The Variation of Crude Protein and Total Fat of the Main Grassland Plants, in Various Stages of Growth, in “Kostilata” Subalpine Grassland in Theodoriana, Arta, Greece

The chemical composition of different plant parts varies, both within the plant itself, as well as among different plants, which is due to their s tructure, s tage of growth and phenological characteris tics. In this s tudy, the results of a research conducted in 2013, in a subalpine ecosys tem in Epirus (Greece) are presented. The objectives of this research were the determination of crude protein and total fat (ether extract) of the ecosys tem’s main grassland plants, per group (grasses, legumes, other forbs), at different s tages of growth. These plant species were: a) grasses (Alopecurus gerardil Vill, Stipa pennata L., Phleum alpinum L.), b) legumes (Trifolium repens L, Lathyrus aphaca L, Lotus corniculatus L.) and c) other forbs (Ranunculus repens L., Achillea millefolium L. and Geranium lucidum L.). The results showed that: a) the larges t amount in crude protein was found in Trifolium repens L. with a percentage of 17.05%, with a s tatis tically significant difference only with grasses, b) in all plant species, the larges t amounts of crude protein and total fat was observed during the initial s tage of plant growth, showing a gradual decrease until the final s tage of growth, c) s tatis tically significant differences appeared in the amount of crude protein and total fat, between the same plant species, at different sampling dates, and between different plant species in the same sampling dates and d) the amount of total fat in all plant species was on average 3%.

Keywords:

Subalpine grassland, crude protein Total Fat,

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