Soil transplantation
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Jasper Wubs / NIOO-KNAW
Soil transplantation
How can former arable fields be restored to nature? How can we turn a heavily managed soil into a species-rich grassland or heathland? And what is the role of soil organisms in steering plant communities?
Transporting soil from a donor area and spreading this soil over another area is what we call soil transplantation. Soil from a donor area is distributed (transplanted) thinly over the surface of a different area. Soil transplantation is often used to speed up nature development on former arable lands, using soil from nature reserves to kick-start nature in the new location.