The key to managing pastureland for plant and soil health is to manage how plants are grazed and allowed to recover. Repeated grazing of the plants without time for them to recover results in diminished root systems and soil collapse. This can lead to compaction of the soil and water runoff from the paddock. Lack of grazing results in plants that are not stimulated by being bitten by livestock. The soil food web is thus not sufficiently fed by root exudates and the effective surface area of plant leaves conducting photosynthesis is reduced. All plants must be grazed and then allowed to recover
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