Enhancing Grassland Resilience to Drought Through Plant Diversity [Practice Abstract]
A recent review highlights that diverse forage mixtures on sown grasslands can significantly reduce (or at least stabilise) the negative effects of drought on forage production. By combining the diversity in plant species and genotype composition, grasslands can mitigate drought impacts on sown and permanent grasslands under varying climatic conditions.
The review aimed to:
1. Understand how plant species respond to drought.
2. Identify traits for drought resistance (maintaining growth during dry periods) and drought survival (surviving after growth stops).
3. Explore how these traits interact in diverse mixtures.
4. Address a range of drought intensities, from severe and predictable (Mediterranean) to moderate and less predictable (temperate/cool climates), highlighting the need for regionally adapted strategies.
Recommendation for Adapting Grasslands to Drought Stress:
1. Moderate Drought Conditions: increase plant species diversity in sown mixtures to stabilize forage production to use the insurance effect (drought-resistant species reduce yield variability) and complementarity effect (species interactions enhance ecosystem functioning and compensate for drought-induced losses).
2. Severe Drought Conditions: use intra-specific genetic variability in key forage grasses to develop cultivars adapted to extreme drought. Ecotypes from Mediterranean to cool-temperate climates offer potential.
General Strategy: better value and use both intra-specific and inter-specific diversity to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience.
Entrepreneurial Opportunities: Adopting diverse forage mixtures can enhance farm resilience, reduce risk, and improve long-term productivity.
Keywords: Arable, Biodiversity, Certification
Country: Switzerland
