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Bermuda Sprig Grazing Wait Time
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<blockquote data-quote="Mark Reynolds" data-source="post: 1815863" data-attributes="member: 43196"><p>It is true that what grows above ground feeds what is below ground, but in the sense that the photosynthetic leaves manufacture food for the plant that is transported to the roots. Organic matter in the soil is mainly increased by the growth, death and breakdown of the roots of the grasses, not by the cutting of above ground grasses/biomass and it decaying into the soil. This leaf area is above ground and really does not make it's way below ground to a significant extent. That being said, earthworms do move above ground litter to the underground. That, as far as I know, is about the only way leaf organic matter gets incorporated into the soil, short of tillage but that introduces large amounts of oxygen and actually destroys more organic matter in the soil than it incorporates....another topic for discussion. I don't think earthworms incorporate a significant amount of this leaf material, but at the same time, I've heard stories that indicate I could be completely wrong on this and they might take a surprising/significant amount of leaf matter underground. Grass roots live for two years. All the grass roots you see on a plant today will effectively be part of the soil two years from now. That is where soil organic matter originates from.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mark Reynolds, post: 1815863, member: 43196"] It is true that what grows above ground feeds what is below ground, but in the sense that the photosynthetic leaves manufacture food for the plant that is transported to the roots. Organic matter in the soil is mainly increased by the growth, death and breakdown of the roots of the grasses, not by the cutting of above ground grasses/biomass and it decaying into the soil. This leaf area is above ground and really does not make it's way below ground to a significant extent. That being said, earthworms do move above ground litter to the underground. That, as far as I know, is about the only way leaf organic matter gets incorporated into the soil, short of tillage but that introduces large amounts of oxygen and actually destroys more organic matter in the soil than it incorporates....another topic for discussion. I don't think earthworms incorporate a significant amount of this leaf material, but at the same time, I've heard stories that indicate I could be completely wrong on this and they might take a surprising/significant amount of leaf matter underground. Grass roots live for two years. All the grass roots you see on a plant today will effectively be part of the soil two years from now. That is where soil organic matter originates from. [/QUOTE]
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