Read at : Google Alert – desertification
http://www.whatisworking.com/2012/01/saving-us-grasslands-bid-to-turn-back.html
Saving US grasslands: a bid to turn back the clock on desertification
Desertification caused by climate change and human activity now threatens the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people worldwide, according to the United Nations. Globally, 52 percent of land used to grow food has been affected either moderately or severely. But on a patch of Colorado prairie, something different happened: The grass came back. Today, “the grass has covered the sand,” says Mr. Livingston. A dozen or more sandy, wind-blown basins have become lush and green.
What made the difference was a simple idea with tremendous global consequences. In short, Livingston tried to turn the clock back on his land by moving his cattle around the land in a way that mimics the movement of buffalo centuries before. The idea is called Holistic Management, and users say it is a powerful tool to undo the damage that humans have inflicted on grasslands worldwide.
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