Botanical composition of mat-grass (Nardus stricta) grassland communities.
Matgrass (Nardus stricta) is a perennial invasive species of low forage quality. In Bosnia and Herzegovina mat-grass communities occupy up to 40% of hilly mountains grasslands and therefore are of significant economic interest. Nardus stricta is a particularly predominant species of the mat-grass associations, comprising over 70% of the sward. The rest of the botanical composition of mat-grass associations usually consists of species with low quality or even of no agricultural value. As the yield and forage quality depend on botanical composition of the sward, the aim of the research described in this paper was the identification and evaluation the botanical composition of this type of grassland. The study took place at the Rostovo mountain, 1,100 m a.s.l.. The botanical composition of the sward was recorded by the Braun-Blanquet method and species quality according to a method of Sostaric-Pisacic and Kovacevic. Results obtained showed that the Nardus stricta association is poor in botanical diversity as well as in forage quality. Only 17 species were found, and Nardus stricta comprised more than 80% of the total grass cover. Only two species were of very good forage quality (Trisetum flavescens and Plantago lanceolata) but their contribution to the sward was extremely low.