Summary:
Overgrazing is often blamed with transforming troubled grasslands into deserts worldwide. However, biologist Allan Savory says that livestock grazing can actually be beneficial to the environment if managed properly. Savory explains that holistic management of livestock can mitigate desertification, climate change, and poverty around the planet. The hope that Savory has in the roles of wild herds derives from his 50 years of studying the spread of deserts. In all this time, no solution has been as effective as restoring nature's normal cycles in semiarid regions. He did this by using grazers, such as cattle and sheep, as surrogates for the herds and predators that have died out in these regions. The herds rotate from site to site, eating up grasses and leaving behind manure, which allows the soil to trap carbon and carry out vital processes to produce more grasses. So far, Savory has proven that controlled livestock grazing can stop desertification in Zimbabwe, Mexico, the Horn of Africa and Argentina, and he believes that this solution has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Reaction:
I admire Allan Savory for challenging the belief that livestock grazing only harms grasslands. The people who try to exterminate herding in semiarid regions are not only exacerbating environmental issues, but also social issues. There are people in these regions that depend on their livestock for survival, so we would also be affecting the lives of humans. This article has taught me that instead of challenging cycles in nature, we should be looking to them for answers. Therefore, I am convinced that the best way to reverse desertification is by allowing processes in nature to take place. Grasslands can be integrated into a continuos food cycle with the help of grazing, which would allow them to thrive. What makes this idea better than any other alternative solution is the fact that greenhouse gas emissions would be diminished in the process, and people in these regions would be able to manage the livestock in order to make a living. Others have tried to restore soils by burning woody vegetation in semiarid regions, but the benefits of this are outweighed by the fact that nutrients are leached from the soil and greenhouse gases are released. I believe that many climate scientists are on the same page as Savory, and so should the rest of the world if we want to protect our planet.
Vocabulary:
Desertification- degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.
Overgrazing- occurs when too many animals graze for too long and exceed the carrying capacity of a grassland; reduces grass cover, exposes the soil to erosion by water.
Holistic- relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts.
Blunder- a bad mistake made because of stupidity or carelessness.
Dung- the excrement of animals; manure.
"Semiarid regions"- regions characterized by very little annual rainfall, usually from 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm).
Proxy- a person authorized to act for another.
Overgrazing- occurs when too many animals graze for too long and exceed the carrying capacity of a grassland; reduces grass cover, exposes the soil to erosion by water.
Holistic- relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts.
Blunder- a bad mistake made because of stupidity or carelessness.
Dung- the excrement of animals; manure.
"Semiarid regions"- regions characterized by very little annual rainfall, usually from 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm).
Proxy- a person authorized to act for another.
Source:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-livestock-grazing-stop-desertification/