Epsilon Open Archive

The area around Lake Östen has significant natural and cultural values and is also valuable farmland, and iit also has a great value for outdoor activity etc. One way to maintain the area's natural and cultural heritage and recreational value is mowing. Within the project "Cooperation Lake Östen" researchers from SLU Skara have in the summer of 2014 harvested a number of sample squares on six different sampling sites around the lake to estimate yield and to analyze the nutritional content of wetland vegetation. This is to investigate if the material can be used for feed. Four sampling times, three weeks apart were made, starting on July 2 and was completed by 1 September. At the first occasion, a plant species inventory was done.

The yield at the first sampling time ranged from 2900 to 8800 kg DM / ha, depending on whether it was low- or high sedge meadow. The dry-matter content of the herbage was high, ranging between 25 and 34%.

The nutritional content was low in the herbage already at the first sampling time, which makes it only good enough to feed suckle cows during early pregnancy. At the third time (August 12) of sampling mold growth was noticed in the thick grass, mostly in the high sedge meadow and therefore not good enough as feed. The high sedge meadow had slightly higher crude protein content and higher digestibility, but had even a higher fibre content than the low sedge meadow. Reed sweet grass proved to be a very rough grass, which had a significantly lower nutrient content than reed canary grass, particularly in the case of crude protein. The regrowth on the other hand held a nutrient content similar to a grass ley at heading.

Iron and manganese concentrations in the plant material increased over time and were very high in August and September. Most likely, there was a low pH in the soil, which allowed plants to take up more iron and manganese.