Soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus distribution in grassland systems, important for landscape and environment

The accumulation of organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the soils of protected areas and agrarian lands in Central Lithuania was assessed. Wood pasture is recognised as an important but now scarce element of the historic environment still evident in the current landscape. Soil pH was lower in the surviving wood pasture compared to the pasture under restoration, and pH of the old semi-natural pasture and organically grown legume sward soils was close to neutral. The highest SOC content was accumulated in the meadows of pre-mainland section of floodplain of the Nevėžis. It was more than 5 times as high as that in agrarian land grown with swards, and higher than that accumulated in semi-natural pasture and wood pasture. Soils of the protected areas of pre-mainland section were characterized by the largest amount of N. Soils of semi-natural pasture, affected by agricultural management, and meadows of pre-mainland section were found to be the highest in the total P content. Due to the differences in agricultural management, diverse plant communities are developing in the central section of floodplain of the middle reaches of the Nevėžis

Present situation and future prospects of preserved landscape in modern Lithuanian countryside

The paper deals with present day situation of preserved landscape and the means to improve it. The special emphasis is placed on agricultural landscapes. The greatest concern is about natural habitats of European importance and also about preserved plant species. The main objective is identification of the reasons of biodiversity decline and the means to stop it. Some of the habitats and rare plant species need active means of preservation, and some – passive, since their present day situation is rather varied. The woodland ecosystems are the most stable and do not need a lot of additional means of preservation. Similar situation can be found in wetlands if the drainage system has been removed and the water level restored. Rare plants growing in cultivated land, open sands and natural grasslands are the most sensitive and prone to extinction, therefore they need specific means of preservation. Many valuable meadows with rich biodiversity are situated in territories of nature reservations, but that status does not give them any advantage. 2007–2013 landscape management programme is too generalized and consequently it is not always optimal for preserved ecosystems. The implementation of new preservation strategy with specific long-term management plans for each valuable habitat could be meaningful. It would help to involve farmers into nature preservation system and use their enginery as well as their experience. Such strategy would also bring additional income and possibility to contribute to the solving of nature preservation problems for small farmer

Most valuable natural unprotected territories in Middle and North Lithuania

Under biodiversity investigations carried out by Ornithological Society at the local level, most valuable to nature unprotected areas were singled out in Rokiskis (21 territory), Pasvalys (11), Prienai (11), Raseiniai (7) and Kaunas (6) districts. Data on threatened species (plants, birds, mammals and certain insect groups) are presented and show a great potential value of such territories - most nature values in Middle Lithuania are situated outside the state preserves. The necessity for revision of the system of protected areas in the region is stressed in the articleVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

Sowing Mixtures of Native Plant Species: Are There Any Differences between Hydroseeding and Regular Seeding?

Hydroseeding is a convenient, low-cost way to plant seeds. Traditionally, fast-growing commercial species that are cheap to obtain are preferred in hydroseeding, while native species have limited use. Nowadays, the use of native species is often desired in revegetation projects. However, there is a paucity of information about hydroseeding native species in Northern areas of Europe. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether hydroseeding has any effects on native plant cover formation, species richness and abundance, the development of plant morphological features, or aboveground biomass. A total of 40 native plant species in Lithuania were sowed using hydroseeding and regular seeding. The experimental plots were assessed for two years. The results show a relatively small and short positive effect of hydroseeding on plant cover formation. No significant differences were found in species richness between the sowing treatments. However, a comparison of species composition revealed significant differences between the sowing treatments that were more associated with species abundance than species diversity. Hydroseeding was favoured by legume species, such as Onobrychis viciifolia, Ononis arvensis, Lotus corniculatus, and Trifolium medium, while Festuca rubra favoured the regular seeding treatment. Overall, our findings emphasize that legume species that display more competitive growth traits should be included in the seed mixture in lower proportions when hydroseeding is applied

Comparing Non-Thermal Plasma and Cold Stratification: Which Pre-Sowing Treatment Benefits Wild Plant Emergence?

Meadow restoration and creation projects have faced a lack of local seed diversity due to the limited availability of seed sources. Non-thermal plasma technologies are being developed for agriculture and do not cause damage to heat-sensitive biological systems. This technology has shown the potential to improve agronomic seed quality by enhancing germination and promoting plant growth. However, there is almost no information about the effect of non-thermal plasma pretreatment on the seedlings’ emergence of wild plant species. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of non-thermal plasma on the emergence of 17 plant seeds originating from local meadows in Lithuania and compare it with the cold stratification pretreatment. The results obtained indicate that there were differences in emergence parameters among the species. However, NTP did not show statistically significant differences from the control. Non-thermal plasma improved the kinetic parameters of emergence for a few specific species’ seeds, such as Anthyllis vulneraria and Prunella grandiflora, while the cold stratification pretreatment enhanced emergence for a broader range of plants. Significant differences were observed between non-thermal plasma and stratification pretreatment, as well as between the control and stratification groups. Both methods also had a negative impact

Effect of seed treatment with cold plasma and electromagnetic field on red clover germination, growth and content of major isoflavones

Published 27 April 2020Pre-sowing treatment of red clover seeds with cold plasma (CP) and electromagnetic field (EMF) was applied aiming to evaluate changes induced in germination and early seedling growth under controlled laboratory conditions, and to estimate treatment effects on plant growth, biomass production, nutritional value and the amounts of major leaf secondary metabolites under long-term field experimental conditions. The effects of seed treatment using radio-frequency EMF (5, 10, 15 min) and CP (2, 5, and 7 min) on seed germination kinetics, morphometric parameters of seedlings were assessed for two cultivars of red clover – ‘Vyčiai’ and ‘Sadūnai’. Long-term observations revealed that the effects of seed treatments persist for the entire vegetation season, while the observed effects on germination (CP increased germination rate by 4-20%) do not provide sufficient information to predict the impact on plants on a longer time scale. The effects on morphometric parameters were dependent on plant cultivar, and were much stronger (up to 24% for ‘Sadūnai’ and 49% for ‘Vyčiai’) after growing the plants in the field for 5 months in comparison to the effects (absent or below 10%) observed in the early growth stages. A minor improvement of nutritional value per biomass unit was observed for ‘Vyčiai’. Protein yield per plant increased substantially (up to 70%). Pre-sowing seed treatment with CP and EMF had an obvious impact on the amounts of major isoflavones in leaves, and the nature of these changes strongly depended on the vegetation stage of plants (before flowering or at flowering stage). CP treatment for 5 min was found to be the most effective in this respect in not flowering plants, inducing a strong increase in biochanin A/formononetin ratio in leaves of both cultivars. However, an opposite effect was observed in the flowering plants, where the CP and EMF treatments decreased biochaBiochemijos katedraGamtos mokslų fakultetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslo centrasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centrasVilniaus universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Response of red clover (Trifolium pratense) to seed treatment with cold plasma and electromagnetic field: effects on germination, plant development and phytoestrogen content

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L) is used as a dietary supplement for alleviation of menopausal symptoms or treatment of prostatic diseases. Commercial extracts of red clover contain estrogenic isoflavones, with formononetin (F) and biochanin А (ВЛ) found in the largest amounts. The aim of study was _to estimate the effects of pre-sowing seed treatment, using radio-frequency electromagnetic field (EMF, 10 and 15 min) and cold plasma (CP, 5 and 7 min), on germination, growth and biochemical traits of seedlings of two cultivars of red clover - "Vyčiai' and 'Sadūnai'. The impact of treatments on morphological traits, and concentration of isoflavones F and BA (detected by H PLC analysis) was estimated in leaves of plants grown in the experimental plots for 5 months. The germination tests in vitro revealed that CP treatments increased germination rate, and this effect was more pronounced for 'Vyčiai' (germination rate increased up to 24%). EMF treatments did not affect germination indices, only EMF (15 min) reduced germination percentage of 'Sadūnai' by 12%. The induced changes in plant morphometric parameters were dependent on cultivar of red clovcr. The average number of stems per one plant for 'Vyčiai' was increased from 26 to 40% in all treated groups, in comparison to control, but the number of stems of'Sadūnai' cultivar was not affected by seed treatments. Dry weight of'Vyčiai' plants in CP (5 min) and EMF (15 min) groups was by 37 and 43% larger, dry weight of stems was by 36 and 42%, dry weight of leaves -by 49 and 34% larger in comparison to control, respectively. Positive morphometric changes induced by seed treatments in morphometric traits of 'Sadūnai' were less pronounced in comparison to 'Vyčiai' cultivar.[...]Biochemijos katedraBotanikos sodasGamtos mokslų fakultetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslo centrasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centrasVilniaus universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Seed treatment with cold plasma and electromagnetic field improves germination, plant growth and increases the amount of phytoestrogens in the leaves of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L) is widely used as a fodder plant as well as a dietary supplement marketed for use in alleviation of menopausal symptoms or treatment of prostatic diseases. Commercial extracts of red clover contain estrogenic isoflavones, with formononetin (F) and biochanin A (BA) found in the largest amounts. We studied the effects of pre-sowing seed treatment, using radio-frequency electromagnetic field (EMF, 10 and 15 min) and cold plasma (CP, 5 and 7 min), on germination, growth and biochemical traits of seedlings of two cultivars of red clover – ‘Vyčiai’ and ‘Sadūnai’. The impact of treatments on morphological traits, nutritive value (crude protein content, digestibility, etc. measured by near-infrared spectroscopy) and concentration of isoflavones F and BA (by HPLC analysis) was estimated in leaves of plants grown in the experimental plots for 5 months. The germination tests in vitro revealed that CP treatments increased germination rate, and this effect was more pronounced for ‘Vyčiai’ (germination rate increased up to 24%). EMF treatments did not affect germination indices, only EMF (15 min) reduced germination percentage of ‘Sadūnai’ by 12%. Treatments induced changes in plant morphometric parameters were dependent on cultivar of red clover. The average number of stems per one plant for ‘Vyčiai’ was increased from 26 to 40% in all treated groups, in comparison to control, whereas the number of stems of ‘Sadūnai’ cultivar was not affected by seed treatments. Dry weight of ‘Vyčiai’ plants in CP (5 min) and EMF (15 min) groups was by 37 and 43% larger, dry weight of stems was by 36 and 42%, dry weight of leaves – by 49 and 34% larger in comparison to control, respectively. Treatment induced positive morphometric changes for ‘Sadūnai’ were less pronounced and EMF (10 min) induced decrease in dry weight (-20%) of plants and weight of leaves (-14%).[...]Biochemijos katedraBotanikos sodasGamtos mokslų fakultetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslo centrasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centrasVilniaus universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta