Stephen Thomforde

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    • Summary of Research
      • Emergence of Grazing Ecosystems
      • Grazing and Biodiversity
      • Grazing and Environmental Impacts
      • Pasture Management for Productivity and Environmental Attributes
      • Policy, Programs and Research Needs
  • Planning a better future
    • Creating a Unified Pollinator Ecology
      • Pollinators Are Grazers
      • The Grazing Lawn
      • Cool season species
      • Increase graminoid diversity
      • Functional groups, niche theory
      • Revise Current Genotype Restriction
      • High Density Patch Planting
      • Nitrogen Pollution Issues
      • Hay Instead of Chemicals
      • More Frequent Burnings
      • Afforestation
      • Conclusion: Creating Unified Pollinator Ecology
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    • Grazing lawns as a model for urban lawns
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  • What Is Resilience?
    • What is a system?
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    • Current Landcare Strategies Versus A New Paradigm
    • Functional vs Dysfunctional Ecosystems
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November 9, 2019 by S Thomforde

What happens when grazing animals are removed from grassland savannas?

Grassland – Savanna complex without grazing, millions of acres in the Midwest landscape perpetuated in the catastrophic state: Sick land: These pictures were taken in a regional park within the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Both sites are southwest aspects on well drained Hawick gravel glacial moraine soils, perfect aspect and soils for mesic-dry and dry grassland-savannas. […]

Filed Under: Environmental Preservation, More from Stephen, Restoration Ecology

October 4, 2017 by Resilience Seed Systems

My Lawn Planted From Resilience Seed Mix

Resilience Lawn Image

This is my lawn that was planted using my Resilience Seed Mix, resulting from my research over the past decade. This seed mix is based on the “Grazing Lawn” concept, whereby herds of grazing mammals frequent some areas more than others (e.g. the shade of an oak grove on a hot summer day) and form […]

Filed Under: More from Stephen

October 7, 2016 by Resilience Seed Systems

Achieving ecological and agricultural goals through grazing

sheep grazing

This article touches on how we can achieve ecological and agricultural objectives through grazing. As a grassland ecologist, I have by default become a grazing ecologist. My first 15 years in restoration were focused only on the first trophic level; plants. During the past decade, my research and practice has been focused on restoring the […]

Filed Under: Education and Outreach, More from Stephen

October 19, 2015 by S Thomforde

Haying Prairie to Increase Diversity and Decrease Invisibility

Vegetation Chart

Impacts of haying on soil nitrogen levels, and subsequent feed backs in plant and pollinator communities Null hypothesis: Biomass harvest will have no impact on total soil nitrogen or on floristic and pollinator quality & diversity.” (Of course we hope to reject the null hypothesis) There’s a global phenomenon whereby high quality plant communities are […]

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March 18, 2015 by S Thomforde

The Old Oaks Are Dying, Can You Hear Them Crying?

Old Oak Savanna

This photo represents a typical old growth (white tribe) oak tree surrounded by a novel configuration of weedy trees. The open crown of the oak suggests the oak emerged in an open landscape, or Savanna. The savanna was maintained by herbivores grazing and grooming the vegetation (a 20 million year co-evolutionary event), and more recently […]

Filed Under: More from Stephen

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Restoration Ecology
Environmental Preservation
Education & Outreach
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