Ecological Insights

ECOLOGICAL INSIGHTS IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION LED BY RESEARCH SCIENTIST REBECCA PHILLIPS WITH 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN CARBON AND NITROGEN BIOGEOCHEMISTRY AT AN ECOSYSTEM SCALE. HERE, DR. PHILLIPS PROPOSES TO QUANTIFY NATURE-BASED CARBON CAPTURE FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEMONSTRATING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MANAGEMENT, SOIL HEALTH, AND SUSTAINABILITY OF PRAIRIE. THE PROJECT, ENHANCED ECOSYSTEM CARBON UPTAKE FOR A REGENERATIVE GRAZING SYSTEM, AIMS TO COMPLETE THE SCIENCE INITIATED IN 2023 BY PROCESSING, ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING THE FIELD DATA NECESSARY FOR TECHNICAL PEER-REVIEW AS WELL AS PUBLIC DISSEMINATION.ECOLOGICAL INSIGHTS WILL ACHIEVE THIS BY USING TECHNIQUES PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED AND PUBLISHED BY DR. PHILLIPS AND COLLEAGUES (HTTPS: ORCID.ORG 0000-0003-3881-9065), WHERE THE NET ECOSYSTEM CARBON BUDGET WILL BE CONSTRUCTED FOR YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2. FOR EACH YEAR, THE NET AMOUNT OF CARBON IN PLANT MATERIAL REMOVED BY GRAZERS WILL BE SUBTRACTED FROM THE NET AMOUNT OF CARBON SEQUESTERED BY THE ECOSYSTEM THROUGH NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION. FURTHER, THE AMOUNT OF CARBON DEPOSITED BY GRAZERS IN WASTE PRODUCTS WILL BE ADDED TO YIELD THE NET AMOUNT OF CARBON PER ACRE PER YEAR SEQUESTERED BY BOTH IDLE AND CELL-GRAZED RANGELAND ECOSYSTEMS.IF AWARDED, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE THE INFORMATION NEEDED TO INFORM HABITAT MANAGERS, RANCHERS, CONSERVATIONISTS, AND POLICY MAKERS OF THE SPECIFIC EFFECTS OF MANAGED GRAZING ACTIVITIES ON CARBON DYNAMICS, INCLUDING PLANT PRODUCTION AND THE TRAJECTORY OF PLANT RECOVERY AFTER GRAZING. IMPORTANTLY, THE REPORT WILL EXPLICITLY QUANTIFY HOW GRAZERS CAN BE USED AS TOOLS TO ENHANCE ANNUAL RATES OF CARBON SEQUESTRATION, WATER-USE EFFICIENCY, AND SOIL HEALTH IN RANGELAND ECOSYSTEMS. RESULTS WILL BENEFIT HABITAT MANAGERS INTERESTED IN HOW REGENERATIVE GRAZING CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE BOTH ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE FOR PASTURE ECOSYSTEMS.