Sustainable economic and ecological grazing systems - learning from innovative practitioners

可持续经济和生态放牧系统——向创新实践者学习

• 批准号: BB/R005710/1
• 负责人: Lisa Norton
• 金额: $ 80.38万
• 依托单位: NERC CEH (Up to 30.11.2019)
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FR005710%2F1
• 关键词: Sustainable; economic; ecological; grazing; systems

Grassland systems dominating the agricultural landscape in GB are largely economically unproductive, ecologically degraded, dominated by a single grass species, organic carbon poor and heavily reliant on inputs to maintain productivity. System impacts are often felt beyond field boundaries with slurry and P and N pollution from intensive practices leaking into water bodies and impacting on nutrient status and species diversity. Changing to sustainable systems through innovation can rely on cues from the natural environment. Naturally productive systems which support large numbers of grazing livestock have provided inspiration for Pasture for Life (PfL) certified producers to adopt pasture management practices which mimic those systems. Methods include approaches such as 'herbal leys and diverse swards' and 'mob grazing' which can potentially extend the grazing season whilst providing environmental, economic and livestock benefits in terms of health and productivity. The proposed research aims to evaluate the ecological, agronomic and social impacts of the pasture fed livestock approach to grazing management and its potential as the basis of a sustainable GB-wide system. To achieve this, an experienced interdisciplinary research team has designed a project that will deliver a formal assessment of the agronomic, socio-ecological and sustainability and resilience aspects of Pasture Fed Livestock Association (PFLA) members farm systems and the social systems in which they are embedded (including industry bodies and citizen-consumers) through a combined set of social and natural science research methodologies. The team will work closely with producers and their supporting organisations (including the PFLA) to assess sustainability criteria covering a broad spectrum of sixty PLFA enterprises and to assess specific management practices, like 'mob grazing' on a smaller number of (15-20) Pasture for Life (PfL) certified enterprises. The work will seek to identify the motivations, knowledges and ways of learning of the agricultural innovators employing these approaches. It will also investigate the role of governance structures surrounding farms as well as considering their agronomic and ecological impacts. The evaluation will include an assessment of PFLA enterprises within the context of current grassland/grazing management practices. It will investigate the broad range of public goods delivered by PFLA farms - from the animal products themselves to the impacts of the farming practices on aesthetic values and carbon sequestration. The results of the project will provide much needed evidence about the benefits of pasture fed livestock approaches for those farming grazing livestock, consumers of PfL products and wider publics. Such evidence will be valuable for livestock producers (including those already engaged in the practices) and for government and farming bodies, like the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) with the power to influence farmer decision making. The research will identify key factors which influence 'agricultural innovators' to take bold steps towards novel management practices and provide information on possible mechanisms for supporting them in their enterprises. If such systems do prove to provide significant ecological, agronomic and social benefits the project may help to transform some of the green deserts which currently form much of the agricultural land area in GB. The prospect of a resilient, agriculturally productive, grassland landscape which is storing carbon, preserving water quality and enhancing biodiversity is a compelling one for farmers, governments and wider publics.

在GB的农业景观中占主导地位的草地系统在很大程度上是经济非生产性的，生态退化，由单一的草种，有机碳贫乏，严重依赖于投入，以保持生产力。系统的影响往往超出了田地的界限，密集耕作造成的泥浆和P、N污染物泄漏到水体中，对营养状况和物种多样性产生影响。通过创新向可持续系统转变可以依靠自然环境的线索。支持大量放牧牲畜的自然生产系统为生命牧场（PfL）认证的生产者提供了灵感，以采用模仿这些系统的牧场管理实践。方法包括诸如“草本牧草和多样化草地”和“暴民放牧”等方法，这些方法可以潜在地延长放牧季节，同时在健康和生产力方面提供环境、经济和牲畜效益。拟议的研究旨在评估生态，农艺和社会影响的牧场饲养牲畜的方法放牧管理及其潜力的基础上，可持续的GB范围内的系统。为了实现这一目标，一个经验丰富的跨学科研究团队设计了一个项目，该项目将通过一套社会和自然科学研究方法，对牧场饲养牲畜协会（PFLA）成员农场系统的农艺学，社会生态学和可持续性以及复原力方面进行正式评估，并嵌入其中（包括行业机构和公民消费者）。该团队将与生产商及其支持组织（包括PFLA）密切合作，评估涵盖60家PLFA企业的可持续性标准，并评估特定的管理实践，如少数（15-20）生命保护组织（PfL）认证企业的“暴民放牧”。这项工作将寻求确定采用这些方法的农业创新者的动机、知识和学习方式。它还将调查农场周围治理结构的作用，并考虑其农艺和生态影响。评价将包括在当前草原/放牧管理做法的范围内对PFLA企业进行评估。它将调查PFLA农场提供的广泛的公共产品-从动物产品本身到农业实践对美学价值和碳固存的影响。该项目的结果将提供急需的证据，证明牧场饲养牲畜的方法对那些饲养放牧牲畜的人、PfL产品的消费者和更广泛的公众的好处。这些证据对于畜牧生产者（包括那些已经从事这种做法的人）以及政府和农业机构，如农业和园艺发展委员会（AHDB），具有影响农民决策的权力，都是有价值的。这项研究将确定影响“农业创新者”采取大胆措施实现新的管理做法的关键因素，并提供有关支持他们在企业中的可能机制的信息。如果这些系统确实证明能提供显著的生态、农业和社会效益，该项目可能有助于改造目前构成英国大部分农业用地的一些绿色沙漠。对农民、政府和更广泛的公众来说，一个具有复原力、农业生产力的草原景观的前景是一个引人注目的前景，它可以储存碳、保护水质和提高生物多样性。