iDiv-based PhD student Julia Rouet-Leduc has just completed a review of the benefits of different types of grazing. As part of the ongoing GrazeLIFE project, her work will inform the discussion about how to create a more supportive policy environment for these various grazing systems in Europe. In this blog, she walks us through some of the findings from her literature review.

Extensively grazed landscapes have a higher insect diversity, because of the many effects of natural grazing. Under the terms of the GrazeLIFE project, our partner ARK Nature is studying one of these effects more explicitly: the ecological value of clean manure.

Results from the ongoing GrazeLIFE project demonstrate that natural forests, complete with naturally occurring populations of free-roaming herbivores, can boost biodiversity and reduce the scale and impact of climate change. The EU should take account of this in all relevant strategy and policy going forwards.

The three-year GrazeLIFE project is currently evaluating the benefits of various land management models involving domesticated and wild/semi-wild herbivores. This blog by Rewilding Europe partner ARK Nature provides background and details the Dutch NGO’s pioneering project work in the Netherlands.

Held in the Gelderse Poort area of the Netherlands – an early showcase of European rewilding involving natural grazing – the three-day meeting sees GrazeLIFE project partners come together for the first time. Coordinated by Rewilding Europe, the three-year project will hopefully lead to increased EU legislative support for more natural grazing systems.

The three-year, pan-European project will evaluate the benefits of various land management models involving domesticated and wild/semi-wild herbivores. It will hopefully lead to more supportive EU policy and legislation.