%0 Journal Article
%T Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems
%A John Carter
%A Allison Jones
%A Mary O¡¯Brien
%A Jonathan Ratner
%A George Wuerthner
%J International Journal of Biodiversity
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/163431
%X Over 3 billion hectares of lands worldwide are grazed by livestock, with a majority suffering degradation in ecological condition. Losses in plant productivity, biodiversity of plant and animal communities, and carbon storage are occurring as a result of livestock grazing. Holistic management (HM) has been proposed as a means of restoring degraded deserts and grasslands and reversing climate change. The fundamental approach of this system is based on frequently rotating livestock herds to mimic native ungulates reacting to predators in order to break up biological soil crusts and trample plants and soils to promote restoration. This review could find no peer-reviewed studies that show that this management approach is superior to conventional grazing systems in outcomes. Any claims of success due to HM are likely due to the management aspects of goal setting, monitoring, and adapting to meet goals, not the ecological principles embodied in HM. Ecologically, the application of HM principles of trampling and intensive foraging are as detrimental to plants, soils, water storage, and plant productivity as are conventional grazing systems. Contrary to claims made that HM will reverse climate change, the scientific evidence is that global greenhouse gas emissions are vastly larger than the capacity of worldwide grasslands and deserts to store the carbon emitted each year. 1. Introduction Lands grazed by livestock include 3.4 billion ha worldwide with 73% estimated to be suffering soil degradation [1]. The solution presented during Allan Savory¡¯s February 2013 TED Talk was to use holistic management (HM) to reverse desertification and climate change [2]. He reported that we are creating ¡°too much bare ground¡± (1:30 in video) in the arid areas of the world and, as a consequence, rainfall runs off or evaporates, soils are damaged, and carbon is released back to the atmosphere. Grasslands, even in high rainfall areas, may contain large areas of bare ground with a crust of algae, leading to increased runoff and evaporation. Desertification is caused by livestock, ¡°overgrazing the plants, leaving the soil bare, and giving off methane¡± (4:20 in video). HM is also called holistic resource management, time controlled grazing, Savory grazing method, or short-duration grazing. It is designed to mimic the behavior of grazing animals that are regulated by their predators to gather in large groups. As Savory puts it [2], ¡°What we had failed to understand was that these seasonal humidity environments of the world, the soil and the vegetation developed with very large numbers
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbd/2014/163431/