Abstract Tussock density, height, and flowering frequency, vegetation composition, and soil chemistry were measured in a 9-year fertiliser trial without pasture seeding on hieracium-infested fescue-tussock grassland in New Zealand. A factorial of 3 superphosphate rates by 3 nitrogen fertiliser rates by 2 nitrogen types was applied in the first 3 years, and half the plots received a single grazing in the 5th year. Effects were small but continued to develop after fertilisation ceased. While a single grazing initially depressed tussock height it subsequently enhanced height. There were changes in relative species abundance in response to fertiliser. Soil P and S levels increased with superphosphate fertiliser but decreased with N fertiliser, probably reflecting uptake by the increased shoot biomass and litter.
Keywords Festuca novae-zelandiae; Hieracium pilosella; fertiliser; N; P; S; restoration
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2000, Vol. 43: 481-490
0028-8233/00/4304-0481 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 2000
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