UC Hopland Healthy Soil Project
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The UC Hopland Healthy Soils Project is a partner project with various other scientists at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC). HREC is a 5,400 acre ranch in Mendocino County, home to many sheep and research projects.
The Healthy Soils Project is a product of California Department of Food and Agriculture Healthy Soil Program. The program funds projects to promote on-farm healthy soil practices that reduce greenhouse gasses and store carbon. The HREC partnered with us in order to evaluate the impact of a hedgerow of native plants that were planted on the ranch. Hedgerows are rows of shrubs, trees, grasses, and flowering plants. They have a multitude of benefits, including weed control, breaking wind, controlling soil erosion, improving air and water quality, enhancing biodiversity, and increasing pollinator activity. |
We are conducting bee surveys on the treatment (hedgerow) and control (weeds and grasses) plots in order to evaluate the effect of the hedgerow on pollinator activity. Four surveys are conducted a year during the spring, summer, and fall.
The goal of this project is to find a balance of plants that benefit bees, birds, butterflies, and other organisms while diminishing emissions of greenhouse gasses and storing carbon in the soil. The plants being used are all native, in order to best serve the ecosystem in which they are planted.
The goal of this project is to find a balance of plants that benefit bees, birds, butterflies, and other organisms while diminishing emissions of greenhouse gasses and storing carbon in the soil. The plants being used are all native, in order to best serve the ecosystem in which they are planted.
