Page 9 - Natural World Winter 2017

We can have healthy soil once more

The era of soil loss has to end. Here are three projects that show another way

Lower Smite Farm, JAN DINSDALE Pumlumon Project,
Worcestershire Montgomeryshire
WENDY CARTER Spreading dung on pasture as part of
A 150-acre (60 ha) arable farm Cornwall’s Pass the Poo project Like many upland areas, Pumlumon
managed by Worcestershire Wildlife holds vast reserves of peat and this MONTGOMERYSHIRE WT
Trust, Lower Smite is restoring soil Pass the Poo Project, land could absorb and store huge
health as a first step to helping all Cornwall amounts of carbon. Unfortunately, in
its farmland wildlife recover. The the 1950s/60s, much of it was drained
plan is to double soil organic matter Cornwall Wildlife Trust is pioneering a and degraded in an unsuccessful
on all the arable land, and re- way to protect soil to benefit farmers, attempt to improve grazing.
establish a mix of crops and wildlife and the wider environment. For
livestock. Half the land is organic, many centuries, mixed farms produced Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust has
grazed by the neighbour’s sheep dung from livestock and ploughed it undertaken a monumental project to
and horses. Some non-organic land back into their cropping soils. restore the landscape. The project
grows winter wheat and spring area holds 347 square miles of key
barley for a neighbour’s dairy. There Today, many farmers focus on either habitats including blanket bog. On
are no insecticides or slug pellets. crops or livestock, with crop farmers one holding alone they have blocked
At least 10% of all fields are tending to buy artificial fertiliser to 6.8 miles of ditches, restored 260
managed for wildlife with flower- spread on the soil. This leaves the soil acres (105ha) of peat bog and
rich mixes, woodland, grass margins without enough organic matter, so it’s safeguarded 82,500 tonnes of carbon.
and plants for wild pollinators. poor at holding onto nutrients and As the bogs become wet again,
water, and prone to washing away. mosses start to grow, absorbing
Spreading compost on fields builds Livestock farms produce more dung carbon and locking it away as new
up soil fertility and stores carbon that they need, which takes up valuable peat. At the same time, existing peat
space and risks polluting streams and is protected from further erosion.
rivers. To solve this, farm advisers at
Cornwall Wildlife Trust are helping share Blocking the drainage ditches
dung across the county, moving it to allows the mosses to regrow
where it is most needed and improving
soil for crops. Farmers are already
reporting an increasing crop yield!

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WINTER 2017 NATURAL WORLD 9