Regenerative land management is based on the principles and practices of regenerative agriculture, which are inspired by nature’s patterns. These principles and practices help us understand and manage ecosystems better, even though they are not perfect.
There are four models that we can use to view ecosystems from different perspectives:
6 Principles of soil health
3 Rules of Adaptive Stewardship
4 Ecosystem Processes
4 Key Insights (Alan Savory)
6 Principles of Soil Health
Know your Holistic Context Start with a change in paradigm. We need a holistic perspective. We are not looking at different things, but at the same thing from different perspectives. ‘An object seen in isolation from the whole is not the real thing’ - Masanobu Fukuoka Define your context. What are your personal motivations and needs? How do they influence your management decisions? See yourself as part of the system. What is your natural ecological context? Your land is part of a larger ecosystem. How has the landscape evolved from the past to the present? What is possible for the future? What is the seedbank, native species, and biodiversity in its most natural state? Look for historical sources, talk to elders, research past ownership, uses and management. What plants are growing wild in your area? What can you forage locally outside of your garden? Indigenous plants attract local biodiversity. Go slow and observe.
Brittleness Scale 0-10, Different landscapes and overall moisture content. 0 very moist to 10 very dry. Management practices have different outcomes in different ecosystems along the brittleness scale. Learn more :
Minimize Disturbance Mechanical and chemical disturbance destroys the soil structure and life. This reduces soil carbon and biology, depletes soil moisture, and increases soil temperature. Soil is a living ecosystem with a complex soil food web. Nature moves towards maximum complexity and diversity over time. Tillage is the practice of turning over the soil with a plow, leaving bare soil. This is a massive contributor to climate change.
Maximize Soil Armour There is no bare soil in nature. Keep the soil covered with living plants year-round. This protects and builds soil. Soil cover reduces soil capping, balances soil temperature and microclimates, infiltrates water, and increases moisture retention. Water should leave the system through transpiration, not evaporation. Plants reduce erosion of soil by water and wind. The US Dust Bowl with loss of topsoil is a result of erosion by wind due to agricultural tillage and bare soil. Soil biology needs moisture to live and move, as well as root exudates. There are 6 billion microbes in a teaspoon of healthy soil.
Increase Biodiversity/ Predator Prey relationship. Nature knows best, no monoculture in nature. Soil, plant and animal health are driven by diversity, which provides robustness, system health, stability, pest resistance, nutrition. Functional diversity addresses the needs and root causes of most issues in natural ecosystems. Animals or insects behave differently with the presence of predators, often preserving what they are feeding on. Diversity. Planting a variety of crops helps to improve soil health by providing diverse food sources for soil microbes, plants and animals. Plants and trees are herd animals. In nature, plants are always in communities supporting each other in functional niches to maximise diversity of life below, on and above the soil up to the 7 layers of a forest.
Have living roots in ground Cover crops with a purpose (knowledge NB), Root exudates feed biology, stimulate soil food web, reduce compaction, increase carbon in soil, make nutrients available as microbial population increases, diversify root types and depths, more leaves as solar panels, photosynthesis. Focus on plant root recovery and rest Provide exudates to support microbial life in the soil.
Integrate animals Plants have evolved in symbiosis with wildlife in nature. Maximise biodiversity of animals as well as plants. Wildlife and plants have a symbiotic relationship in nature. Increase the diversity of plants and animals by planting systems that attract different kinds of wildlife, such as insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. Ponds attract water-loving creatures.If appropriate, include domestic animals like ducks. Compost organic matter to create a rich soil amendment. Use adaptive grazing to enhance soil and plant diversity. Create habitats for wildlife with log piles and compost heaps. Leave some areas undisturbed for wildlife, such as meadows or forests.
3 Principles of Adaptive Stewardship
Compounding. Elements and effects are always interconnected and have multiple consequences, positive or negative. Anticipate the long-term outcomes of actions and their ripple effects. Evaluate the ecological, social, and economic impacts of management decisions. Consider the epigenetic effects. Understand the patterns and relationships.
Diversity is essential for nature. No ecosystem is a monoculture. Diversity enhances health and stability, which leads to positive compounding effects. Most ecosystems need animal impact to increase diversity. A diversity of plants also improves soil health by producing secondary and tertiary compounds, antiparasitic compounds, and stimulating the latent seed bank with long enough rest periods. Moreover, living roots in the soil feed soil biology, which processes organic matter and makes nutrients available to plant roots. It takes time for soil biology to recover, so most soils have enough nutrients but lack the biology to activate them. To kickstart the nutrient cycle, use a diversity of seeds, plants, and mulch. This will also initiate succession and create a habitat for biodiversity, such as a pond and log piles. Aim for a 50:50 bacterial to fungal ratio in the soil, as fungal hyphae create a network that moves nutrients around and helps to create a soil food web. Finally, design plant guilds or communities using plant functional groups within your context.
Disruption is beneficial for nature, as it responds to changes and challenges with flexibility and adaptation. Natural systems are complex, while technological systems are complicated. In a technological system, if one element breaks, the system stops working. In a natural system, if one element stops working, the system adapts and carries on, but with a ripple effect to the larger and smaller systems and unintended consequences. Nature adapts to disruption, but stagnates in sameness and monoculture of routines and patterns in time and space. Therefore, animal impact is important, as animals evolved with plants in natural ecosystems. To mimic nature, rotate and randomize crops and management practices. Experiment with different plants and rotations and observe what thrives. Use chop and drop methods to recycle nutrients.
By following these principles and practices, you can create a land or garden that is healthy, productive, and sustainable.
4 ecosystem processes
These partly drive natural systems. They are interrelated and cyclical, not linear. We can observe them from different perspectives, like four windows into the same room. They are:
Energy flow. This is the movement of solar energy through the system via photosynthesis, which creates carbon and sugars that feed diverse life forms. To maximize energy flow, we need to maximize diversity and biomass of plants and animals. We also need to have a long food chain that covers different seasons and successional stages.
Mineral cycle. This is the movement of minerals freely through the ecosystem, including nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation is the process by which bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can use. Waste and death are resources in this cycle, not problems. Diversity in soil and above soil of plants and animals is key to a healthy mineral cycle.
Community dynamics or biodiversity. This is the diversity and balance of life forms in an ecosystem. The more biodiverse an ecosystem is, the more resilient and productive it is. We need to maximize biodiversity below and above the soil, for example by integrating animals, composting organic matter, and creating habitats for wildlife. We also need to recognize that humans are part of natural ecosystems, not separate from them, and that our social and economic well-being depends on ecological health. Predator-prey relationships are important for maintaining balance and diversity.
Water cycle. This is the movement of water through the soil, plants, and atmosphere. Bare ground is a sign of a disrupted water cycle, which leads to soil compaction, erosion, evaporation, and poor water infiltration and retention. We need to catch and store water on our land, slow it down, and use it wisely. Water should leave the land through transpiration by plants, not evaporation from the soil. Soil rich in organic matter and microbial life acts like a sponge that holds water. We can also use rainwater or greywater to irrigate our gardens. Waste is always a resource in this cycle.
4 Key Insights
Holism. This means seeing everything as part of a whole. We need to create and check our holistic context. We need to find and fix the root cause of problems.
Brittleness scale. This is a measure of how dry or moist a landscape is, from 0 to 10. Different management practices work better or worse in context along the scale.
Predator and prey relationships or Biodiversity. This is the variety and balance of living things in an ecosystem. Biodiversity affects the health, stability, and productivity of the ecosystem. Some species are more important than others for maintaining balance. Natural forces shape the ecosystem over time.
Timing in context. This means using space and time wisely. We need to understand how ecosystems change and cycle in different levels of brittleness. We need to look at patterns, not details. We need to see cycles, not lines. We need to know when to act and when to rest.