ABSTRACT
Perennial herbage plants are subject to different kinds of winter stresses related to the low winter temperatures. The main winter stresses to herbage plants are considered frost, frost heave, drought, ice cover, and low temperature fungi. The economic impact of winter damages in herbage plants is difficult to estimate, and it is even more difficult to evaluate the impact of ice encasement damage separately. The research activities on ice encasement damages have mainly concentrated on the impact of climate and weather conditions on ice cover formation and extent of damages, the effect of growth conditions and plant environment on acclimation and plant hardiness. Norwegian and Icelandic grasslands on soils of poor fertility were damaged significantly more by abiotic winter damages than those on well drained and fertile soils. Tolerance to ice encasement is related to both flooding tolerance and freezing tolerance, and increased knowledge on these interactions might help in understanding and increasing the ice encasement tolerance of herbage plants.
