Management of forb species mixtures for high biomass production

Summary

Including forb species in grassland mixtures may secure a more biodiversity-friendly production of biomass. This experiment showed interesting future perspectives in terms of production of low-cost biomass for e.g. biogas production, which can be obtained by reducing the number of cuttings without compromising yield levels. No significant differences in dry matter (DM) yields of chicory, birdsfoot trefoil, yarrow and a 13 species mixture were observed between the situations with four compared to one autumn cut per year. Especially the 13 species mixture showed great potential in terms of yield and suppression of unsown species, for which reasons it should be developed further through knowledge on the species in pure stands.