To what extent has holistic management been scientifically proven as means of reducing desertification and reversing climate change? Introduction Alan Savory claims that increasing livestock will reduce desertification and even reverse climate change. This is achieved with his technique of cattle management, known as holistic management1. Holistic management is a farm planning system which helps farm owners to better manage their agricultural resources. They manage their resources better by not only thinking about it linearly but also taking into account everything surrounding the management of the land. This results in a more sustainable way of managing cattle, which comes with both economic and social benefits2. The premise of holistic management is managing cattle trying to mimic how nature works, this will result in an improvement of the land, this means that land which was deserted after holistic management becomes fertile and healthy. Therefore, it benefits the environment by having more vegetation and soil which absorbs more water. According to the creator of holistic management, Alan Savory, this happens due to the stomping from animals and their feces in these deserted areas. But, has this method been scientifically proven as a solution to desertification of the land and reversing climate change or is it just the same as all the other livestock management systems? More cattle leading to reduced desertification The first thing I want to discuss about is if the increased stomping of cattle leads to more healthy soil and grassland. During my research I found a research paper containing this information. According to the International Journal of Biodiversity the increased activity of the hoofs instead of improving the health of the grasslands affects it, since the grassland in arid and semiarid regions have biological crust, which contain beneficial bacteria, that provide nutrients and absorb water for the soil to remain healthy. It has been documented that, since these biological crusts are very susceptible to the trampling of cattle and when they are damaged the soil becomes compacted, erosion increases and causes the grassland to become unhealthy. Instead of it being beneficial to the land as Alan Savory claims, it results in a negative impact, according to the reviewed reports found in this research paper3. 1 George Monbiot, “Eat more meat and save the world: the latest implausible farming miracle,” The Guardian, The Guardian, August 4, 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2014/aug/04/eat-moremeat-and-save-the-world-the-latest-implausible-farming-miracle. 2 “What is Holistic Management?,” Holistic Management International, accessed April 16, 2022, https://holisticmanagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/HolisticManagement-1-22.pdf. 3 John Carter, Allison Jones, Mary O’Brien, Jonathan Ratner, and George Wuerthner, “Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems,” Hindawi, International Journal of Biodiversity, April 23, 2014, https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbd/2014/163431/#related-articles. There is another study done by Holechek. This study compared continuous grazing and short-duration grazing, which is basically the same grazing system as the one holistic management uses. This study had a focus on the effects of grazing on the reduction of desertification and healthier soil as a result. In his results he found the same thing as the International Journal of Biodiversity, that the grazing and stomping of cattle led to erosion instead of leading to this healthier soil with increased infiltration of water as Alan Savory claimed4. According to these sources, the claim from Alan Savory of the reduction of desertification via cattle is completely wrong when scientifically reviewed and this increase in livestock is not the solution to the deserted areas in our world. Holistic management reversing climate change A claim from holistic management is, that since the soil becomes healthier this leads to more carbon sequestration from the soil. Therefore, leading to a decrease on the atmosphere of greenhouse gases and resulting in the reversing of climate change. But according to the International Journal of Biodiversity this claim is false, since there have been various reports claiming a decrease on the carbon storage of soil due to the grazing of the land from livestock. An example of this is in the Canyonland National Park in Utah, where grazed sites suffered from a 100% less carbon and nitrogen storage than the areas razed only by the native herbivores in the park. A review by Beschta also showed results that the trampling from cattle led to a decrease in the ability of the grassland to sequester and store carbon5. If we consider that Holistic management allows for more carbon sequestration from the soil, the methane produced by livestock must be counteracted by the absorption of carbon. As we know the biggest problem with livestock is their production of greenhouse gases responsible for the global crisis we are facing. Agriculture is responsible for 51% of the annual greenhouse gas emissions. First, we must see if carbon sequestration can reverse climate change. There is a calculation in the research paper “Holistic management – a critical review of Allan Savory ś grazing method”, this calculation makes optimistic assumptions regarding the carbon sequestration from holistically managed soil, and it concludes that Holistic management can’t possibly reverse climate change since in 100 years it would have only absorbed 5% of the carbon emissions6. 4 Maria Nordborg, “Holistic management – a critical review of Allan Savory’s grazing method,” Chalmers, EPOK – Centre for Organic Food & Farming, June 2016, 18, https://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/244566/local_244566.pdf. 5 John Carter, Allison Jones, Mary O’Brien, Jonathan Ratner, and George Wuerthner, “Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems,” Hindawi, International Journal of Biodiversity, April 23, 2014, https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbd/2014/163431/#related-articles. 6 Maria Nordborg, “Holistic management – a critical review of Allan Savory’s grazing method,” Chalmers, EPOK – Centre for Organic Food & Farming, June 2016, 30, https://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/244566/local_244566.pdf. The claim of the reversal of climate change using holistic management turned out to be false when reviewed scientifically. Conclusion Throughout this research paper, holistic management has been demonstrated, through various scientific and experimental reviews, to not be what it claimed to be. Reviews that show positive results of holistic management were not shown, since most of them were not experimental meaning they were only testimonies, photos and surveys from farmers supported by the Savory Institute or the reports were not peer reviewed and were associated to the Savory Institute, meaning they were most likely biased7, thus not scientific, and not worth reviewing in this research paper, which focuses on an objective experience. In conclusion, the extent to which holistic management has been scientifically proven to be a solution to desertification and climate change is to a very small extent, the research has instead demonstrated that it is actually not beneficial as a means to reducing desertification and it also shows that instead of reversing climate change it worsens the situation by emitting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Bibliography Carter, John, Jones, Allison, O’Brien, Mary, Ratner, Johnathan, and Wuerthner, George. “Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems.” Hindawi. International Journal of Biodiversity. April 23, 2014. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbd/2014/163431/#related-articles. Monbiot, George. “Eat more meat and save the world: the latest implausible farming miracle.” The Guardian. The Guardian. August 4, 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2014/aug/04/eatmore-meat-and-save-the-world-the-latest-implausible-farming-miracle. Nordborg, Maria. “Holistic management – a critical review of Allan Savory’s grazing method.” Chalmers. EPOK – Centre for Organic Food & Farming. June 2016. https://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/244566/local_244566.pdf. “What is Holistic Management?.” Holistic Management International. accessed April 16, 2022. https://holisticmanagement.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/12/HolisticManagement-1-22.pdf. 7 John Carter, Allison Jones, Mary O’Brien, Jonathan Ratner, and George Wuerthner, “Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems,” Hindawi, International Journal of Biodiversity, April 23, 2014, https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbd/2014/163431/#related-articles.
