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Autumn is upon us, and that might mean the leaves in your yard are starting to change color and fall to the ground.
But if you were planning to add raking the yard and bagging up leaves to your weekend to-do list, think again. Experts say raking and removing leaves can be worse for your yard – and for the planet, too.
Leaving at least some of the leaves in your yard can help fertilize your grass and other plants, provide shelter for animals and even reduce emissions from landfills. Here’s what you need to know about managing the leaves on your lawn this fall.
How can leaves help my yard?
Fallen leaves can serve as a natural fertilizer for plants, David Mizejewski, a naturalist at the National Wildlife Federation, explained to USA TODAY.
“The leaves fall around the root zone of these plants, where they do things like suppress weeds or other plants from growing that that would otherwise compete with the trees and the shrubs,” he said.
“They slowly break down and compost right there at the base of the of the tree of the shrub, right above its root zone, where they return nutrients that the plant can then recycle and reuse next spring,” he said.
And mowing your lawn can break up leaves and bring nutrients to your grass, according to Maxim Schlossberg, an associate professor of turfgrass nutrition and soil fertility at Penn State.
“Since they’re smaller, they’re more rapidly dismantled and decomposed by microorganisms. And the whole recycling process of those nutrients being returned to the soil occurs more rapidly,” he said.
Why shouldn’t I bag up leaves?
If you usually rake fallen leaves in your yard, put them in bags and then throw them away, you might want to think again this autumn.
According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 2018, landfills received approximately 10.5 million tons of yard trimmings, which includes leaves.
Mizejewski explained that leaves and other organic matter sent to landfills can break down and form methane, a…
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Source : yahoo
