Resistance and resilience of grasslands to disturbance is crucial in grassland-based production systems. Here, we investigated the effect of simulated trampling in a field experiment using six key forage species of temperate productive grasslands: two grasses, two legumes, and two herbs. Grassland communities were established by varying species richness and composition, and two trampling events were applied by a device simulating the pressure of adult cattle claws and treating on average 30% of the area. Total community yield was then harvested three times until the end of the growing season and compared to a non-trampling control. Six weeks after trampling, species-specific yield reductions were observed with grasses being least affected (−4%), followed by legumes (−27%) and herbs (−37%). Mixtures generally outperformed the monocultures’ average, and the six-species mixture yielded more under trampling than the grass monocultures under control conditions. Nineteen weeks after trampling, at the end of the growing season, all communities recovered and no trampling effect was observed. We conclude that multispecies mixtures comprising grasses, legumes, and herbs enhance short-term yield resistance and are largely resilient to trampling events.
