Populations of Ranunculus repens were studied in grasslands that had been subjected to different hay-making regimes without the application of fertilizers. Cutting for hay occurred either in July, or in July and September, or in September only over a period of nine years that followed a prolonged period of hay-pasture. For comparison, spring and autumn seedlings derived from field populations, also subjected to the different hay-making regimes, were grown under standard conditions in an experimental garden. The differences observed in the field were not retained by the experimental populations with the exception of the seed weight in the spring seedling population. In contrast, differences found in the experimental populations between spring and autumn seedling populations indicated the importance of the time of emergence of seedling cohorts. Populations cut in July seemed to maintain themselves by sexual reproduction. Seedling emergence and survival was higher with the July than the September hay-making regime. The population cut in September maintained itself mainly by vegetative multiplication, since daughter-plants from stolons are independent from the end of August.

Acta botanica neerlandica

CC BY 3.0 NL ("Naamsvermelding")

Koninklijke Nederlandse Botanische Vereniging

Belia M. van den Berg, J.P. Bakker, & D.M. Pegtel. (1985). Phenotypic responses of Ranunculus repens populations in grasslands subjected to different mowing regimes. Acta botanica neerlandica, 34(3), 283–291.