Grassed waterways are used to mitigate the offsite transport of sediment generated by soil erosion. This study used a novel trait-based ranking approach as a method to screen potential candidate grass monocultures and mixes based on their theoretical performance in reducing (a) detachment via rainsplash, (b) detachment via scouring due to concentrated flow and (c) sediment transport and deposition processes. Selected grass species were grown under simulated UK summer and autumn establishment conditions under three different replicated rainfall scenarios: drought, normal rainfall and excess rainfall. The grass species used were the novel hybrid species Festulolium cv Prior (Fest_1) and Festulolium Bx511 (Fest_2) and a conventional mixture of Lolium perenne and Festuca rubra (Conv). Monocultures and mixtures of these species were studied. Plant traits pertinent to control of soil erosion by water were measured. Aboveground traits included plant height, percentage ground cover, aboveground biomass, stem diameter, stem area density and number of tillers. Belowground traits included total root length, root total surface area, belowground biomass, root diameter and % fine roots ≤0.25 mm. For summer conditions, the species treatments that had the highest overall soil erosion mitigation potential were Conv, Fest_1 + 2 + Conv and Fest_2. For autumn conditions, the best treatments were Fest_1 + 2, Fest_1 + 2 + Conv and Conv. The Fest 1 + 2 + Conv had more desirable traits for erosion control than mono Festulolium treatments for the autumn conditions. The conventional mixture had more desirable traits for erosion control than mono Festulolium treatments in both climate scenarios. The results indicate that the trait-based ranking approach utilized in this study can be used to inform rapid screening of candidate grass species for soil erosion control.

中文翻译：

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选择植物性状以控制气候变化下草地水道的土壤侵蚀：生长室研究

草地水道用于减轻土壤侵蚀产生的沉积物的异地运输。本研究使用一种新的基于性状的排序方法作为筛选潜在候选草单一栽培和混合的方法，基于它们在减少 (a) 雨水溅落、(b) 因集中流冲刷和 (c) 沉积物方面的理论性能运输和沉积过程。选定的草种在模拟的英国夏季和秋季建立条件下在三种不同的重复降雨情景下种植：干旱、正常降雨和过量降雨。所用的草种是新颖的混合型物种Festulolium CV之前（Fest_1）和Festulolium Bx511（Fest_2）和常规的混合物黑麦草和羊茅（Conv）。研究了这些物种的单一栽培和混合。测量了与控制水土流失相关的植物性状。地上性状包括植物高度、地面覆盖百分比、地上生物量、茎直径、茎面积密度和分蘖数。地下性状包括总根长、根总表面积、地下生物量、根直径和细根百分比≤0.25 mm。对于夏季条件，具有最高整体土壤侵蚀减缓潜力的物种处理是 Conv、Fest_1 + 2 + Conv 和 Fest_2。对于秋季条件，最佳处理是 Fest_1 + 2、Fest_1 + 2 + Conv 和 Conv。Fest 1 + 2 + Conv 比单质Festulolium具有更理想的侵蚀控制特性秋季条件的治疗。在两种气候情况下，传统混合物比单一Festulolium处理具有更理想的侵蚀控制特性。结果表明，本研究中使用的基于性状的排序方法可用于为控制土壤侵蚀的候选草种的快速筛选提供信息。