Assessing the Impact of Environmental and Management Variables on Mountain Meadow Yield and Feed Quality Using a...

Area of Science:

• Agronomy
• Ecology
• Climate Science

Background:

• Hay meadow productivity and nutritional quality are significantly affected by seasonal climate patterns and agricultural practices.
• Temperate hay meadows are vital for livestock, but their output can be unpredictable due to environmental variability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the impact of environmental, management, and vegetation variables on hay meadow biomass yield, protein content, and Relative Feed Value (RFV).
• To identify key predictors for optimizing hay meadow production and forage quality.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of five years of data (2019, 2020, 2022-2024) from 15 hay meadows in the Spanish Pyrenees.
• Utilized Random Forest regression with cross-validation to model yield, protein, and RFV.
• Assessed variable importance for environmental (temperature, rainfall), management (fertilization, livestock, cutting date), and vegetation (biodiversity) factors.

Main Results:

• March rainfall was the primary driver of biomass yield (R²=0.802).
• Cutting date significantly influenced protein content (R²=0.786) and RFV (R²=0.718).
• Moderate livestock density and cooler spring temperatures positively affected forage quality; higher biodiversity offered minor benefits without yield loss.

Conclusions:

• Adaptive management strategies, including early spring moisture conservation and timely harvesting, are crucial for maximizing hay meadow yield and quality.
• Maintaining plant diversity and appropriate grazing intensity can enhance forage value under variable climatic conditions.
• Findings provide a framework for optimizing temperate hay meadow management for both quantity and quality.