Multi-functional pasture rejuvenation

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Applied adaptation research will demonstrate cost-effective, innovative practices enabling forage producers to rejuvenate pastures to achieve production, climate adaptation and fire risk management goals. The objective is to determine if grazing practices alone, or in combination with brush clearing and seed sowing, can stimulate pasture productivity, enhance soil carbon sequestration, leading to climate adaptation and mitigation. A minimum of three farms in the Cariboo, a region in the central interior of British Columbia, will host on-site trials investigating forage seeding, mechanical brushing and prescribed grazing, alone and in combination. Site selection, baseline measures and treatment applications will be initiated in May 2021, with full implementation by autumn 2021. The trial will be monitored over two subsequent growing seasons, with annual measures of forages, soil carbon, soil moisture and fire hazard ratings carried out pre-treatment and at 2 years post-treatment. Extension activities will include field days, a project fact sheet, annual updates in the Cariboo Agricultural Research Alliance social media and the Forage Council of BC newsletter (the 'Forager'). Results will also form the basis for a Master of Science thesis, post-doctoral training and experience, and one or more peer-reviewed scientific publications.