Researchers from the University of Helsinki have discovered that increasing plant diversity in agriculture helps all of the various crops to grow and also helps to store more carbon in the soil, Phys.org reported.
The study, which focused on barley crops being grown alongside companion species like red clover, alfalfa, and chicory, found that increased biodiversity helped promote the functioning of microbial communities, improving plant-microbe interactions. As a result, the plants' roots were able to sequester more carbon in the soil.
The findings make perfect sense, as biodiversity helps ecosystems function, and having a variety of different native species is the best way to promote ecosystem health. However, the scientists were unsure of what they would find when applying these principles to agricultural fields where one dominant crop is grown.
The results were highly encouraging.
"Our findings indicate that promoting plant diversity in agriculture could be an effective strategy for improving carbon sequestration of agricultural soils," said project lead Professor Anna-Liisa Laine from the faculty of biological and environmental sciences of the University of Helsinki.
"In practice, even a small improvement in the carbon retention capacity of fields can be significant, as a large share of land area globally has been harnessed for food production," she added.
As the overheating of our planet leads to more extreme weather and changes to climates, growing crops is becoming more and more of a challenge. In many areas, droughts have caused failures of longstanding staple crops. In others, floods have also made growing food impossible. All of these problems mean that it is more important than ever to develop new, more efficient ways of growing food.
The lessons from the University of Helsinki study can also be applied to your own garden, as it serves as a reminder that planting a variety of native species that are all adapted to live in harmony with one another helps the entire ecosystem thrive, in turn supporting local pollinators on which food supplies depend.
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