Abstract
To understand the relationship between grazing by wintering geese, the dry mass of the grass Lolium hybridum and soil inorganic nitrogen, we determined the dry mass of young shoots and their nitrogen content, and soil inorganic nitrogen from plots in grazed and un-grazed sites in April and May 2008. The mean dry biomass of un-grazed shoots was 4,500 kg/ha (N53), while that of grazed shoots was 256 kg/ha (N56). Both the nitrogen content of the grass, and the soil inorganic nitrogen, were significantly higher in the grazed site than in the un-grazed sites. It is possible that the accumulation of goose droppings caused the raised levels of soil inorganic nitrogen, which helped the grass to regenerate.
