Productivity and Topsoil Quality of Young and Old Permanent Grassland: An On-Farm Comparison
, Joachim G. C. Deru 2, Jaap Bloem 3, Nyncke Hoekstra 2, Ron de Goede 4, Lijbert Brussaard 4 and Nick van Eekeren 2
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
I found the manuscript “Productivity and topsoil quality of young and old permanent grassland: an on-farm comparison” to be a very nice study with applied aspects. I believe that overall it was a well-organized experiment, the results are well-presented, and constitute a nice data set. I especially enjoyed reading the discussion.
My main concern is the fact that I do agree with the authors that it is difficult to test all the objectives that they pose in such a short-term experiment ….due to the long time-scale during which the expected changes in productivity and soil quality take place (lines 84-85). In such a small time period it is really difficult to be sure about the accuracy of your conclusions.
My only minor comment to the authors would be to include a table in their supplement materials where they would present the plant species that they found in the farms. This would be very helpful for the reader.
Author Response
Reviewer 1
Date of this review 16 Mar 2020 10:19:25
I found the manuscript “Productivity and topsoil quality of young and old permanent grassland: an on-farm comparison” to be a very nice study with applied aspects. I believe that overall it was a well-organized experiment, the results are well-presented, and constitute a nice data set. I especially enjoyed reading the discussion.
My main concern is the fact that I do agree with the authors that it is difficult to test all the objectives that they pose in such a short-term experiment ….due to the long time-scale during which the expected changes in productivity and soil quality take place (lines 84-85). In such a small time period it is really difficult to be sure about the accuracy of your conclusions.
Response 1: That is correct, but since we measured productivity and soil quality at 20 different fields, our conclusions are firm.
My only minor comment to the authors would be to include a table in their supplement materials where they would present the plant species that they found in the farms. This would be very helpful for the reader.
Response 2: We included a table in the supplementary materials (S.1: Overview of plant species (grasses, legumes and herbs) cover (%) found per field and mean young (m Y) and old (m O) grasslands.)
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear Authors,
I revised the manuscript Productivity and topsoil quality of young and old permanent grassland: an on farm comparison submitted to the Sustainability Journal. The paper is very interesting. However, I have some concerns, wich need to be addressed before considering for final publication.
The scentific hypothesis used in the work is correct.
The references used in the introduction is current and very extensive.
The results are used only from one year, but the scope of work and analysis is very wide. For comparison, a similar analysis can be done again after fev years in a wetter year and the results can be used in another work.
Calculation and statystical analisys done correctly. The results presented in the tables and diagrams are legible and clear.
Line 219. It requires a small addition of individual dicotyledons species on new and old grasslands. Please indicate wich plants species in the dicotyledons group were on young grasslands (0.8%) dominant 2-3 species and on old grasslands (2.6%) dominant 2-3 species. The data will supplement the species status of the described grasslands. Interesting for the reader may be the difference in the occurrence of weds on new and old grasslands.
Line 383-390. The Authors' recommendation is very bold. In my opinion, from practical experience this statement is true. The Authors' recommendation for farmers in the Netherlands is pro-ecological and economically justified.
The conclusions from the statistical analyses are correct.
The results obtained by Authors can be used in agricultural practice as an argument for grassland reseeding.
The references used in the discussion is very extensive and new.
Greetings to the Research Team and wish thtem further success.
Author Response
Reviewer 2
Date of this review: 08 Mar 2020 12:06:00
Dear Authors,
I revised the manuscript Productivity and topsoil quality of young and old permanent grassland: an on farm comparison submitted to the Sustainability Journal. The paper is very interesting. However, I have some concerns, wich need to be addressed before considering for final publication.
The scentific hypothesis used in the work is correct.
The references used in the introduction is current and very extensive.
The results are used only from one year, but the scope of work and analysis is very wide. For comparison, a similar analysis can be done again after fev years in a wetter year and the results can be used in another work.
Calculation and statystical analisys done correctly. The results presented in the tables and diagrams are legible and clear.
Line 219. It requires a small addition of individual dicotyledons species on new and old grasslands. Please indicate wich plants species in the dicotyledons group were on young grasslands (0.8%) dominant 2-3 species and on old grasslands (2.6%) dominant 2-3 species. The data will supplement the species status of the described grasslands. Interesting for the reader may be the difference in the occurrence of weds on new and old grasslands.
Response 1: In agreement with the first reviewer, we added a supplementary Table (S.1) with an overview of plant species (grasses, legumes and herbs) cover (%) found per field and mean young (Y) and old (O) grasslands.
Line 383-390. The Authors' recommendation is very bold. In my opinion, from practical experience this statement is true. The Authors' recommendation for farmers in the Netherlands is pro-ecological and economically justified.
The conclusions from the statistical analyses are correct.
The results obtained by Authors can be used in agricultural practice as an argument for grassland reseeding.
The references used in the discussion is very extensive and new.
Greetings to the Research Team and wish thtem further success.
Reviewer 3 Report
The manuscript is dealing with the question if grassland renovation and sward age affects the quality of grassland swards. The topic is not new and results were already investigated in other countries in Europe in the late 1980s. However, the conclusion of the authors agrees with previously found findings and with regards to the current political situation in the Netherlands I expect that this paper will be of interest for a wide range of readers because its highlighting and decreasing nitrogen use efficiency of fertilizers in recently renovated swards in comparison to old permanent grassland.
The experimental areas were established along site marine clays soils on commercially used farms in the Netherlands. Even though the experimental design is appropriated to achieve an overview about grassland yields from historically intensive managed sites the relevance is slightly reduced as only one experimental year was investigated.
In summary the paper is well written and results are presented in an appropriate way, whereby findings are intensively discussed.
Author Response
Reviewer 3
Date of this review: 13 Mar 2020 10:58:14
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The manuscript is dealing with the question if grassland renovation and sward age affects the quality of grassland swards. The topic is not new and results were already investigated in other countries in Europe in the late 1980s. However, the conclusion of the authors agrees with previously found findings and with regards to the current political situation in the Netherlands I expect that this paper will be of interest for a wide range of readers because its highlighting and decreasing nitrogen use efficiency of fertilizers in recently renovated swards in comparison to old permanent grassland.
The experimental areas were established along site marine clays soils on commercially used farms in the Netherlands. Even though the experimental design is appropriated to achieve an overview about grassland yields from historically intensive managed sites the relevance is slightly reduced as only one experimental year was investigated.
In summary the paper is well written and results are presented in an appropriate way, whereby findings are intensively discussed.
