The effects of soil conditions and crop types on diversity of weed communities

Abstract

The paper presents the diversity of weed communities growing in different crops (winter cereals, spring cereals, and tuber plants) and in diverse soil conditions. To determine weed diversity, phytosociological relevés were made. Simpson’s index of dominance and the Shannon index of biodiversity for weed communities in different crops growing in different soil conditions were calculated and compared. The highest values of the Shannon index and the lowest values of Simspon’s index of dominance were obtained for weed communities noted on compacted and semi-compacted soil with the following granulometric composition: silty loam with underlying sand at a depth of 100 cm, heavy silty sandy loam, silt with underlying sand at a depth of 50 cm, and silt with underlying sand at a depth of 100 cm. The highest index of dominance and low species diversity were determined for weed communities in light soils. The Shannon index of biodiversity was moderately positively correlated with soil pH and granulometric composition. Simpson’s index of dominance was moderately negatively correlated with granulometric composition and was weakly correlated with soil pH.

Keywords

• soil granulometric composition
• ecological indices
• weeds
• arable crops