FEATURE
of numbers and diversity . Regenerative grazing did not consistently promote the diversity and abundance of numerous taxa , as claimed : certain groups and species were favoured while others were disadvantaged by the way ReGM periodically disturbed ecosystems .
Positive diversity responses to ReGM generally arose when organisms benefited from increases in nutrient cycling and soil water retention under by ReGM and / or from the long rests afforded soil , plants , and animals between short bouts of intense grazing . Dung and urine are deposited relatively evenly across the landscape through the movement of livestock by herding or through permanent or temporary paddocks , coupled with intense trampling , which serves to redistribute carbon and nutrients from plants back into soils . Some plants , especially productive grasses and nonnative , invasive forbs are favoured when soil fertility is increased under ReGM .
Figure 2 . Nightly penning of livestock in a temporary mobile kraal used for regenerative grazing and restoration in the Nama-Karoo ( photo : The Herding Academy , www . herdingacademy . co . za ).
I also undertook a review of the literature , examining 58 studies from five continents for reported positive , neutral , and negative effects of ReGM ( Morris 2021b ). The results were varied and sometimes surprising . Very briefly ( see
Figure 1 in Morris 2021b ): soil microbes , especially fungi , responded mostly positively to ReGM as did wildlife . Plants , invertebrates , and birds displayed a range of responses from markedly negative , and unresponsive , to the enhancement
The infrequent stocking under ReGM gives plants and animals some time to recover from intense grazing and trampling . Furthermore , confining livestock to just a small portion of the total landscape at any one time leaves large areas for life to continue undisturbed . A striking example of the benefit of such spatially restricted stocking comes from the Nama-Karoo near Graaff- Reinet , where ReGM is implemented through mobile , temporary kraaling and herding ( Figure 2 ). There , the richness of large herbivores and their predators increased by 33 % and 24 %, respectively , in the few years after most fences were removed , lethal predator control ceased , and holistic planned grazing was implemented ( Schurch et al . 2021 ).
Figure 3 . A mesic grassland under Regenerative Grazing that has been unburned for 18 years and is now dominated by large , unpalatable grasses ( right ), and cattle grazing on fresh forage after an unplanned winter fire ( left ) ( Photo : Clive Henderson ).
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