Biomimicry in the Highlands

The Digg & Co. Studio team took a little break up to Scotland to study wilder landscapes and what is being done in more remote parts of the country to restore and repair ecosystems which were once far more vibrant. From tree planting and deer exclusion measures on the shores of Loch Lomond, to the comeback of vibrant heather moorland after the removal of sheep farming, it was fascinating to witness the complex interrelationships of how plants and animals have evolved to coexist, and how the current reductionist style of agriculture is homogenising one of our last great open expanses of landscape.

The key take away was speed! Speed of grazing and re-grazing, and the effects that blanket set stocking has on complex ecological systems. Where patches have been left to recover over a year or more, the rapid speed of germination and increase in biomass and diversity was everywhere. In this wet and fairly temperate landscape, growth comes easily, especially to trees. But, where sheep and deer have been allowed to linger, untended and never moved, the steady but severe reduction in diversity was clearly evident. So much so, that in one glen, where sheep have been allowed to wander aimlessly with no control, the resulting short lawn had done little to stop a cloud burst, which threatened the livelihoods of all who work below when the river became a raging deluge this summer. It is interesting, because I visited another area close by just after the floods, a patch of commercial forestry, and these two landscape types (both human) were by far the worst affected (coincidence perhaps..).

Coming back to the grazing conundrum, and taking a leaf out of André Voisin’s and Allan Savory’s holistic grazing methods, the solution for adding huge amounts of abundance and natural wonder to these upland areas, and in this case a National Park, is to manage the grazing appropriately with planned methods which remove the mouths of sheep and deer from certain areas for elongated periods of time. In many cases this might be a number of years in order to allow saplings, heather etc. to grow above the height of hungry mouths. But soon after this, they should be allowed back in, to graze off new shoots quickly before being moved on to fresh growth. This way they would never overgraze any areas, the ‘mob’ effect would lead them to being less picky and the diversity of the understory and moorland would increase. I am of the opinion, that this increase would far outweigh the current method of total exclusion, where, once woodland has established, the resulting understory, denuded of its natural refreshers, the deer, grows rank and monotonous with large areas of bog myrtle, ancient heather and moor grass. In fact, this total exclusion probably reduces diversity further from a floral perspective, but seems to increase abundance and diversity in bird species.

So how does one do this? The farmer is a beleaguered individual, especially in the hills, he/she is overworked, underpaid and completely at the mercy of sometimes savage weather. But as with all humans, he/she is looking after a system which is so complex the world’s best scientists could still not tell you how it all fitted together and herein lies the problem, the oversimplification of a highly dynamic system, which never evolved to be farmed like we do today. When sheep starburst across a hill, is that natural? If a wolf prowled the shadows each night, would they graze alone? No. Similarly, when a hillside starts to lose its birdsong, grouse, deer even, should you leave your sheep to continue reducing the landscape to a poorly managed turf? No. All we have as precedents for biodiversity are wild ecosystems, so why aren’t we using them as our guides?

Once you become a farmer, like we are down in Devon, you take on a role that is extremely humbling. You begin a process of oneness with the landscape you farm. This journey from now on, must be ecological, and a farming education must include a strong understanding of ecology. This may sound radical, but we must stop looking after our animals and instead look after our landscapes, for the landscape is your animal. They have a far closer connection than you ever will, but they cannot make the decision when to move to new pasture if you have given them no choice. They also cannot know that the simple process of herding generated the biodiversity we have today, when to them, herding is annoying and something reserved for surviving attack. But in this case, the ecosystem has evolved that way. I would be grumpy if I was a sheep and had to rub shoulders with my smelly relatives all the time, but if it kept me safe I would do it. In the case of our ecosystems this top down pressure of herding through predation gave us orchids and wildflowers and bees and myriad birds. Without this ceaseless fear exacted on the grazer, they simply eat too much too often and with that an entire complex ecosystem slowly ceases to exist.

So if you are a farmer, or a deer manager, align yourself more to the role of the wolf. Maybe stop considering your stock as the only important thing that you have, and instead look to the historic landscapes that once clothed your home, and begin to build them back by using your stock as a tool for restoration. We have begun doing this at home and the health and happiness of not only our animals but actually ourselves has radically improved, and so, with each new spring, and each new herald of the morning sunlight caught in the spirit of ever increasing birdsong you will know you are growing your land’s richness and securing an exciting future where we can all profit, not just people.

Toby.

Further Reading:

Call of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massy

Holistic Management by Alan Savory with Jody Butterfield.