Agroenergy assessment of long-term multi-seasoned cereals agroecosystems

This article presents data and discusses the agroenergetic assessment of energy flows in long-term cereal agroecosystems. With three-cut application and seasonal application of N180P40K155, a high dry matter yield (7.6–9.4 t/ha) was obtained on average over 28 years of promising, variable-ripening grass stands. Using a new method for energy assessment of meadow ecosystems, it was established that the total gross energy production over the years of the field experiment amounted to 4.5–5.4 TJ/ha. Most of the gross energy (89–91%) was produced by the aboveground mass of plants. The sod formation process increased the fertility of the meadow soil: its energy capacity in the 28th year of use increased by 80–121 GJ/ha due to the accumulation of humus and total nitrogen. Intensifying the mowing technology enhances the impact of renewable natural factors, which account for 86–88% of the total gross energy production of agroecosystems. This explains the high return (7–8 times) on anthropogenic costs of creating and managing grass stands: 23–24 GJ/ha. The multiple-cut technology used on grass stands with rhizomatous cereal grasses is resource-efficient. It also addresses the issue of preserving and restoring the energy potential of meadow agroecosystems.