Grasslands, Earth's most threatened and least protected ecosystem, face rapid degradation. Studies conducted in the last 6 months present wild, exciting, and remarkably efficient solutions. ⬇ ⬇ ⬇
I'll offer 4 compelling reasons to care about what happens to our grasslands.
1) Grasslands store 1/3 of earth's land based carbon
2) Grasslands directly support over 1 billion human livelihoods
3) Grasslands store invaluable biodiversity
4) Beef is tasty 🤤
What's happening to our grasslands? They are being fractured, which, alongside proliferating alien species, wildfire suppression, and declining populations of large native herbivores, creates a cocktail of unhelpful degrading effects, including:
-Groundwater depletion + Dried-up streams -> Less grass (more weeds)
-Less Grass -> Soil erosion
-Less Grass -> less food for grazers -> less manure -> more soil erosion
It can seem like a snowball effect with too much momentum to stop. But, if we leverage natural processes, we can see the same sort of compounding processes move in a regenerative direction. A Nov. 2023 study by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences proposes the benefits of "wilder rangelands". The regeneration process, illustrated below, simply involves managed restoration of key natural processes. In specific, this study recommends:
1) Balancing managed livestock with communities of wild, native herbivores
2) Embracing indigenous animal husbandry techniques which allow human communities to live closely embedded within livestock populations
3) Reintroducing natural plants + removing invasive species
4) Rotational grazing -> dispersal of native plant seeds far + wide
5) Realigning grazing + other livestock management processes with natural rainfall + temperature cycles
6) Removing fences which fracture grasslands
7) Classifying grasslands as protected ecosystems + managing fire naturally
8) Renewing indigenous communities' ability to reside in their ancestral grasslands, in their traditional life-ways -> greater biodiversity
9) Diversifying income opportunities from grasslands (away from a cattle-heavy income model) - eg. goats, llama, alpaca, ....
10) Encouraging renewable energy creation that coexists with native animals
Let's work towards a better world! Here's hoping for wilder grasslands up ahead
🚜 Offroad Autonomy 📡 Telecom 📱 ex-Intel
3mo„Conserving Biodiversity” is a very nice initiative. Unfortunately beekeeping works against it. Apis mellifera is higly competitive and has a 2km flight range. This means that it will outcompete other, wild bees and decreese biodiversity. The easiest way to increase the biodiversity is to keep polinator friendly plants, and create small wild ponds.