Why we are better off without perfectly mowed roadsides and neatly raked gardens

Desertification or blue-green algae explosions

Although nature is resilient, and species can recover from one or more bad years, they cannot structurally cope with the erosion of their habitat. As a result, a species may temporarily or permanently disappear from a given area. “This depends on the composition of the metapopulation: the overall network of groups of populations in a given area.” 

When a species disappears from one place, it is not a problem, because it can reappear in that same place from other places at a later time. “But when a species successively disappears from several places, and it can only live in a few areas, the situation becomes tricky. Then there’s no reservoir to compensate, and a bad year can prove fatal to the species.”

As a human, you might think, “What does it matter if this mini animal disappears?”. Swinkels: “My PhD supervisor always says: ‘You can manage fine without your little finger, but does that mean you should cut off your little finger?’. You can lose many other body parts: your fingers, toes, maybe an ear, but if you keep on losing body parts, you will succumb after a while.” The same applies to nature. If there are too few plants and animals in an environment, the whole system collapses. And the result? “Think of desertification, or, closer to home, blue-green algae explosions in lakes and ponds. You can only disrupt the balance of ecosystems so far.”

To turn the tide, structural adjustments are required, such as measures to reduce pesticide use and nitrogen deposition. At the same time, as an individual or an organisation, you can do what is needed to boost biodiversity in your habitat, thus reducing pressure on animal species. “By giving the flowers and plants in your garden or balcony space to flourish, you create an attractive environment for all kinds of creatures.” This can, of course, also be done on a larger scale, for example on dykes or roadsides. “Just as we drive on roads to get from A to B, dykes and roadsides form connecting routes for many insects. Moreover, dykes full of flowers not only increase biodiversity, but also make the dykes stronger.”

Ecological experiment

Swinkels says he is conducting an ecological experiment in his own garden. “Native flowers and plants are given plenty of space, and I've adapted the drainage so that rainwater doesn’t enter the sewer system, but is redirected directly to the garden. Then I dug a wadi, a kind of ditch. I've also deliberately created areas with sandy soil, so that bees can nest there.” The experiment is working: Swinkels is seeing an increase in biodiversity in his garden, including species you don't see much elsewhere. “Amazing animals, like the Viper's Bugloss Mason Bee, the bee beetle, and the crab spider.”

Swinkels’ lush garden attracts a lot of attention, although some people look at it pityingly. “My grandmother would say it's not tidy. When we think of a beautiful garden, we often think of a raked lawn with a flower bed here and there, but as an ecologist, I mostly see a dead garden that does nothing for biodiversity.” 

The same applies to other elements in the Dutch landscape. “From perfectly mowed roadsides to the meadows where cows graze. Among my colleagues, we call these fields ’grassphalt’.” Swinkels hopes, partly with his own garden, to contribute to a different ideal. “Let's learn to see beauty in messiness. By doing so, we create extra space for all kinds of plants and animals.”

Donate to flowery dikes?

In an effort to meet new safety standards, 1,500 kilometres of Dutch dikes will need to be strengthened over the next few years. This is a huge task, but it is also a great opportunity. After all, why wouldn’t you seize the chance to not only strengthen the dike, but also improve it in terms of biodiversity and make it more attractive? This is exactly what Hans de Kroon and Eric Visser aim to achieve in their Future Dikes research project.

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