 |
| http://predatoraware.wildlifedirect.org/2008/11/13/lions-in-the-camp/ |
It appears that we can learn a lesson from grazing practices
in East Africa. For thousands of years
pastoralists have been using “Boma” enclosures to protect cattle herds at
night. They are made of thorny shrubs
and branches woven together into an impregnable mass. This makes for a formidable enclosure that is
very difficult for predators to enter.
The Bomas are generally used for about one year until they move on to a
new one.
The magic happens after the cattle leave. The area becomes very lush. Initially it is protected from the drying
action of sun and wind by the shelter of the enclosure. Months of urine and manure application result
in extremely eutrophic conditions, but once released from pressure, a
hyper-fertile environment results. Soil
becomes richer, thicker and retains more moisture.
Pasture in former Boma enclosures shows better growth and
drought resistance. Native plant and
animal biodiversity increases. Population
densities go up. Plant growth and vigor
are augmented. Grass quality is better
and tree growth accelerates.
This shows some parallels with rotational grazing as well as
chicken tractor food forest initiation similar to what is shown in Geoff Lawton’s
videos. The effects of this form of
human augmentation have been shown to last for as much as 100 years after the
departure of the cattle. Since the area
is basically laid waste, it is more of a succession based regime as opposed to
a rotational regime which augments and sustains the pasture system that is already in place.
Savannahs have succession regimes as well so this could be a valuable
tool in broad scale permaculture and ecology based agriculture. As the Bomas break down, self mulching would
be something to take into account. Some
tweaking could possible to turn this into a very useful regime in combination with
landscape scale animal rotations. Moving
your sacrifice or permanent holding paddock once a year and making your
operation more mobile within its own property context could actually result in
greater fertility in the long run. The area could be used to plant trees or a garden afterwards or simply to create a patch of very fertile pasture. The possibilities are limitless.
No comments:
Post a Comment