Hi Lincoln Talk! A couple days ago, Stephanie Smoot made the wonderfully insightful observation that pollinator meadows in town appear to weather the drought better than lawns.
This seems like the perfect introduction to a lineup of events this fall on Gardening for a Changing Climate (dates TBD), including a demonstration of lawn to meadow conversion, hosted by LLCT, Codman Community Farms, and Lincoln Common Ground - a continuation of the spring Healthy Soils Series. If you are interested in my soil ecologist's perspective on why meadows are more resilient to drought than lawn, here is a brief list - and we can talk more this fall!: 1. Meadows store more organic matter (including carbon, which is critical for offsetting climate change) than lawns. Organic matter helps soils hold on to more water - every 1% increase in soil organic matter can result in up to 20,000 gallons of available soil water per acre (source: USDA-NRCS). 2. Native perennials in pollinator meadows have deeper roots, providing access to deeper stores of water in soil. 3. A diverse assemblage of deeply rooted perennials typically have more mycorrhizal fungal associations. These symbiotic fungi help transport more water to the plants in exchange for food (carbon) from the plants, providing more protection in a drought. If you are interested in learning more and want to get involved with exciting nature-based solutions to climate change, contact Emily Haslett to learn more about Lincoln Common Ground: [email protected] All the best, Rachel Neurath (member of Lincoln Common Ground, Mothers Out Front Lincoln)
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