Soil improver and erosion control
Sulla can be a pioneer species in poor, compact and degraded soils and, as an N-fixing legume, improve soil fertility for the next crop (Ben Jeddi, 2005). Notably, sulla was introduced in the 1950s for erosion control in New Zealand (Krishna et al., 1990).
Methane emissions
In New Zealand, dairy cows grazing sulla produced less methane per unit DM intake (19.5 vs. 24.6 g CH4/kg DM) and per unit milk solids (243.3 vs. 327.8 g CH4/kg of milk solids) than cows fed perennial ryegrass, due to the higher nutritive value of sulla and to the presence of condensed tannins (Woodward et al., 2002).
Other environmental benefits
Sulla is valued for honey production, roadside beautification and landscape architecture (Foster, 2010; Ruisi et al., 2011).