Biradar, Nagaratna

Kumar, Anil

Natarajan, S.

Pathak, P. S.

Trivedi, B. K.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress Role of Soil Seed Bank on Persistency of Pastures in Tropical Grasslands of Kangayam S. Natarajan Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, India B. K. Trivedi Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, India Anil Kumar Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, India Nagaratna Biradar Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, India P. S. Pathak Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, India Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/14-2/23 The XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　 瞯 ]621　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Seed Science and TechnologyRole of soil seed bank on persistency of pastures in tropical grasslands of KangayamS .Nataraj an , B .K .T rivedi , A nil K umar , Nagaratna Biradar and P .S .PathakIndian G rassland and Fodder Research Institute , Jhansi‐284003 Uttar Pradesh , IndiaKey words : soil seed bank , persistency , Kangayam grasslandsIntroduction The semiarid grasslands spread over a wider area in the rain shadow region covering four districts viz . , Erode ,Karur , Coimbatore and Nammakkal of Tamil Nadu in India is unique whose continuous existence were traced up to １８th March１８６５ , the inception of formal land record . The spread of grassland is about １４０ km in east west direction and ９５ km in thenorth south direction with a perimeter of approximately about ４８０ km . The pattern of land use system with Cenchrus asdominating spp is being maintained over centuries on sustainable manner with minimum interference and cultivation of land .The grass spp Cenchrus , live fence Balsamodendron ber ryi supporting the system of pasture paddock maintained by privateownership had contributed to development of famous cattle breed�Kangayam�better known for its draught power . The presentexperiment conducted to elucidate the role of soil seed bank contributing to the persistency of this unique grassland system .Materials and methods The survey and sampling of paddocks were done in alternate years during December ２００３ and duringDecember ２００５ since most proportion of seeds of perennial grasses are viable upto two years . The sampling was done with soilsampler １０ cm diameter core to a depth of ５ cm with the soil samples weighing an average of ３５０ g . The number of sampledepends on the size of the paddock . Soil samples were sieved using fine sieves and then the seeds of the grasses and forbs wereseparated manually under magnification and counted .Results and discussion The seed bank estimation of initial survey had shown that Cenchrus sp p is dominating the seed bankcomposition with ７２ .７ per cent followed by Chrysopogon f ulvus (４ .２３％ ) and leguminous seeds was only ０ .７８ per cent whilerest ２１ .９ per cent are seeds of forbs and weeds . The total number of seeds in each sample ranged from ９ to ４３４ depending onthe density and diversity of the above ground extant species . Density of the seeds of Cenchrus sp p is more in the surface anddecreases with increasing depths . Most of the paddocks are being maintained with self‐sown seeds of Cenchrus spp , which isevident with the diameter of the tussock of recruited seedlings ranging from １ .９ to ６ .３ cm with an average of ３ .６ cm . Theaverage number of tussock / m２ of Cenchrus spp is １９ .４ , besides the presence of other spp like Zornia , Boerhav ia and Indigof era spp . Survey results reflected that the farmers摧 practice reseeding of their pastures with seeds of Cenchrus spp once in ２‐３years depending on reduction in tussock density due to poor regeneration or uprooted while ploughing with tractor followed byfailure of expected rainfall .Figure 1 Composition o f soil seed bank f rom the grassland o f K angagam .Balsamodendron berry i , a time tested proven species used for live fencing the paddocks with fodder value also regenerates fromthe soil seed bank under natural conditions . Seeds of A cacia leucophloa added to soil bank after ingestion by sheep as podscomprise an important component of seed bank dynamics thereby helps to sustain the pasture paddocks .Conclusion Soil seed bank and regrow th from vegetative propagules majority of which are grasses had contributed to thepersistency of the paddock and the research outcome helps in understanding the biological reasons which sustained this tropicalgrassland ecosystem since centuries and can help in strengthening and replicating the successful model under similar situation ofapplicability .

Role of Soil Seed Bank on Persistency of Pastures in Tropical Grasslands of Kangayam

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3677&context=igc

Role of Soil Seed Bank on Persistency of Pastures in Tropical Grasslands of Kangayam

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