Table 1 Summary statistics of environmental conditions and grassland and herd management.

From: Microbial transfers from permanent grassland ecosystems to milk in dairy farms in the Comté cheese area

Type

Variable

Mean (± SE)

min

max

CV (%)

Climate

Elevation (m a.s.l.)

806.5 (± 35.1)

328.6

1237.9

0.3

Soil

Corg (g kg−1)

57.6 (± 2.6)

27.0

103.0

0.3

Ntot (g kg−1)

5.9 (± 0.3)

2.8

10.7

0.3

CaCO3 (g kg−1)

30.6 (± 10.1)

0.5

343.0

2.2

C:N ratio

9.7 (± 0.1)

8.7

10.8

< 0.01

pH

6.7 (± 0.1)

5.5

7.9

0.1

P2O5 (g kg−1)

4.4 10–2 (± 2.7 10–3)

1.5 10–3

0.1

0.4

NO3 (mg kg−1)

18.9 (± 2.5)

1.6

95.3

0.9

NH4 (mg kg−1)

15.3 (± 0.5)

8.2

25.1

0.2

Clay (%)

37.8 (± 1.7)

19.4

66.3

0.3

Silt (%)

52.4 (± 1.4)

32.6

68.2

0.2

Sand (%)

9.8 (± 1.3)

1.1

35.9

0.9

Vegetation

Plant species richness (SpRichness)

32 (± 2)

12

58

0.3

Pielou evenness

2.4 10–1 (± 7.7 10–3)

1.33 10–1

3.7 10–1

0.2

Grass (%)

62.0 (± 1.5)

41.0

91.5

0.2

Forb (%)

19.1 (± 1.3)

1.1

37.2

0.4

Legume (%)

18.9 (± 1.3)

3.6

45.9

0.5

Grassland management

Cattle (LU d ha−1)

392.0 (± 24.8)

123.0

779.1

0.4

Cattle_spring (LU d ha−1)

126.7 (± 9.8)

0

294.6

0.5

Cattle_summer (LU d ha−-1)

144.8 (± 12.1)

0

385.7

0.6

Cattle_autumn (LU d ha−1)

120.4 (± 9.7)

0

249.4

0.5

P_ind (kg P ha−1 year−1)

1.7 (± 0.6)

0

18.5

2.3

K_ind (kg K ha−1 year−1)

4.6 (± 1.9)

0

75

2.7

N_ind (kg N ha−1 year−1)

14.1 (± 2.7)

0

68

1.3

Liquid_manure (kg N ha−-1 year−1)

11.1 (± 2.0)

0

50.6

1.2

Solid_manure (kg N ha−1 year−1)

0.8 (± 0.3)

0

12.1

2.9

Total_manure (kg N ha−1 year−1)

11.9 (± 2.0)

0

50.6

1.1

Total_N_fertilization (kg N ha−1 year−1)

25.9 (± 3.6)

0

90.6

0.9

Manure_prop

0.6 (± 0.1)

0

1

0.7

Herd management

Dairy_cows

64 (± 6)

25

200

0.6

Milking_preparation

None: 1/dry: 26/humid: 17

Cow-teat_care

Yes: 35/no: 9

  1. Corg: Soil organic carbon content (g kg−1); Ntot: Total soil nitrogen content (g kg−1); CaCO3: Soil carbonate content (g kg−1); C:N ratio: Soil organic carbon to nitrogen ratio; pH: Soil pH in water; P2O5: Soil phosphate content (g kg−1); NO3: Soil nitrate content (mg kg−1); NH4: Soil ammonium content (mg kg−1); Clay: Clay content (g kg−1); Silt: Silt content (g kg−1); Sand: Sand content (g kg−1); Grass: relative cover of grasses (graminoids) in the plant community (%); Forb: relative cover of forbs in the plant community (%); Legume: relative cover of legumes in the plant community (%); Cattle: Annual grazing pressure expressed in livestock units equivalent day per hectare (LU d ha−1); Cattle_spring: Spring grazing pressure expressed in livestock units day per hectare (LU d ha−1); Cattle_summer: Summer grazing pressure expressed in livestock units day per hectare (LU d ha−1); Cattle_autumn; Autumn grazing pressure expressed in livestock units day per hectare (LU d ha−1); P_ind: Annual P fertilization by means of industrial fertilizers (kg P ha−1 year−1); K_ind: Annual K fertilization by means of industrial fertilizers (kg K ha−1 year−1); N_ind: Annual N fertilization by means of industrial fertilizers (kg N ha−1 year−1); Liquid manure: Annual N fertilization by means of liquid manure (kg N ha−1 year−1); Solid manure: Annual N fertilization by means of solid manure (kg N ha−1 year−1); Total manure: Annual N fertilization by means of manure (kg N ha−1 year−1); Total N fertilization: Sum of annual nitrogen fertilization by means of industrial fertilizers and manure (kg N ha−1 year−1); Manure prop: proportion of manure in total annual nitrogen fertilization; dairy cows: Number of dairy cows in the farm; milking preparation: preparation of cow-teat before milking; cow-teat care: protection of cow-teat after milking. Sample size: n = 44.
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