Agricultural Research Service scientists working at the National Sedimentation Laboratory in Oxford, Mississippi have determined that planting grass hedges between farms and water systems can help prevent erosion, protect water quality by preventing field runoff, and preserve soil.According to Ann Perry’s story on the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service website, the scientists can calculate how much erosion the hedges prevent. The scientists have “verified predictions of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation version 2 (RUSLE 2).”
The researchers have been working over 13 years to determine how effective grass hedges can be in preventing erosion in either “wide or ultra-narrow-row conventional tillage or no-till cotton systems.” The grass used in the experiment was allowed to grow to between 5 and 6.5 feet tall. The more mature the grass, the greater the ability to trap sediment. As Perry reports:
The hedges captured approximately 90 percent of eroded sediment fromThe scientists who worked on the study are retired agricultural engineer Keith McGregor, agricultural engineer Robert Cullum, agronomist Seth Dabney, and hydrologist Glenn Wilson. This team also determined that hedges only 1.5 feet tall can help protect against field erosion, and the clippings from these hedges could be used as an extra barrier or used in “livestock feed or bioenergy production.” Given the debate on a potential federal cap and trade law, and the role agriculture could play in such legislation, this study could end being quite timely.
ultra-narrow-row conventionally tilled fields, and only about 50 percent of
sediment from no-till fields. Nevertheless, the actual soil loss from the
no-till plots—either with or without grass hedges—was much less than the
conventionally tilled plots with or without grass hedges, because no-till
production helps mitigate erosion.
To read the Perry story on the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service website click here.
Posted: 08/24/09
