Humus per la Biosfera – Hedges for Climate and Species Protection
Hedges play an important role for healthy ecosystems. EUKI project Humus per la Biosfera therefore invested in the building of new hedges to protect the climate and surrounding species.
Hedges are in many ways beneficial elements in the landscape: they provide food, nesting sites and hiding places for birds, insects and small mammals. For the soil, especially on slopes, they are an important protection against erosion by wind and water. Hedges enrich soil life with their root systems and store the carbon previously absorbed from the air in the soil through dying roots; this input of organic material under the soil is favoured by regular hedge pruning. It is assumed that the root mass adapts to the above-ground greenery. The growing humus content favours the climate and the water balance.
In the spring of 2023, we started planting hedges on one of our trial fields near Bronte: we fixed the terrace edges of the olive grove on a slope over a length of about 800 metres. With the active support of international volunteers and interns, we planted indigenous aromatic plants, bushes and trees; the latter partially undersown with legumes.
