Beetle banks tour 2020

So, after a brief hiatus of a mere 4 ish years my term as Head of Department has finished and I'm safe to blog again (I'd stopped previously for fear of saying something I'd regret later!).

2020 begins with a tour of Beetle banks - these are strips of grassed soil in arable fields designed to encourage beetles, the clue is in the name! The beetles help control pests in the arable fields. However as the banks are not ploughed they should accumulate carbon as well. So, working with Dr Alistair Leake of the Allerton project we've identified Beetle banks of various ages and are now sampling them. This should allow us to determine the rate of carbon accumulation in the banks and demonstrate another valuable service they provide.

The first beetle bank - a relatively new one planted c. 10 years ago.

After an early start (0500) I got to the Allerton project just as it was getting light and spent a happy half day sampling a couple of banks with Alistair. Then it was back in the car and a drive down south to Ringwood where I'll be sampling banks at a couple of farms over the next several days then, on Thursday evening, it is back up to Norfolk for a final set of banks on Friday then home to York.

Bank 2 - this one is about 25 years old and is far better established

Alistair in action - he was a bit of a pro when it came to the sampling, far faster than me!