Desertification and livestock grazing: The roles of sedentarization, mobility and rest
This paper suggests that livestock may be a solution to the problem of land degradation in arid and semiarid rangeland ecosystems. It investigates the history of desertification around the world and finds that of the many contributing factors, the singular commonality was the “prevalence of partial or total rest.”
Surviving or Thriving in Drought
Analyzing ecological monitoring data from 1999 to 2007, Tony Malmberg of Twin Creek Ranch and Jim Howell assess how Twin Creek’s drought-induced management adjustments enabled them to maintain the integrity of their ecosystem processes. Malmberg also discusses his “ah-ha” moment after hearing Howell’s hypothesis that low production, brittle environments likely evolved under grazing patterns with longer (sometimes multi-year) recovery periods compared to brittle environments with higher production.
