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Forests, pastures, golf courses and turf
At first sight forests, pastures, golf courses and turf might not have much in common as they involve very different systems in making use of the land. However, as all of them play a dominant role in characterising our landscapes they ought to belong to the same category.
4 billion ha of forests and woodland are grown world-wide and 3.5 billion ha are under permanent pasture. Both landuse systems provide a variety of raw materials for a growing population, e.g. timber for paper, furniture and building material, grass for animal feed and therefore human nutrition.
Nutrient deficiency, however, is a widespread phenomenon. It is estimated that by introducing forest fertilisation world-wide, productivity could be improved by more than 20%. Especially the shortage of supplied magnesium is a limiting factor to the growth of tree roots and stems. In pastures Mg deficiency is not only reducing the plant biomass but also the pasture quality which directly affects the health and growth of the fed animals. For golf courses and turf a good nutrient management is necessary in order to maintain the lawns that are subjected to hard physical wear. In particular magnesium "keeps the greens green".
At present the following topics are covered in detail:
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