To counter the worry of climate change and increased temperatures, a recent study reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal, suggests that if Europe adopted a style of farming that abstains from plowing after a harvest, local temperatures could drop as much as 2 degrees Celcius. This would be down to the colour in the soil. Untilled land is lighter and it reflects sunlight, making the area cooler than it is when dark surfaces are present.
The research suggests that this effect would be particularly noticeable during hot spells of weather. Researchers found that unplowed stubble of wheat fields helper to reflect 30% of incoming sunlight, compared to just 20% in plowed fields. Advocates of no-plowing believe that the practice could bring other benefits, such as saving water, preventing soil erosion and even curbing global warming.
Subscribe to PII and receive:
Our long-established bi-monthly digital magazine *Process Industry Informer*, featuring exclusive articles, news and updates across the Process Industries, plus commentary from our three industry experts:
Sean Moran
Gavin Smith
Dave Green
PLUS:
- Process Industry Update — our weekly e-newsletter
- PII Podcast
- Special messages from our advertising partners
We are of course advocates of saving water, and another way of achieving this is through collecting and storing rainwater from roof run-off in dedicated rainwater tanks. Our water storage tanks range up to a huge 30,000 litre capacity, providing farmers with considerable volumes of water for when it is needed most.
According to the report, the United States and South America are home to 85% of the globe’s un-plowed farmland, and Europe, despite being one of the most densely farmed regions in the world, accounts for just 2% of the globe’s un-plowed fields.
If you would like to learn more about the Enduramaxx range of rainwater tanks and water storage tanks, click here to speak to one of our plastic water tank experts.
