Ground Cover: The Unsung Hero of Healthy Soil
Imagine a cozy blanket for the earth, that's what ground cover is. It's the protective layer of plants and organic matter, from grasses and shrubs to fallen leaves and lichen, that grows on or near the soil's surface. This isn't just a random assortment of growth; it's a vital sign of a healthy landscape.
Why do we get so excited about ground cover?
It's a shield against the elements: Bare ground is vulnerable. When raindrops hit it, they can break up soil, causing fragments to wash away and block pores, leading to water runoff and erosion. Ground cover acts as a buffer, capturing nearly all the rain that falls and protecting the soil from wind and sun. This is especially crucial in dry places like Canary Island, where every drop of rain counts.
It's a bustling community: This living blanket also provides a home for thousands of diverse creatures like insects, spiders, and mites. These tiny workers are essential for decomposition, pollination, and pest control, keeping the ecosystem balanced.
It’s a natural nursery: Ground cover helps to trap seeds, giving them the perfect environment to germinate and grow.
When you think of a healthy field, you might picture a lush, green carpet with no bare spots. But for grasslands like ours at Bear & Twigg, that's not the case. In fact, 100% ground cover can actually be a bad thing, hurting the health and variety of the grassland. The sweet spot is actually between 70-90%.
So, why is too much of a good thing... not so good?
It suffocates the soil: A dense layer of dead plant material can create a thick thatch. This prevents light, oxygen, and even rain from getting to the soil and the plants below.
It limits life: A thick blanket of ground cover reduces plant diversity, as dominant grasses outcompete smaller species. It also limits the variety of habitats for native animals like the Plains Wanderer and Curl Snake, which need patches of bare ground to survive.
It's a fire hazard: All that dry vegetation that isn't breaking down properly can create a higher risk of fire.
Our goal is not a solid green field, but a rich mosaic of short and tall grasses with just enough bare ground.
At Bear & Twigg, we don't just manage the land, we partner with it. And our key partners are our sheep. We use holistic grazing management to keep our native grasslands healthy and vibrant.
We let a large group of sheep graze a paddock for about 10 days. In that short time, they become a powerful tool for land regeneration.
They trample: As they move, they trample down dead plant material, pushing it into the soil to create a healthy ground cover.
They consume: The sheep eat both dead and growing grass, reducing the thatch and preventing the build-up of excess vegetation.
They fertilise: They return most of the nutrients they take in back to the soil through their dung and urine, keeping the nutrient cycle flowing.
This low-cost, low-input approach maximises the land's natural cycles and helps us build effective ground cover, diverse grasslands, and healthy soil.
