bacterial taxa in faecal samples of lactating cows of two breeds grazing an Alpine semi-natural grassland during summer. The estimated plant composition of the diet comprised 67 genera and 39 species, which varied remarkably during summer, suggesting a decline of the diet forage value with the advancing of the vegetative season. The fungal community included Neocallimastigomycota gut symbionts, but also Ascomycota and Basidiomycota plant parasite and coprophilous taxa, likely ingested during grazing. The proportion of ingested fungi was remarkably higher than in other studies, and varied during summer, although less than that observed for plants. Some variation related to breed was also detected. The gut bacterial taxa remained stable through the summer but displayed a breed-specific composition. The study provided insights in the reciprocal organisms' interactions affecting, and being affected by, the foraging behaviour: plants showed a high temporal variation, fungi a smaller one, while bacteria had practically none; conversely, the same kingdoms showed the opposite gradient of variation as respect to the animal host breed, as bacteria revealed to be the group mostly characterized by host-specificity.

Length and diameter of stolons or rhizomes are usually measured using simple rulers and calipers. This procedure is slow and laborious, so it is often used on a limited number of stolons or rhizomes. For this reason, these traits are limited in their use for morphological characterization of plants. The use of digital image analysis software technology may overcome measurement errors due to human mistakes, which tend to increase as the number and size of samples also increase. The protocol can be used for any kind of crop but is particularly suitable for forage or grasses, where plants are small and numerous. Turf samples consist of aboveground biomass and an upper soil layer to the depth of maximum rhizome development, depending on the species of interest. In studies, samples are washed from the soil, and stolons/rhizomes are cleaned by hand before analysis by digital image analysis software. The samples are further dried in a laboratory heating oven to measure dry weight; therefore, for each sample, the resultant data are total length, total dry weight, and average diameter. Scanned images can be corrected before analysis by excluding visible extraneous parts, such as remaining roots or leaves not removed with the cleaning process. Indeed, these fragments normally have much smaller diameters than stolons or rhizomes, so they can be easily excluded from analysis by fixing the minimum diameter below which objects are not considered. Stolon or rhizome density per unit area can then be calculated based on sample size. The advantage of this method is quick and efficient measurement of the length and average diameter of large sample numbers of stolons or rhizomes.

Pastures are strongly affected by local environmental variables in terms of their species richness, plant composition and herbage production. A multi-site monitoring study was conducted over three years to investigate the influence of morphoclimatic factors on the seasonal variations in dry matter (DM) yield from Karst pastures. Seven sites located on the Italian and Slovenian Karst regions were investigated that differed in terms of their geological and geomorphological features, as well as their soil types. At each site, the daily DM yield (kg ha-1 d-1) was determined using Corral-Fenlon method which permits to simulate herbage utilization from grazing herds. The morphoclimatic features were also analysed, with the aim to evaluate the link between seasonal DM yield and geomorphological and environmental factors. Generalized non-linear mixed models were built to study the observed seasonal variations in DM yield, using day of the year (DOY), growing degree days (GDD), and cumulative rainfall. Furthermore, environmental descriptors were included in the model in order to evaluate their effects on DM yield. The seasonal variations in yield showed two growing periods (spring and late summer), which were described by Gaussian curves. For the spring growing period, the model improved when the interaction between soil granulometry and growing degree days corresponding to the curve peak was taken into account. This confirms the influence of soil type and air temperature on pasture yield. For the late summer growing period, the interaction between the sand classes and the number of rainy days from the beginning of the period to the peak of the curve improved the model. The curve parameters of our models are correlated with environmental descriptors depending on the lithology and particle size of soils. The results are essential for the optimization of pasture management and avoiding degradation due to over- or under-grazing., Competing Interests: Dolomiti Project provided support in the form of salaries for author Stefano Furin, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Thus, this does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. Geotema srl provided support in the form of salaries for author Valentina Vincenzi and Luca Minarelli. It was partner in the project BioDiNet funded by the European programme of cross-border collaboration (Slovenia-Italy 2007–2013). It was in charge of study and describe the hydro-geological characteristics of the area where the study presented in the manuscript was conducted. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.