High‐nature‐value grasslands have the capacity to cope with nutrient impoverishment induced by mowing and livestock grazing

Management of high‐nature‐value (HNV) grasslands follows agri‐environmental schemes across large areas of Europe. Long‐term agreements and restrictions of fertilizers cause soil nutrient impoverishment, but remarkably this quite often does not reduce biomass production. Therefore, we tested how species‐rich vegetation copes with nutrient impoverishment under the most frequently used treatments, that is summer mowing and livestock grazing. During 2011–2012 we studied, simultaneously, plant species composition, soil and biomass chemical properties in two equally designed experiments where mowing, grazing or leaving fallow have been applied since 2004. We asked whether soil‐based (Cₒᵣg : Nₜₒₜ, plant‐available P and K) and plant‐based measures (N : P, N : K, K : P ratios and N‐, P‐, K‐nutrition indices) indicate the same pattern of nutrient limitation as the observed productivity gradient. Seven years of management application resulted in the lowest plant‐available P under grazing and the lowest plant‐available K under mowing, but neither grazed nor mown plots produced less biomass than fallow ones. Grazing supported dominance of grasses while mowing that of non‐leguminous forbs. Projection of nutrition indices to a common framework with nutrient ratios suggests that critical thresholds for diagnosis of nutrient limitation are a function of N deficiency. At biomass production of 2 t ha⁻¹ a N‐nutrition index of 50 yielded threshold N : P = 14·0; hence, all our treatments with N : P of 9·9–12·5 should be N limited. Inspecting the productivity gradient separately for each management, we found only soil Cₒᵣg : Nₜₒₜ negatively related to biomass production in mown plots indicating N limitation. However in grazed plots, positive association of biomass production with plant‐available P and negative with biomass N : P and N : K suggested PK co‐limitation. Synthesis and applications. Mowing and grazing induced different patterns of soil nutrient impoverishment and nutrient limitation, but they did not reduce biomass production of high‐nature‐value grasslands. Non‐leguminous forbs prevailing under mowing precluded shortage of P, while grasses dominating under grazing efficiently captured N. We recommend designing agri‐environmental measures that will encourage alternating mowing and grazing. This should promote coexistence of multiple forbs and grasses, balance nutrient limitation and ensure stable biomass production under future low‐input scenarios.