6533b7d1fe1ef96bd125be77

RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Prairie Diagnosis: a tool to assess and characterize the grassland base of long-term temporary and permanent grasslands

subject

description

Permanent and temporary grasslands represent nearly 44 % of the French UAA. This vast area is rich in a very wide range of flora, from hillside meadows with subterranean clover to flooded meadows and marshes with Baldingere, not forgetting sown meadows which, over the years, can host numerous spontaneous species. The method of prairie diagnosis is based on a botanical approach to the prairie with the objective of qualifying the forage aptitudes of the cover. The diagnosis of a meadow is only of interest and relevance if it is integrated into a forage system consistent with the strategies of a farmer. It is based on the premise that the flora of a meadow is the result of the interaction of "environmental" factors and "practices". A set of indicators derived from the "botanical reading" of the meadow (indicator species, number of species, relative abundance, meadow background) provides the user with information on the state of the plant cover, its forage value and the possibilities of evolution of the plant community.