This video of HMI Certified Educator, Brian Wehlburg of InsideOutside Management Consulting in Australia, provides a highly effective explanation of how understanding plant succession is critical to better managing landscapes and creating greater resilience and stability in a natural system. This video was captured as part of Brian’s work with CarbonSync.
Brian explains how each plant has a role in the ecosystem including what be defined as an "invasive weed." These plants are indicators of the level of soil health and will disappear as the soil environment changes with improved management, good rains, and other factors. As landscapes become healthier, new plants will move in that tend to be higher successional grasses with fibrous roots which are better able to sequester carbon and capture more water in the soil profile which, in turn, leads to improved water and mineral cycling, more ground cover, and greater resilience in the system. Although droughts and floods will still occur, the set back for the landscape will be mitigated with a healthier ecosystem. Likewise, these lands will be more productive and require less inputs to help agricultural producers improve their bottom line.
To learn more about the scientific research on how Holistic Planned Grazing helps people improve their soils and the ecosystem benefits those soils provide, read "The Science Supporting How Holistic Management Improves Soil Health."
To learn more about Holistic Grazing Planning, visit our Training Programs page or check out our Free Downloads.
Visit our Soil and Conservation page to read success stories of people using Holistic Management to improve soil health or help them with their conservation goals.