New machine in Pori strips soil to help wildflowers and pollinators

Pori has deployed a new harvester that removes cuttings from meadows to gradually deplete soil nutrients, creating conditions that favour wildflowers and pollinators.

The city’s parks department says meadow areas covering about 180 hectares will be treated in stages. Previously, cuttings were left on site, returning nutrients to the soil and keeping it rich.

“Pori is among the first in Finland to test this method under local conditions,” said Ismo Ahonen, city gardener. Similar machines are already used in Sweden and Denmark but have not been widely adopted in Finland.

Future cuttings could also be directed to energy industries, Ahonen added. The city is also sowing wildflower seeds and adding sand to further reduce soil fertility in pilot meadows near Vähärauma school and the former Liinaharja care-home site.

“Establishing wildflower meadows is long-term work; visible results usually take several years,” said Esa Rouvali, head of parks maintenance.

Wildflower meadows have declined across Finland as agriculture intensifies, reducing food sources for pollinators whose numbers have also fallen.