Monday, August 24, 2015

What is the Reality? Grazing Leads to Blazing

Is it really true that grazing leads to blazing? I think it is opposite. Today I read an article in "Wild Life News" 1, regarding the role of livestock grazing for fire hazards in forests, especially western region of USA. The now a days fire, burning thousands of hectares of forest daily in the United States.

 I astonished while seeing that author is blaming livestock for fire hazards. Before I seldom saw such a serious allegations on livestock as a key role in provoking fire hazard. Many other ecologists including me thinking otherwise exactly at 90 angle. The livestock is the best tool to control threats of fire by consuming forages (highly combustible) and minimize the chances of fire. The literature regarding the ecosystem services and fire hazard control is fortified with the role of livestock. There are many references
2,3,4,5,. See the role of goats as goats may be herded to control weeds and reduce fire hazard, often on steep hills where other brush control methods would be expensive and difficult 3. 
There are many other reasons and causes of the natural hazards, especially fire in the forests. Such reasons ranging from the introduction of the invasive plants species, global warming, restriction of livestock grazing, intensive agricultural operations up to post fire panting and logging. The references for such literature are given 6,7,8,.



References;
1. Travis Bruner. 2015. Grazing leads to Blazing. Online. http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2015/08/21/grazing-leads-to-blazing/

2.Huntsinger L,California Mediterranean Rangelands and Ecosystem Conservation. Environmental Science, Policy and Management, MC 3110, University of California, Berkeley California: online http://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/pastoralism-trivero.pdf

3. Eva. K. Strand et al. 2014. Livestock Grazing Effects on Fuel loads for wildland fire in Sagebursh Dominated Ecosystems. Journal of Rangeland Applications. Vol(1) pp:2331-5512. Online
http://journals.lib.uidaho.edu/index.php/jra/article/view/12/39

4.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazing

5. Benefits of Grazing Animals. Online http://www.ebparks.org/about/stewardship/grazing/benefits

6. Managing fire-prone forests in the western United States
Read More: http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/1540-9295(2006)4%5B481:MFFITW%5D2.0.CO%3B2 

7. An integrated Approach to the Ecology and Management of Plant Invasions. Online.
. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2386985?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Increasing world consumption of beef as a driver of regional and global change: A call for policy action based on eon evidence from Queensland (Australia), Colombia and Brazil. Global Environmental ChangeVolume 19, Issue 1, February 2009, Pages 21–33


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