How can you learn more about horses, land management and the environment? This benefits your horse's diet and encourages other plant and animal species to thrive alongside your horses. By not overgrazing you are allowing different plants to have a chance to thrive, especially the ones that cannot cope with too much grazing pressure. You will be creating a healthier place for your horses to live while simultaneously helping the planet - a win-win.Īnother great way to increase biodiversity is linked to the first point, avoiding overgrazing. The really good news is it is not difficult when you know how. So, even though you are managing your land for your horses, you need to consider that land's biodiversity. Trees that are planted for shelter provide habitat for a huge number of animals that in turn help to manage the environment for your horse/s, the land etc. The list of benefits of increasing biodiversity goes on. The trees might also be used as windbreaks/as part of a fenceline. Their shade also blocks the sun from reaching the grasses, resulting in lower gras plant sugar levels. The trees also shade the land and reduce the temperature extremes. At the same time, those trees (just like grasses) take carbon from the atmosphere and deposit it in the trees' biomass and the soil. So, certain birds and certain bats eat problem insects by the thousands. Here is a simple example: trees that are planted for shelter provide habitat for a huge number of animals that in turn help to manage the environment for your horse/s, the land etc. A healthy ecosystem is less reliant on additional fertilizers/herbicides and is more resilient to climate change, diseases, and pests.
The more biodiversity there is in a given area, the healthier that ecosystem is. Plants include pasture grasses, legumes, even weeds etc. Animals include mammals, birds, bats, insects etc. Increasing biodiversity in your horse pasture helps the fight against climate changeīiodiversity includes the animal and plant life on a given area of land. Make sure you read this blog article to find out more about the benefits of longer grass plants 2. So now you know, established well managed (grazed) pasture is good for the environment and disturbed bare soil is not. Think about a ploughed field with exposed soil, you cannot see it, but carbon is being lost to the atmosphere at a rapid rate. Overgrazing leads to bare soil which rapidly loses carbon to the atmosphere. Overgrazing leads to bare soil, which rapidly loses carbon to the atmosphere. The shorter the grass, the shorter the root system. One acre of well-managed grass area stores about 417.305 Kilograms of carbon per year.Īvoid overgrazing as it damages the root system, reducing its capacity to store carbon (it also stresses the plants and makes them higher in sugar per mouthful). This is one way that carbon is taken out of the atmosphere and stored in the soil.Įach acre (4000 square meters) of pasture produces enough oxygen for 64 people daily. And then new roots regrow as the plant above ground regrows. When the plants are grazed their roots die back temporarily, which builds up organic matter (and carbon) in the soil. Good biodiverse (tall) pasture has a very high carbon storage capacity. As the plants grow taller their roots thicken and reach further down.
Grass plants have roots that are as long and abundant underground as above ground - in other words, what you see above ground is mirrored underground in the root system. Much more so than lawns and golf courses for example. You may not know it yet but if you own/manage land for horses you have the power to become a champion sequester of carbon! It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change. Horses and carbon sequestration and how this helps the fight against climate changeįirstly you need to become familiar with the term carbon sequestration, which is the capturing and storing of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Short grass plants are better than no grass (but then so are weeds), but long, dense grass is the best of all. Maintaining a healthy length and abundance of pasture for horses helps the fight against climate change There are many ways that domestic horses (and you) can help the fight against climate change. How horses can help save the planet from climate change Seriously, you might be astonished at what you and your horse/s can do to help in the fight against climate change!
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