Unravelling the contribution of soil, climate and management to the productivity of ecologically intensified Mediterranean wood pastures

Grasslands are under increasing pressure to enhance their productivity without compromising their functioning and climate change adaptability. Ecological intensification practices, such as legume enrichment or rotational grazing, have been proposed to overcome these challenges. Concurrently, grasslands devoid of livestock, either through farm abandonment or as a form of ecological restoration, are also common. This work analyses the effect of multiple management practices on pasture productivity, quality and phenology of Mediterranean wood pastures. Differences between continuous grazing, rotational grazing, grazing abandonment, and legume recent and old sowings were assessed on nine commercial farms. Changes in soil fertility and plant functional groups proportion were also evaluated. All this along a wide environmental gradient with varying soils and climates during three years of contrasting weather. Management had a substantial effect on pasture production and quality and a small effect on pasture phenology. Rotational grazing and legume enrichment increased pasture production by 30–55 % compared to continuous grazing. In addition, legume sowing increased pasture quality in the short term. Part of these effects were mediated by the positive influence of ecological intensification on soil fertility and by changes in the botanical composition of pastures. Grazing abandonment did not affect production, shortened pasture growing season and reduced its quality. Climate and management interacted for most of their effects on soil or pasture, generally by varying the intensity of the main effect. We have observed an increase in pasture production, but a decrease in its quality and the length of the growing season in the face of increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall. We conclude that ecological intensification could increase the productivity of Mediterranean grasslands, while abandonment of grazing tends to degrade rather than restore the forage capacity of these ecosystems. Understanding these management consequences is essential to inform policies aimed at maintaining or improving grassland ecosystem services. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.