Environmental Benefits of Ebb and Flow Mat
Ebb and Flow MAT irrigation offers environmental benefits as well as economic advantages to users:
Of most immediate importance are the lower amounts of waste water produced and the lower levels of contamination of Ebb and Flow MAT waste waters. These combine to minimize disposal problems of nursery and greenhouse production. Fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals present in waste waters arising from intensive horticultural systems can be environmentally harmful. Accordingly, considerable attention is being directed to the management of run-off in many parts of the world, including the USA. With Ebb and Flow MAT, leaching of nutrients out of plant containers is substantially reduced. There is no pressure from overhead watering to flush fertilizers out of media. Instead, irrigation water moves in smaller quantities up into the container through gentle capillary action, and low levels of excess water are drained slowly at the end of the irrigation period. (Approx. 10% of the volume taken up) |
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On a more local basis, and unquantifiable in nature, is the benefit for workers of operating in tidier, drier and cleaner conditions. Additionally, with the absence of sprinklers and risers, nurseries and greenhouses using Ebb and Flow MAT appear less cluttered and offer much better visual impressions than those using overhead systems.
