Abandoned crop fields can restore themselves without planting
In a decade-long experiment in Norfolk, researchers discovered that simply mowing a field once a year allowed wildflowers to return naturally without expensive seeding or soil treatment.
Restoring industrial farmland often involves labor intensive processes like deep plowing, removing nutrient rich topsoil, or sowing expensive seed mixes. However, a decade long study in Norfolk has shown that nature can manage much of this work alone. By simply leaving a former crop field to its own devices and cutting the vegetation for hay once a year, researchers witnessed a dramatic transformation into a diverse grassland.
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