A new collaborative study from Envu and the United States Geological Survey shows the impact of annual grass invasion on soil carbon loss in U.S. rangelands.
Justin Hossfeld, a sixth-generation rancher from Wyoming, is the national sales manager for Envu Range & Pasture.
“What they found was during this very exhaustive study that when an ecosystem converts to an annual grass monoculture or an annual grass ecosystem, if you will, we lose up to 49 percent of the carbon, which could equal 75 metric tons per acre of carbon that was once very stable and sequestered in that soil. These perennial plants have very deep, long root systems, and they can nodulize that carbon very stablely and very deeply. But, when the annual grasses move in and they start to remove that perennial presence or reduce that perennial presence, then that carbon starts to become at risk and be exposed.”
Rather than the typical 30 centimeters, Hossfeld notes this study took a much deeper look at the soil to a depth of three feet. So, does grazing hurt the carbon in those soils? Hossfeld says no.
“Grazing actually promotes the plant to regrow, and when a plant regrows, it puts on more roots, and so, it has more of a warehouse underneath. But it needs to be proper, proper and sustainable grazing. So, when we take a look at our product, Rejuvra, which can help us stop that invasion and stop that conversion from a perennial system to an annual system, that along with targeted, well-managed grazing, can help that perennial ecosystem create that warehouse underground and start to put that carbon back.”
Hossfeld adds this study will better equip ranchers to continue being professional stewards of the land.
“If we’re not a good steward of that land, we’re not profitable, and we’ve always been in that space. For generations, we’ve been in that space, and so this is going to give ranching a great opportunity to show that when we introduce these kinds of management systems and when we do our job correctly, we are a great stakeholder. And we are going to be that key entity in here to help protect our ecosystem and protect our environment.”