Íslenskar landbúnaðarrannsóknir - 01.03.1969, Page 39

UPPGRÆBSLUTILRAUN Á MOSFELLSHEIÐI 37
S U M M A R Y
RECLAMATION EXPERIMENT ON A HIGHLAND
IN SOUTH-WESTERN ICELAND
Stnrla Friðriksson,
Agricultural Research Institute, Reykjavík, Iceland.
In a series of experiments carrietl out in order to test the possibilities oi im-
proving pastures on Icelandic highlands four species of grass were sown —
Festuca ruhra, Phleum pratense, Alopecurus pratensis and Poa pratensis — in
2 m2 plots with three replicates in protected and unprotected areas on a slope
of the mountain Mosfellsheiði, in south-western Iceland. The experimental
sites were at varying heights above sea-level: 100 m, 220 m, 372 m, 670 m and
771 m.
Fertilizer, corresponding to 200 kg of triple superphosphate and 300 kg of
ammonium nitrate per hectare, was applied on each seecled plot. It was applied
in early summer for four years, and various measurements of the vegetation
were taken annually on each observation site.
The growth of the seeded grass varied according to species and site. After
four years’ cultivation it was particularly the Festuca rubra and Phleum pra-
tense that had attained a dense growth, and the process of sward building was
most rapid in the protected areas. The cover, the leaf length and yield tended
to diminish with altitude, but there was a substantial decrease in growth only
at altitudes above 670 m. llelow that limit it would seem tliat seeding and
fertilization can conveniently be used for land reclamation.
HEIMII.DARRIT
Friðriksson, Sturla, 1960: Uppgræðsla og rækt- ÞoRSTEINSSON, Ingvi, og Sigurbjörnsson,
un afrréttalanda — Árbók landbúnaðarins, Björn, 1961: Áburðarathugun á Biskups-
201—218. tungnaafrétti — Árbók landbúnaðarins, 1—
24.