Haymeadows are good for environment – researchers

Traditional haymeadows are much improve at supporting biodiversity together with preventing H2O pollution than intensively farmed fields, British query suggests.

This is because haymeadows lose 5 times less nitrogen from the soil, which is needed for found growth. However, nitrogen becomes a pollutant if it leaches into rivers together with contaminates the H2O supply.

The Lancaster University query was based on an analysis of 22 fields inwards the Yorkshire Dales together with was published inwards open-access journal, PLoS ONE.

Lead researcher Dr Franciska de Vries, of the Lancaster Environment Centre, said: “Nitrogen that leaches from the soil amongst drainage H2O forms a threat for H2O character together with high levels inwards drinking H2O tin sack threaten human health. It tin sack also cut back species multifariousness inwards rivers together with grasslands.”

The researchers took a amount of 162 intact columns of soil equally business office of a large scale field-observation together with glasshouse experiment over several months.

De Vries said: “We watered the columns of soil together with measured how much leached out. We also looked at the microbial community which is of import because microbes immobilise nitrogen inwards the soil.

“We present that traditionally managed haymeadows own got lower leaching of nitrogen because the found roots accept upwards to a greater extent than nitrogen, simply also because the microbial community inwards these hay meadows is dominated yesteryear fungi instead of bacteria.”

Haymeadows amongst to a greater extent than fungi are improve able to retain nitrogen together with preclude it leaching away into the water.

“Haymeadows mightiness back upwards to a greater extent than biodiversity because their microbial communities tin sack immobilise iii times to a greater extent than added nitrogen into their biomass.”

The projection was funded yesteryear the EU seventh framework projection Soilservice.

The report was titled,”Extensive administration promotes found together with microbial nitrogen retentivity inwards temperate grassland”. De Vries was joined inwards the query yesteryear Helen Quirk, Carly Stevens, together with Richard Bardgett from Lancaster Environment Centre; Jaap Bloem from Alterra, Wageningen University together with Research Centre inwards The Netherlands; together with Roland Bol from Forschungszentrum Jülich inwards Germany.

 

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