Soil Carbon Cowboys
This short film by Peter Byck follows producers who have taken the leap from conventional to regenerative agriculture.
Adaptive multi-paddock grazing enhances soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and stabilization through mineral association in southeastern U.S. grazing lands
This paper conducted a large-scale on-farm study on five “across the fence” pairs of Holistic Planned Grazing, referred to by the authors as adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing, and conventional grazing (CG) grasslands covering a spectrum of southeast United States grazing lands. Findings showed that the AMP grazing sites had on average 13% (i.e., 9 Mg C ha−1) more soil C and 9% (i.e., 1 Mg N ha−1) more soil N compared to the CG sites over a 1 m depth. Additionally, the stocks’ difference was mostly in the mineral-associated organic matter fraction in the A-horizon, suggesting long-term persistence of soil C in AMP grazing farms.
The role of ruminants in reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint in North America
This paper determined that properly-managed grazing, if applied on 25% of our crop and grasslands, would mitigate the entire carbon footprint of North American agriculture. Better management of cropping and grazing practices in North America could draw down and sequester in soil 1.2 gigatons of carbon annually, equivalent to about 10% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
The Soil Story
This short animated film by Kiss the Ground shows how soil can be one of our greatest allies in creating a healthier planet.
Restoring the Climate Through Capture and Storage of Soil Carbon
In this 2015 whitepaper by the Savory Institute, grasslands are discussed as an important carbon sink for addressing the climate crisis.
The Potential of Restorative Grazing to Mitigate Global Warming by Increasing Carbon Capture on Grasslands
This white paper reviews the literature on soil organic carbon losses and potential gains through regenerative management. It finds that most literature is limited to areas considered in “agriculture” and that rangelands may be largely under represented both in terms of of losses and drawdown potential. It argues that with regenerative rangeland practices, such as Holistic Planned Grazing, the total capture of atmospheric carbon may be much higher than previously considered. An upward estimate of 88 to 210 gigatons (billions of tons) of carbon (88-210 GtC) representing a total drawdown of 25 to 60 tons per hectare on 3500 million hectares of grasslands worldwide is postulated as achievable through proper rangeland/grassland management.
The Soil Will Save Us
Journalist and bestselling author Kristin Ohlson makes an elegantly argued, passionate case for “our great green hope”—a way in which we can not only heal the land but also turn atmospheric carbon into beneficial soil carbon—and potentially reverse global warming.
The Fight Against Global Warming: A Failure and A Fix
Adam Sacks of Bio4Climate pens a lively and detailed discussion on livestock, climate, and the need to establish healthy soils as a means of managing excess carbon in the atmosphere.
Talking Points Regarding Savory
This whitepaper by Seth Itzkan (2013) addresses some of the common misconceptions about Savory’s work.
Cows Save the Planet
In Cows Save the Planet, journalist Judith D. Schwartz looks at soil as a crucible for our many overlapping environmental, economic, and social crises. Schwartz reveals that for many of these problems – climate change, desertification, biodiversity loss, droughts, floods, wildfires, rural poverty, malnutrition, and obesity – there are positive, alternative scenarios to the degradation and devastation we face.
