Grassland covers approximately 17.4% of Europe’s land area, stores about 20% of the world’s soil carbon and has the potential to sequester carbon. With the help of sustainable management systems, grasslands could reduce greenhouse gases and act as a terrestrial sink for atmospheric CO₂. In this study, we will investigate the effect of grassland management (cutting, grazing, and a combination of the two) and soil depth (0–10, 10–20, 20–30 cm) on the physical (volumetric water content—VWC, bulk density—BD, porosity—POR, mass consisting of coarse fragments—FC) and chemical properties of soil (organic carbon—SOC, inorganic carbon—SIC, total carbon—STC, total nitrogen—STN, organic matter—SOM, C/N ratio, pH) in Central European lowlands. The management system affected BD, SOC and STN and tended to affect VWC and STC in the first soil depth only. Grazing and the combined system stored greater amounts of STN, SOC and STC and had higher BDs at the surface (0–10 cm) compared to the cutting system. Most soil properties were influenced by soil depth, with C/N ratio and BD increasing and SOC, STC, STN, SOM, VWC and POR decreasing with depth. Our study highlights an opportunity for grassland users to improve soil quality, reduce fossil fuel usage and improve animal welfare through their management systems and argues that systems such as grazing and the combined system should be promoted to mitigate climate change.

Semi-natural grasslands are some of the most species-rich habitats in Europe and provide important ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration and soil fertility maintenance. This study investigates how different intensities of grassland management affect the composition of functional groups and soil chemical properties. Five grassland management systems were analyzed: Cut3—three cuts per year; LGI—low grazing intensity; CG—combined cutting and grazing; Cut4—four cuts per year; and HGI—high grazing intensity. The functional groups assessed were grasses, legumes and forbs, while soil samples from three depths (0–10, 10–20 and 20–30 cm) were analyzed for their chemical properties (soil organic carbon—SOC; soil total nitrogen—STN; inorganic soil carbon—SIC; soil organic matter—SOM; potassium oxide—K₂O; phosphorus pentoxide—P₂O₅; C/N ratio; and pH) and physical properties (volumetric soil water content—VWC; bulk density—BD; and porosity—POR). The results showed that less intensive systems had a higher proportion of legumes, while species diversity, as measured via the Shannon index, was the highest in the Cut4 system. The CG system tended to have the highest SOC and STN at a 0–10 cm depth, with a similar trend observed for SOC_stock at a 0–30 cm depth. The Cut4, HGI and CG systems also had an increased STN_stock. Both grazing systems had the highest P₂O₅ content. A tendency towards a higher BD was observed in the top 10 cm of soil in the more intensive systems. Choosing a management strategy that is tailored to local climate and site conditions is crucial for maintaining grassland stability, enhancing carbon sequestration and promoting long-term sustainability in the context of climate change.

A field experiment was conducted in two seasons (2019–2020 and 2020–2021) at three locations in Slovenia (Rogoza, Fala, and Brežice) to evaluate the yield and silage quality of winter cover crops (WCCs). The experiment included Italian ryegrass (IR) in pure stands, fertilized with nitrogen in spring, and mixtures of crimson clover (CRC), red clover (RC), and IR+CRC+RC without nitrogen fertilization in spring. The highest dry matter yield (DMY) was observed in IR+CRC+RC (4.98 t ha⁻¹). For fresh feed, the CRC+RC treatment had significantly higher (p < 0.05) crude protein (208 g kg⁻¹ DM), nitrate nitrogen (116.7 mg kg⁻¹ DM), and buffering capacity (1290 mmol kg⁻¹ DM) but significantly lower (p < 0.05) dry matter (128 g kg⁻¹) and water-soluble carbohydrates (121 g kg⁻¹ DM). For silage, the CRC+RC treatment had significantly lower (p < 0.05) dry matter (476 g kg⁻¹ silage), metabolic energy (9.65 MJ kg⁻¹ DM), net energy of lactation (5.77 MJ kg⁻¹ DM), and neutral detergent fiber (375 g kg⁻¹ DM) but higher ammonia nitrogen (66.5 g kg⁻¹ of total nitrogen), crude protein (158 g kg⁻¹ DM), and acid detergent fiber (279 g kg⁻¹ DM). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found among treatments for acetic, lactic, and butyric acid, crude fat, pH, and soil mineral nitrogen (N_min). The results of the study show that the same or higher DMY and a comparable quality of highly wilted silage can be produced with mixed Italian ryegrass and clovers compared with those of Italian ryegrass in pure stands. The experiment aimed to determine whether clover-based mixtures can achieve comparable silage quality and dry matter yield without spring N fertilizers compared with those of pure stands of Italian ryegrass fertilized in spring.

Grassland Management for Carbon and Efficient Use of Nitrogen from Slurry. Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere lead to global warming of the planet. Grassland management influences soil organic matter levels. We can increase the accumulation of organic matter and organic carbon in grassland soils and thus reduce the concentrations of greenhouse CO2 in the atmosphere. After the introductory chapters, the scientific monograph analyses the effects of fertilisation where special emphasis is placed on the efficient N use from slurry. In continuation, modern methods of grassland renovation and the most important plants for forage production are described. The work is completed by grazing and cutting managements, which can preserve or increase the level of grassland soil organic carbon. Povečane koncentracije toplogrednih plinov v atmosferi vodijo v segrevanje planeta. Z gospodarjenjem na travinju lahko vplivamo na vezavo ogljika v organsko snov travniških tal in s tem zmanjšujemo koncentracije toplogrednega CO2 v ozračju. Po uvodnih poglavjih so v znanstveni monografiji analizirani vplivi gnojenja, kjer je poseben poudarek na učinkoviti rabi N iz gnojevke. Opisani so sodobni načini obnove travinja in za pridelovanje krme najpomembnejše rastline, ki tvorijo rušo. Delo zaključujejo načini rabe ruše, ki omogočajo ohranjanje ali povečevanje organskega ogljika v travniških tleh.

Pridelava in konzerviranje krme v obdobjih, ko ni pomanjkanja vode za rast rastlin in pridelava proti suši odpornih rastlin sta ključna elementa prilagajanja živinoreje klimatskim spremembam. V Eip- Agri projektu 'Izboljšane tehnologije pridelave in konzerviranja z beljakovinami bogate krme - metuljnice in njihove mešanice za prilagajanje podnebnim spremembam' smo primerjali pridelavo in konzerviranje metuljnic v čisti setvi ter mešanice metuljnic in trav (oboje brez gnojenja z dušikom) s pridelavo z dušikom gnojenih trav v čisti setvi. Rezultati kažejo, da je uporaba metuljnic v čisti setvi in mešanic metuljnic s travami primerna za pridelavo in konzerviranje s proteini bogate krme. Pridelava mešanic z visokim deležem metuljnic je zanesljivejša. Te mešanice dajejo primerljive pridelke z metuljnicami v čisti setvi in silaže visoke kakovosti.