The big picture: using wildflower strips for pest control
They may be beautiful, but these strips prove pretty deadly for every farmer's mortal enemy: aphids
Project Summary
Start date:
1 May 2021
Duration:
4.5 Years
Project Leader:
Funders:
NERC
Detail
Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is a GGR technology based on amending soils with crushed calcium and magnesium-rich silicate rocks to accelerate natural carbon dioxide sequestration processes, whilst delivering co-benefits for crop production, food security and soil health.
This ERW-GGR Demonstrator will provide the first integrated whole system assessment of the science, societal and scalability opportunities and challenges of ERW deployment in UK agriculture.
It will assess the potential of ERW to remove up to 10% of the UK's GGR net-zero target by testing its implementation on grass and arable land covering 74% of UK utilized agricultural area (~13 million ha).
Potential co-benefits include improved productivity by reducing excess soil acidity, resupplying soils with depleted plant-essential mineral nutrients, increased crop resistance to pests and pathogens, via greater silica uptake, and reducing soil nitrous oxide fluxes.
Project Leader
Prof. Adie Collins
Science Director
Prof. Steve McGrath
Soil and Plant Scientist
Team Members
Dr Ian Shield
Agronomist
Dr Robert Dunn
ECOLOGIST
Dr Jane Hawkins
BIOGEOCHEMIST
Dr Martin Blackwell
Soil Scientist
Collaborators
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation
National Oceanography CentreUniversity of Sheffield
University of Southampton
University of Oxford
University of Cardiff
University of Aberdeen
Heriot-Watt University
University of Leeds