Scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, partnered with Pie Ranch, an educational farm in Pescadero, to study the sustainability payoffs of fertilizing plants with water removed from aquaculture, an age-old practice.
Scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, partnered with Pie Ranch, an educational farm in Pescadero, to study the sustainability payoffs of fertilizing plants with water removed from aquaculture, an age-old practice.
Since October, UC Santa Cruz researchers have filtered water, or “backwash,” out of aerated, recirculating tanks filled with 200 swimming rainbow trout—and then used that water to irrigate native plants at the farm. The team is investigating why the backwash might especially help the plants to grow, building on limited scientific literature on the topic. They plan to share findings next spring. In the meantime, the Amah Mutsun Land Trust, in partnership with Pie Ranch, are using some of the native plants from the study to restore the ranch’s CZU wildfire burn scars.
Anne Kapuscinski, an environmental studies professor and the director of the UC Santa Cruz Coastal Science and Policy Program, is leading the research team. She typically focuses on reducing the environmental impact of aquaculture—but now, she wants to do the same for agricultural land, too. On Pie Ranch, a working farm, she hopes to show how intertwining two types of food production can save resources, like water.
Read more at: University of California Santa Cruz
Professor Anne Kapuscinski (center) with (from left to right) Student Research Assistants Madison Medina and Macy Van Vlielt, Project Manager Stavros Boutris, and Pie Ranch Agriculture and Conservation Specialist Anika Tonnesen. (Photo Credit: Carolyn Lagattuta)
