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Diagram of the 4 management systems and the 8 sites defined according to the combination of management systems and position in the experimental plot. Sites: Site 1, S1 (intensive management) interrow; Site 2, S1 row; Site 3, S2 (eco-tillage management) inter-row; Site 4, S2 row; Site 5, S4 (low-input management) inter-row; Site 6, S4 row; Site 7, S5 (eco-cover management) inter-row; Site 8, S5 row.
Source publication
In recent years, rainfed vineyards in the Mediterranean basin are being replaced by irrigated vineyards in some areas, a phenomenon that is expected to increase due to climate change. At the same time, the use of plant cover in vineyards has emerged as an alternative to other weed management practices (e.g., herbicide, tillage). Knowing how weed co...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... in the rows; S3) Low-input, spontaneous plant cover (spontaneous vegetation managed by mowing passes) on the inter-rows and herbicide (glyphosate) in the rows; and S4) Eco-cover, inter-rows with spontaneous plant cover (same as S3) and rows with mowing pass. From the original experimental design, we distinguish 8 different environmental sites (Fig. 1), which are defined by the combination of weed management (herbicide, mowing, tillage) and the position (row or inter-row). Therefore, inter-row and row were analysed separately, since support irrigation applied on the vineyard row and, to a lesser extent, the shade produced by the vines themselves, generate different conditions between ...
Context 2
... in 2015, 2016 and 2018 during the first half of May, coinciding with the time of the year when the vineyard had the greatest number of weed species and immediately before weeding treatments. The sampling points were located in pairs, both the row and the inter-row separated by 1 m, and a distance of 5.5 m between pairs within the same plot (Fig. 1). In total, six sampling points in each of the 32 plots (4 blocks × 8 sites), in which a 33 cm × 66 cm quadrat frame was used to identify all plant species and estimate the percentage cover of each of them. Data from the 6 sampling points were pooled to calculate average species cover per plot. Species were identified according to ...
Context 3
... study revealed similarities between the functional structure of the plant communities and CSR strategy, with a good adjustment between extracted functional groups and CSR classification ( Fig. 7; Appendix D, Table D.2). In addition, a strong association between management practices and CSR strategy has been evidenced (Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10). It has been widely cited as a central axis of CSR theory that competitiveness dimension relates to high rates of resource capture (low stress, low disturbance), stress-tolerance dimension relates to low levels of disturbance and high levels of stress, and ruderality dimension relates to high levels of disturbance and low levels of ...
Citations
... These traits include the broad categories of plant life history, leaf morphology, and reproductive characteristics ( Table 1). The data on traits were acquired from LEDA [43], BIEN [44], Pladias [45], BioFlor [46], and the TRY Global Plant Traits Database [47], and were stored in a new database [48]. The content of dry matter in leaves (LDMC) and specific leaf area (SLA) can be used to check the status of the species economic leaf spectrum [49]. ...
The Upper Silesia region of Poland is one of the most extensively altered regions of Europe due to human activity, especially coal mining. (2): We used cluster analysis to examine the floristic composition of three classified forest communities: forests developed on post-coal mine mineral heaps (HF), mixed deciduous forests (DECI), and managed secondary coniferous forests (CON). Vegetation data were collected from 44 randomly selected plots, and plant traits connected with persistence, dispersal, and regeneration were taken from commonly used plant trait databases. (3): Higher species richness, species diversity, and evenness (36, 2.7, and 0.76, respectively) were calculated for HF plots compared with those plots from DECI (22, 1.9, and 0.62) and CON (18, 2.0, and 0.71) plots. Higher functional richness (0.173, 0.76) and functional divergence were determined for HF compared with those calculated for DECI (FRic 0.090, FDiv 0.71) and CON (FRic 0.026, FDiv 0.69). In contrast, the substrate from HF forests had significantly lower soil respiration (0.76 mg-CO 2 h/m 2) compared with substrates from both CON and DECI forests (0.90 and 0.96 mg-CO 2 h/m 2 , respectively); (4): A set of complex abiotic stresses which plants suffer from on coal mine spoil heaps shaped different patterns of taxonomic and functional diversity. These findings demonstrate the importance of investigating successional aspects and carbon dynamics of de novo forests which have developed on post-coal mine spoil heaps in urban industrial areas.
... In other studies, Rojas et al. (2007) worked with within-and between-row spacing of cassava and observed that within-row spacing influenced plant height and stem diameter. Guerra et al. (2021) and Rojas et al. (2007) also reported higher cassava yields including stem cuttings at higher planting densities in mono-cropping. Thus, for stem cuttings' massive multiplication in Kilosa District, planting density agronomic practice of 20,000 plants ha -1 was found to be a better option. ...
The shortage of cassava stem cuttings presents a significant constraint to cassava production in Kilosa district, Tanzania. To address this issue, a field experiment was conducted within the research plots of TARI Ilonga, Kilosa, to evaluate the impact of fertilizer application, planting density, and variety on cassava stem cutting yield. Employing a split-split plot design in a randomized complete block design (RCBD), the experiment featured variety, planting density, and rates of fertilizer combinations as main, sub, and sub-sub factors, respectively. The study focused on three improved varieties of cassava (Kiroba, Chereko, and Mkuranga 1), with planting densities of 10,000, 13,000, and 20,000 plants per hectare, and ten fertilizer treatment rates. Data collected encompassed soil physico-chemical characteristics of the site, total plant height, stem height, stem diameter, number of stem cuttings, and nodes per stem cutting. Analysis of the plant data involved variance analysis, with significant treatments distinguished using Tukey’s honesty significance test (p<0.05). Notably, the application of 150 kg N ha-1 resulted in statistically higher total plant height and stem height, while a planting density of 20,000 plants ha-1 combined with the Kiroba variety exhibited statistically higher numbers of stem cuttings ha-1. The study concludes that for effective stem multiplication, a planting density of 20,000 plants ha-1 and the application of N fertilizers at a rate of 150 kg N ha-1 are recommended.
... Biotic factors like weeds compete for nutrients, light, and water, negatively affect the yield and quality of both young and mature vineyards if left unmanaged in vineyards (Byrne & Howell, 1978;Bordelon & Weller, 1997;Oerke, 2006;Ekwealor et al., 2009). In addition to the impacts of global climate and irrigation, a decrease in the competitive ability of cultivated plants might lead to an increase in harmful weed populations (Guerra et al., 2021(Guerra et al., , 2022a. The farmers, on the other hand, may seek higher yields in short periods resulting in greater herbicide consumption for weed control (Kudsk & Streibig, 2003). ...
Soil degradation and climate change put stress on cultivated plants necessitating sustainable weed management practices that reduce herbicide usage and environmental pollution. Cover cropping has emerged as a viable alternative since it has many advantages over traditional herbicides in terms of cultivated plants, soil health, and weed suppression. This three-year study (2020–2023) aimed to examine the performance of cover crops (grass pea, berseem clover, common vetch + triticale, and phacelia) in a drip-irrigated vineyard with restricted water supply in southern Türkiye. The parameters monitored to evaluate the competition between cover crops and weeds were coverage, height, light intensity, shade capacity, dominance, density, and biomass. The common vetch + triticale mixture displaying the highest suppression rates followed by grass pea and phacelia. Cover crops’ height was inversely associated with weed biomass, which suggests that they have the potential to be effective weed management tools because it may provide substantial shading as well as competing performance. The findings of the study highlights the importance of environmentally friendly practices as cover cropping in reducing herbicide reliance and in promoting sustainable vineyard agriculture. Furthermore, the observations of cover crops align with the objectives of the Green Deal suggest a promising approach that enhances soil health be considered to conserve water and foster a more resilient agricultural ecosystem.
... Substitution of these traits with only three, easily measured, leaf traits allowed the extension of the applicability of the method to both woody and herbaceous vascular plants, and across different biomes (Pierce et al., 2017(Pierce et al., , 2013. Application of the CSR model at the community level, for the investigation of a community's functional signature (Hunt et al., 2004), has been shown to be able to correctly predict a community's response to stress and disturbance in several case studies and experiments (e.g., Bricca et al., 2021;Guerra et al., 2021;Li and Shipley, 2017;Zanzottera et al., 2020). ...
... Vineyard floor plant diversity and community dynamics in Mediterranean vineyards are strongly linked to floor management practices and intensities (Nascimbene et al., 2013;Kazakou et al., 2016;Fried et al., 2019;MacLaren et al., 2019;Guerra et al., 2021;Guerra et al., 2022), with the main trade-off that growers have to consider being the competitive nature of plant species with vineyard yield and the ecosystem services lent by these plant species to support biodiversity and soil functionality . There is evidence to suggest that minimal vegetation management in vineyards may support less competitive plant species, and, thus, the need for management action decreases whilst biodiversity improves (MacLaren et al., 2019). ...
... In addition to the specific site conditions, agronomic management practices are strong predictors of the surviving plant species and community dynamics, as herbicides, tillage, and mowing have different modes of action that select for or against particular species (Navas, 2012). Tillage practices in vineyards can promote plants that are fast-growing and with high specific leaf areas (Kazakou et al., 2016;MacLaren et al., 2016), while herbicides may select for species with smaller seed masses that germinate rapidly (Guerra et al., 2021). In addition to specific floor management practices, management ideology also tends to be associated with determining plant species richness, as was the case in a South African vineyard landscape (MacLaren et al., 2019), yet was not an important contributor to plant diversity in Swiss vineyards (Bruggisser et al., 2010) or across European arable farming landscapes (Garland et al., 2021). ...
... Tillage was shown to increase the prevalence of species with high specific leaf area by both Kazakou et al. (2016) and Guerra et al. (2021), while MacLaren et al. (2019 also found that higher levels of management intensity and soil disturbance increased ruderal weed abundance in vineyards. These ruderal species have adapted over time to survive high levels of disturbance (Grime, 1977), which is why they are more prolific as management intensity increases. ...
Throughout the last thirty years, major shifts in vineyard floor management have been observed. Challenges initially posed by intensive tillage included high rates of soil erosion and the degeneration of soil structure and soil organic matter, which lead viticulturists to depend more heavily on herbicide use as an effective weed control strategy. However, an increase in herbicide persistence and toxicity in water, soils, and grapevines, increasing resistance of common weeds; and pressure from consumers and regulators to reduce their use is directing a shift towards an overall reduction in herbicide usage. This has led to more frequent tillage to manage vegetation in vineyards, while in some instances, cultural practices including slashing and animal grazing are used solely or in conjunction. However, little is known about the holistic effects of these varying practices on vineyard soils and biodiversity across landscapes in Australia. Thus, to comparatively assess the environmental impacts of different floor management practices, soil health indicators and plant dynamics were seasonally measured in the mid- and under-vine rows at twenty-four vineyard sites and four native sites in the Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, and McLaren Vale, all located in South Australia, where different intensities of floor management were implemented. Vineyard sites were categorised based on the frequency of herbicide and/or tillage passes particularly in the under-vine area into Low (no annual management passes), Medium (one annual management pass), and High (two to four annual management passes) intensity groups. Findings revealed similarities in the vineyard mid-rows across the management intensities, yet the under-vine rows displayed many differences; in particular, there were more plant species, higher plant coverage, and greater plant biomass in the Low management intensity group. Furthermore, as management intensity decreased, the relative richness of ruderal plant species also decreased, giving way to a plant community mainly comprised of slow-growing, perennial Poaceae and Fabaceae species in the Low-intensity management group. These differences in plant dynamics drove a suite of soil responses including faster water infiltration, higher soil ammonium-N and total nitrogen, and a tendency of higher soil gravimetric water content at the time of sampling. These results suggest that after an initial period of establishing these more extensive vineyard floor management practices, low levels of soil disturbance in the under-vine rows may contribute positively to improving natural ecosystem synergy and functionality between soil and plants. Therefore, our findings lend insights into how the varying intensity of floor management practices, rather than differing management ideologies per se, across a viticultural landscape can be intrinsic supporters of agroecosystem resilience under South Australian conditions.
... Woody crops, such as olive trees, vines, almond trees, orange trees and so on, cover 28 Mha in the EU alone, with the majority (approximately 80 %) located in the Mediterranean area (FAOSTAT, 2022). Under Mediterranean conditions, these crops face serious agro-environmental challenges, such as unsustainable erosion rates and decreasing soil quality and biodiversity (e.g., Scheidel and Krausmann, 2011;Gómez, 2017;Winter et al., 2018;Guerra et al., 2021). Among sustainable management practices in woody orchards, the use of CCs is widely accepted as a management tool that reduces soil losses, improves soil fertility and increases biodiversity (e.g., Biddoccu et al., 2016;Gómez, 2017;Montanaro et al., 2017;Gómez et al., 2018a;Winter et al., 2018). ...
... In recent years, there have been many studies indicating that incorporating plant functional trait perspective can optimize management improvement in agroecosystems oriented to enhance the provision of ecosystems services (e.g., Wilke and Snapp, 2008;Faucon et al., 2017), some of them oriented to Mediterranean woody crops, such as vineyards (e.g., Garcia et al., 2020a;Guerra et al., 2021). Some studies are aimed at achieving a balance between the species richness of the CC with the provided ecosystem services. ...
This study evaluated under two contrasting field conditions, and during two seasons, four autochthonous species, Bromus rubens (Br), Brachypodium distachyon (Bd), Medicago truncatula (Mt) and Anthemis arvensis (Aa), as single species and in mixtures of Br + Mt, Br + Aa and Br + Mt + Aa, to determine their suitability as temporary cover crops (CCs) for Mediterranean woody crops. Br, Bd and Mt reached above 90 % ground cover (GC) in spring, while Aa reached a maximum of 80 %; in early winter GC varied from 0 % to 40 %, approximately, depending on the sowing date in the fall. The thermal time required to reach 30 % GC and seed maturity appeared as two key traits to evaluate the suitability of autochthonous species as temporary CCs for Mediterranean woody crops. Our experiment showed that early seeding (no later than mid-October) is critical to exploit these traits into effective CCs under Mediterranean conditions. Phenologic models developed for the tested species, based on temperature, are capable of predicting their development properly under field conditions, and they might be used to predict the evolution of GC when calibrated from field experiments. Aboveground biomass was affected by edaphic conditions, with higher values being observed in the most fertile soil, in Córdoba, in the range of 300–700 g m⁻², compared to Adamuz with 150–350 g m⁻². When used as monospecific CCs, Br, Bd and Mt had a higher aboveground biomass than Aa. We observed no differences in aboveground biomass among mixtures within each of the two locations. Differences in fine root biomass (RB) and fine root length density (RLd) resembled those of aboveground biomass, albeit with a higher variability. When used as monospecific CCs, fine RB and fine RLd were higher for Br and Bd, followed by Mt, with Aa having the lower values. Fine RB, or fine RL, in the top 0–30 cm of soil is also a relevant trait for selecting temporary CCs for Mediterranean woody crops. Our results show that they are also greatly affected by edaphic-climatic conditions and that they have a moderate correlation with aboveground biomass. The analysis of soil water uptake in the Córdoba plot showed no significant differences among the monospecific species and the mixtures, with ET values during the 2014/15 and 2015/16 growing seasons in the range of 325–300 mm.
... All emerged species were identified during the field experiments, and it was noted that some species were common, because the experiments were carried out in the same climatic zone and at the same season (Table 7). There is a recent growing trend towards the replacement of traditional Mediterranean raindfed vineyards by irrigated vineyards that promotes the development of weeds [40,41]. In all the performed trials (7/7), it was possible to obtain a significant percentage of weed control (efficacy) in all treated plots compared to the untreated. ...
Pelargonic acid (PA) is the only natural herbicide authorized for professional use in Spain. Incorporating PA into an integrated weed management strategy in vineyards may enable a more sustainable production method for grapes. In this work, PA of 55% concentration, formulated by a commercial company (PSEI), was evaluated and applied at 8, 10, 12, and 15 L/ha for weed control in Mediterranean vineyards during 2020 and 2021. A total of 22 different weed species, 16 dicotyle-donous and 6 monocotyledonous, were identified in the experimental areas. Previously, greenhouse assays were performed against Avena fatua L. and Chenopodium album L. to determine the dose/re-sponse curves. PSEI proved to be a viable post-emergence herbicide with an efficacy of 40.79-80.90%, depending on the applied dose (higher doses were the most effective). Broader herbicidal activity (20% or more) was obtained against dicotyledonous weeds compared with monocotyle-donous. The PA formulation was remarkable in achieving PSEI-similar effects as compared to the market reference but at lower concentrations (around 13% less PA) and doses (1-8 less L/ha). PA has proved to be a good candidate to control weeds in Mediterranean vineyards when used as a post-emergence broad-spectrum herbicide in the first stages of weed development.
... Lhotsky et al., 2016). In recent years, it has been described that weed management can affect the functional structure of weed communities favoring one set of functional traits over others (Fried et al., 2012;Guerra et al., 2021) which could be indicative, although not proven, of trait convergence caused by habitat filtering. In contrast, trait divergence could occur according to the principle of limiting similarity (Macarthur and Levins, 1967) which suggests that species can coexist more easily if they diverge in their traits, thereby decreasing competition between them (e.g. ...
... In particular, we have focused on analyzing the relationship between weed management and trait convergence or divergence patterns. Based on previous studies (Guerra et al., 2021;Guerra et al., 2022), we further hypothesize that functional diversity could also vary depending on the management adjacent to each plot studied. For example, Guerra et al. (2022) reported that species richness was higher in herbicide-treated plots close to mowing than in plots close to tillage. ...
... For example, Guerra et al. (2022) reported that species richness was higher in herbicide-treated plots close to mowing than in plots close to tillage. In addition, we have recently observed that at herbicidetreated and irrigated rows, with intermediate values of bare soil, the most competitive species were favored (Guerra et al., 2021;2022). Given that competition is a factor that can shape plant functional diversity (Navas and Violle, 2009), this work also studied the relationship between functional diversity and competitiveness (CSR strategy; Grime, 1974). ...
Weed management involving tillage and/or herbicides has generally led to a decline of plant diversity in agroecosystems, with negative impacts on ecosystem services provision. The use of plant covers has become the predominant alternative in vineyard management, with numerous studies focusing on analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of plant covers compared to the aforementioned management. Although the impacts of weed management on taxonomic diversity have been widely studied, many gaps remain on their effects on plant functional diversity. As plant functional diversity is linked to the delivery of key ecosystem services in agroecosystems, understanding these effects could enable the development of more sustainable practices. From 2008 to 2018, a long-term trial was carried out in a Mediterranean vineyard to assess different agricultural practices. In this article, we examined how weed management, as well as irrigation use, could affect plant functional diversity. Based on 10 functional traits, such as plant height, specific leaf area or seed mass, we measured different indices of functional diversity and used null models to detect processes of trait convergence and divergence. Our results revealed that weed management and irrigation use had a significant effect on plant functional diversity. Mown plots showed the highest functional richness but were functionally convergent, since mowing was a strong functional filter on most of the traits. Tillage also behaved as a functional filter on some vegetative traits, but favored the divergence of certain reproductive traits. Herbicide-treated and irrigated plots showed the highest values of functional divergence by promoting more competitive species with more divergent trait values. The effect of weed management on these community assembly processes was shaped by the use of irrigation in vineyard rows, leading to functional divergence in those vegetative traits related to resource acquisition and seed mass. These results suggest that greater functional diversity may be associated with the bias caused by higher occurrence of competitive species (e.g. Convolvulus arvensis, Sonchus asper) with contrasting values for certain traits. Therefore, since these species are considered harmful to crops, higher plant functional diversity might not be a desirable indicator in agroecosystems.
... However, due to the high diversity of species found in vineyards (e.g., around 900 species in France [Maillet, 2006]), taxonomic approaches have failed to highlight consistent responses of weeds to management practices. More recently, an increasing number of studies have investigated the response of weed communities to vineyard management, using a trait-based approach (Bopp et al., 2022;Guerra et al., 2021;Hall et al., 2020;Kazakou et al., 2016;MacLaren et al., 2019;Mainardis et al., 2020). MacLaren et al. (2019) showed that herbicide-treated sites promoted relatively tall, small-seeded weeds, indicators of a ruderal-competitive life strategy. ...
... As management practices can be very contrasting between the inter-rows and the rows (typically, herbicides sprayed on the rows, mowing in the inter-rows), distinct weed surveys on these two areas may allow to disentangle more easily the effect of the environment (climate and soil) from the effects of the practices. Another limitation of these studies is that they do not explicitly take into account the resource gradient, except for Guerra et al. (2021) who show that irrigation favours taller and more competitive species. We expected that tillage and herbicide would favour ruderal communities while mowing would select more perennial communities. ...
... To summarise, the effect of tillage is very consistent across studies, and we confirmed here that tillage favoured species with a ruderal strategy, an annual life cycle (Guerra et al., 2021;Hall et al., 2020;Mainardis et al., 2020) and an early flowering onset (Bopp et al., 2022;Guerra et al., 2021). The picture is more mixed for herbicides and mowing suggesting that they may also depend on other factors. ...
Vineyards are an appropriate model for testing the filtering effect of management practices on weed communities, as a wide range of practices (tillage, herbicides and mowing) is implemented. The aim of this study is to highlight which trait values are selected by each practice in different environmental conditions, with special references to Grime's CSR strategies. A combination of a multivariate analysis (RLQ) and the fourth-corner analysis was used to analyse 400 floristic samples belonging to 100 vineyards in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux (France). The main structure of vineyard weed communities was shaped by the opposition between mowing, favouring hemicryptophytes with a competitive strategy, and soil tillage, favouring therophytes and nutrient-demanding species with a ruderal strategy. Secondly, the vineyard weed communities differed according to the trophic status of the soil. Vineyards on acidic, sandy soils with low organic matter were characterised by small-seeded annuals with a stress-tolerant strategy whereas vineyards with clayey, calcar-eous soils rich in organic matter, harboured larger perennial nitrophilous species with large seeds and a competitive strategy. Our study is the first to show that weed species responded consistently to two independent gradients with specific traits associated with disturbance (life cycle and SLA) and soil resources (plant height and seed mass) gradients. Based on knowledge of the soil characteristics, it becomes possible to predict which type of weeds will develop according to the combination of practices applied on the vineyard rows and inter-rows.
... Indeed, the Mediterranean climate exerts strong environmental filters on the plant communities such as summer drought filtering (de la Riva et al., 2016) to which species must adapt through their trait values (Rota et al., 2017). Moreover, weed management is quite diversified in vineyards (Winter et al., 2018): recent studies showed that each weed management type (i.e. chemical weeding, tillage and mowing) filters weed functional properties in different ways (MacLaren et al., 2019;Hall et al., 2020;Guerra et al., 2021;Bopp et al., 2022). For instance, tillage exerts strong and frequent disturbance on weed communities (Gaba et al., 2014;Kazakou et al., 2016). ...
... For instance, tillage exerts strong and frequent disturbance on weed communities (Gaba et al., 2014;Kazakou et al., 2016). Such a highly disturbed environment favours acquisitive species with high photosynthetic activity per unit of dry mass invested in the leaves [high specific leaf area, i.e. leaf area to leaf dry mass; and low leaf dry matter content (LDMC), i.e. leaf dry mass to leaf fresh mass ratio] Hall et al., 2020;Guerra et al., 2021;Bopp et al., 2022). On the contrary, mowing removes partially weed biomass and can be considered a disturbance with lower intensity compared with tillage . ...
... On the contrary, mowing removes partially weed biomass and can be considered a disturbance with lower intensity compared with tillage . Several studies demonstrated that weed communities developing in mowed vineyards had more conservative strategies, producing more expensive and resistant leaves, that are consequently less efficient for the photosynthesis per unit of dry mass (high LDMC and low specific leaf area) Hall et al., 2020;Mainardis et al., 2020;Guerra et al., 2021;Bopp et al., 2022). The strategies that weed communities can develop under chemical weeding are less clear. ...
Background and Aims
Decomposition is a major ecosystem process which improves soil quality. Despite that, only a few studies have analysed decomposition in an agricultural context, while most agrosystems (e.g. vineyards) are facing decreasing soil quality. The objective of this study is to understand the impacts of both pedoclimate and weed management on the mass loss of vineyard weed communities during the early stages of the decomposition process through their functional properties.
Methods
In 16 Mediterranean vineyards representing both a pedoclimate and a soil management gradient, we measured the mass loss of green aboveground biomass of 50 weed communities during decomposition in standard conditions and key leaf traits of dominant species (e.g. leaf dry matter content, LDMC, leaf lignin to nitrogen ratio, lignin:N). Both the mean (i.e. community weighted means, CWM) and diversity (i.e. Rao index) were computed at the community level. Path analysis was used to quantify the effects of agro-environmental filters on the mass loss of weed communities through their functional properties.
Key Results
Tillage and mowing filtered more decomposable communities compared to chemically weeded communities (16% and 8% of higher mass loss after two months of decomposition). Path analysis selected weed management practice type as the main factor determining mass loss through its effect on functional properties while soil and climate had minor and no effects respectively. Chemical weeding favoured communities with higher investment in resistant leaves (e.g. 38% higher lignin:N, 22% lower leaf nitrogen content) which resulted in lower mass loss compared to tilled and mowed communities. Mowing favoured communities with 47% higher biomass and with 46% higher nitrogen content.
Conclusions
Weed management influenced significantly weed mass loss, while pedoclimate had little effect. Our results suggest that mowing is a promising alternative to herbicide use, favouring higher biomass, nitrogen content and decomposability potential of weeds.
