Influence of crop rotation and meteorological conditions on biodiversity of weed communities in spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

The paper presents the analysis of changes in weed biodiversity in spring barley cultivated in the years 1990–2004 in crop rotation with a 25% proportion of this cereal (potato – spring barley – sowing peas – winter triticale), when it was grown after potato, and in crop rotation with its 75% proportion (potato – spring barley – spring barley – spring barley), when it was grown once or twice after spring barley. In the experiment, no weed control was applied. Every year in the spring (at full emergence of the cereal) and before the harvest, the composition of weed species and numbers of particular weed species were determined, and before the harvest also their biomass. On this basis, the constancy of species in particular years, Shannon–Wiener species diversity indices and diversity profiles according to Rényi were determined. Weed species richness increased linearly at all plots during the 15-year period. Chenopodium album was a constant and dominant species in terms of weed species density and biomass year after year. The quality of the plot had no clear influence on the diversity of weeds in barley. Weed density and biomass showed high year–to–year variability and a positive correlation with the amount of precipitation and a negative correlation with temperature during the period of the study. The significance of the correlation between the productivity of barley and weed diversity was not confirmed.