Sward type had a significant effect on scratching, plant pecking, and total sward-directed pecking (plant and ground pecking together) in the grass swards (p < 0.01), and on ground pecking in the forb swards (p < 0.05).
In the case of the forbs, under the same experimental design conditions, Glc yields never exceeded approximately 20 to 30% at any enzyme combination, and as a result no statistically significant model of optimized proportions could be determined (data not shown).
However, in no experiment did Multifect™ Pectinase enhance either Glc or Xyl yields from any of the forbs, either in combination with the 8-component mixture or in combination with C/HTec2 (data not shown).
On the other hand, the forbs used in the current work were harvested midseason when they were still actively growing, and therefore were richer in non-structural constituents such as chlorophyll, primary metabolites, and protein.
If the forbs had been harvested in the late autumn, they may have had lower protein and other cytoplasmic contents, and a higher structural polysaccharide content [ 26].
These measures of slug herbivory were analysed for the three plant species that were present in both plant communities (the forb P. vulgaris, the legume T. pratense and the grass A. elatius).
The positive effects of fertilization on leaf greenness were stronger in grasses than in forbs, whereas the decrease of leaf greenness in response to shading was more pronounced in forbs than in grasses.
The forb cover index in switchgrass plots (mean = 1.3, SD = 0.61) was less than that of mixed prairie (mean = 2.1, SD = 0.56).
Although grasses comprise the greatest biomass in prairies, forbs contribute the greatest diversity (Turner and Knapp, 1996).
Above- and belowground allocations did not differ between functional groups, but the increase in LAR and the decrease in RSR in response to fertilization and shading were more pronounced in grasses than in forbs.
