Increasing diversity of warm- and cool-season species enhances aboveground and root carbon and nitrogen accumulation in subtropical forage mixtures

Authors

• Ricardo Henrique Ribeiro, University of KentuckyFollow
• Jeferson Dieckow, Universidade Federal do Parana
• André Fischer Sbrissia, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina
• Felipe Bratti, Universidade Federal do Parana
• Henrique Almeida Santos Ducheiko, Universidade Federal do Parana
• Marcelo Trybek, Universidade Federal do Parana
• Anibal de Moraes, Universidade Federal do Parana
• Marília Barbosa Chiavegato, Ohio State University

Abstract

Background and aims: This study evaluated how increasing forage species diversity affects herbage and root mass, associated C and N accumulation, and soil particulate organic matter (POM). Methods: Over three years a field experiment compared a baseline system of warm-season perennial bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) annually overseeded with black oat (Avena strigosa) to eight mixtures containing 3 to 6 species, including legumes and grasses, differing in seasonal growth (warm vs. cool season) and life cycle (annual vs. perennial). Added legumes included warm-season forage peanut (Arachis pintoi) and cool-season white clover (Trifolium repens), while added grasses included warm-season limpograss (Hemarthria altissima) and cool-season annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum). Results: Increasing diversity from the two-species baseline to mixtures containing 3–6 species increased herbage accumulation, root mass and respective C and N accumulation under cool and warm seasons. The addition of legume species consistently increased herbage and root N accumulation. The addition of warm-season species increased annual herbage accumulation, while cool-season species increased both herbage and root mass during the cool-season. Only annual ryegrass contributed to greater soil POM-C and POM-N after three years. Conclusions: Increasing diversity in forage mixtures from two to 3 − 6 species had a positive effect on herbage, roots and C and N accumulation in a subtropical environment in Southern Brazil. The contribution of species varied depending on whether they were cool or warm-season species, or whether they belonged or not to the legume family. Selecting complementary species based on functional characteristics is therefore key to obtaining benefits from diverse forage swards.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2026

Notes/Citation Information

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1007/s11104-026-08680-8

Archival?

Archival

Repository Citation

Ribeiro, Ricardo Henrique; Dieckow, Jeferson; Sbrissia, André Fischer; Bratti, Felipe; Ducheiko, Henrique Almeida Santos; Trybek, Marcelo; de Moraes, Anibal; and Chiavegato, Marília Barbosa, "Increasing diversity of warm- and cool-season species enhances aboveground and root carbon and nitrogen accumulation in subtropical forage mixtures" (2026). Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications. 196.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/pss_facpub/196