Producción, composición botánica y fertilidad del suelo en prados mesófilos colinos del centro de Asturias

Resumo

Dry matter yield, botanical composition and soil fertility were evaluated on three private lowland mesophyticmeadows for cutting and grazing in the centre of Asturias (Corvera, Siero y Oviedo) .Traditional management consist in ahay or silage cut on June-July and two grazing (October and March) with the ‘Asturiana de los Valles’ traditional cattlebreed. Three annual samplings (October, March and June) composed of 10 biomass samples of 0.5 m 0.5 m in each samplingdate and meadow. In the June sampling the botanical composition of the meadows in Grasses, Legumes and Other families aswell as the number of species was determined. Average annual dry matter yield (7,852.3 kg/ha) was similar to other lowlandmesophytic meadows for cutting and grazing. Average March-June dry matter yield (5,917.4 kg/ha) was higher to that citedfor lowland mesophytic meadows western Asturias and upland mesophytic meadows for grazing in Asturias. Possibleimprovements in order to maintain a balanced botanical composition and improve soil fertility were discussed.