Comparative analysis of weed communities in winter wheat under rotation and monoculture systems

This study evaluated the diversity of weed communities in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown under a four-field crop rotation and a 36-year monoculture, within an experiment established using a randomised block design (25 m × 6 m). Weed communities in both systems comprised species from four syntaxonomic classes, with the most abundant belonging to Stellarietea mediae. In the crop rotation, the weed community comprised 27 species, whereas in the monoculture it comprised 23 species. Apera spica-venti and Avena fatua predominated in both systems, accounting for 55.6% and 74.5% of the total weed populations, respectively. Crop succession in both systems influenced phytosociological indices. Shannon’s diversity index and the richness index were significantly higher in the crop rotation than in the monoculture. Conversely, the dominance, similarity, and evenness indices calculated for the monoculture indicated the presence of dominant species within its weed community. These findings confirm earlier observations of the predominance of a few weed species in communities best adapted to the applied cropping systems and habitat conditions.