1. Holistic Planned Grazing in South African grasslands: Soil, vegetation and cattle responses.
Zander Venter PhD candidate University of Cape Town

2. Take home question:
Can changing grazing management practices do this?....
Consider the question of how a landscape goes from this to this? From low ground cover to high ground cover and large biomass with healthy livestock production.
Many factors that could be considered
The key focus of my thesis is trying to discern to what extent grassland agroecosystem production can be increased through manipulating livestock management – particularly grazing intensity with HPM.

3. Why is this important to consider?
69% land-base suitable for extensive grazing
Livestock largest agricultural sector
Opportunities for commercial and communal red meat producers
So why?....
69%....This map shows grazing capacity over SA – all the light brown to green areas show high grazing capacity and this is most of our country.
Liestock sector largest in SA
But this is a map of land degradation in SA – organge and red areas moderate to severe degradation and these align with areas of high grazing potential.
Reversing this degragation through livestock management provides opportunities…
This is sustainable in that it strikes a balance beteen 3 pillars of sustainability.

4. HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT Holistic context & goal
Adaptive management framework
Ecosystem processes & Tools
HM is a tool proposed to address this problem.
What is HM?
Making land management decisions within a holistic context with a holisitic goal.
Within this, adaptive management takes place
And this management involved altering ecosystem processes (nutrient ccle, water cycle, community dynamics energy flow) and tools – fire, grazing, rest, animal impact.
This is HPG – the testable component of HM – in what way do these tools influence the ecosystem processes.

5. HOLISTIC PLANNED GRAZING
HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT
Holistic context & goal
Adaptive management framework
HOLISTIC PLANNED GRAZING
Ecosystem processes & Tools

6. Holistic Planned Grazing – ecosystem processes and tools
Allan Savory that the ecosystem processes and tools that are beneficial for grasslands are typified in the behaviour of large herds of wild herbivores. – tight herds with high impact on soil and vegetation.
Compare this to the average livestock farm – licture very different – a few cattle standing here and there grazing a bit and lying down.
BUT, this assumption can be questioned – because wild herbivores also move in low density herds at times.
So here we are trying to understand if the first picture is actually a desirable state for grassland productivity.

7. How to mimic this on the farm?
Animal density
Recovery period
So how do we mimic…?
Key factors that are manipulated are animal densities - number of animals in a given grazing area. And recovery period – how long a given grazing area is allowed to rest from grazing.
On the farm it looks something like this – on left farm only has 4 camps with low animal densities, while on right farm has 16 camps with high animal densities.
As cattle rotate around the grass recovers slowly behind them.

8. Holistic Planned Grazing – ecosystem processes and tools
Soil nutrient cycling
Vegetation quantity
Hoof impact
HPG
Soil water infiltration
Animal density
Balanced species composition
Non-selectivity
The aim of my thesis is to understand the two coponents of HPG
Hypothesised that increasing animal density will increase the amount of footsteps taken and thus hoof impact on soil and veg.
This will then increase the incorporation of dung and urine and plant litter into the soil. Break soil surface crusts and increase water infiltration and these two combined will increase vegetation production.
Animal density will also influence animal behaviour so as to reduce their ability to select for palatable species only – this will create a balanced vegetation species composition and promote vegetation biodiversity.
Then recovery period will allow for leaves to recover and sustaine plant growth reserves – this will then optimise the plants anbility to compensate for grazing – ultimately optimize total biomass production over the growing season.
Vegetation quality
Increase plant reserves
Recovery period
Optimize growth

9. How do we test these claims?
Farm-scale experimental trial
Greenhouse clipping experiments
National farm grazing management survey
You can get involved!

10. Farm trial: Experimental farm: Merino Walk, Matatiele, EC Flats Slopes
So how are we going to test these hypotheses?
Experimental farm called Merino Walk near Matatiele, EC.
Three treatments of different management practices – first is the one in question, HPG – see many grazing strips/camps.
Second more conventional one used in the area – 4-camp rotation in blue where cattle rotated between 4 camps
Third is continuous grazing where cattle left to graze freely.
The important variables again are mean stock density and recovery period – you can see how these are very different for HPG compared to other two treatments.

11. Preliminary results so far…

12. Anecdotes - behaviour Holistic herd Conventional herd
Photograph by Gerbrand Nel
Conventional herd
Photograph by Gerbrand Nel

13. Anecdotes – soil & plant impact
Photograph by Gerbrand Nel

14. Vegetation greenness (growth)

15. Cattle performance
Average weight (kg)

16. Grazing management survey
Grazing management practices across SA
Stocking rates
Animal densities
Fire
Assess how they influence:
Vegetation production (satellite imagery)

17. Get involved and complete/share the online national survey:
Thank you to CSA, GreenMatter, Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, UCT for supporting this PhD.
Get involved and complete/share the online national survey: