Seasonal distribution of production of Apennine grasslands described from sward height

– In the Apennine region, grassland grazing is at the root of the livestock system. It is essential to
maintain the current level of biodiversity and to create the conditions for the development of the local rural society.
This paper presents a simplified integrated approach between botany and agronomy to characterise the grassland
space-time production pattern, based on the grazed sward height (SH) compared to a reference 28-day cutting
interval, measured on well characterised pastoral facies. In this context, SH proved to be an effective indicator of
herbage productivity, particularly to assess the time-space yield dynamics, which is relevant to rangeland
management. SH measurements are quick and allow the estimate of grassland production on more sampling areas
than destructive methods. This information can be used to support the space-time organisation of infrastructures and
activities in the rangeland, to achieve a sustainable balance between grass production and animal grazing.