We aim to identify and characterize genes associated with interspecies competition in grassland, and to characterise the genetic and physiological responses of key grassland species to grazing, cutting and other biotic and abiotic stresses.

 

Approach: We use techniques across different scales including DNA-barcoding, plant neighbour analysis and remote sensing to track the spatial flux of constituent species under different management regimes and across a climatic transect. We are using epigenetic profiling of plants exposed to different stressors in a field environment, and NGS DNA barcoding on faecal samples/offcuts to determine species-specific biomass removal.

 

Potential impact: We will identify plant responses underpinning resilience to grazing/cutting in the context of competing multi-species swards. In the short term, we will allow improved assembly of commercial species and varietal mixtures tailored to both the growing environment and grazing regime. In the longer term, we will improve forage grass and legume varieties that are more compatible with each other and resilient to grazing/cutting.

 

Key research insights and findings: Our initial work focussed on developing new approaches to detect changes in sward species composition during establishment or in response to management/climatic variables. We optimised two low cost, high-throughput alternatives to DNA metabarcoding (targeted PCR-RFLP and PCR-HRM) thereby increasing the potential statistical power of sward flux studies. Combined use of all approaches enabled us to process far more samples than by metabarcode-tag-labelling alone. These strategies are now being combined to describe sward dynamics during establishment and will next be used to characterise swards in response to management and across an altitudinal gradient broadly representative of >60% of UK grazing land.

 

Two contrasting commercial seed mixtures optimised for lowlands and uplands were established across a gradient of the four altitudinal sites. Each site contained five replicated blocks for two contrasting seed mixes (10 blocks in total). Each block was subdivided into sub-blocks (7m x 7m) that were subject to one of four grazing regimes (continual grazing, rotational grazing, simulated grazing and hay cut). Reference plants have been collected from all sites and used to create local reference barcodes suitable for all profiling techniques (core barcodes plus many supplementary loci). To establish species compositions point quadrat samples and pooled point quadrat samples were collected during and then following sward establishment.

 

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