Gothenburg Botanical Garden

The two pilot areas are located on a small slope. They are rectangular in shape, and the area (100 m2 each) was prepared for the EXPBIO project. The grass and the topsoil were removed and sand was added to reduce the nutritional content. In the February 2025 the meadow seed mixes were sown. One rectangle with German seeds and one with Swedish seeds. In the autumn (September) the plots were harvested by hand with a scythe and the vegetation was removed.

Location

The central part of Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden.

Work planned/methods tested

In late autumn 2024 six soil samples were taken and tested to estimate the content of nitrogen (N) and the content of organic material. During the summer season of 2026 och 2027 the vegetation in the two plots will be inventoried. A permanent square inside each plot will be chosen and visiting insects on the species yarrow (Alchemilla millefolium) will be observed on several occasions during the vegetation period.

Aim of work

Oldenburg Botanical Garden and university in Germany have a research project in the EXPBIO project where Gothenburg Botanical Garden is a part. Dirk Albach and his PhD student Phillip Bernhardt have designed the experiment. The data that we collect will be received and processed by them.

Status right now

Preparations for the vegetational season and the inventories.

The picture “Cutting hay” show one of the gardeners in the Botanical Garden using a scythe to remove the meadow vegetation: Photo: Helen Ekvall.