Featured photos from the Managing Wholes home page

A rare photo of Allan Savory treating symptoms, just before the Africa Centre for Holistic Management began using livestock to help manage its land in 1997. Results today...

In the 1870s, Teels Marsh was open water surrounded by native grasses tall enough to touch a horse's belly. Land restoration experts Tony and Jerrie Tipton want to restore it. Article...

Soil surface management can stop erosion. Left: water from stream entering property. Right: water from same stream leaving property 1500 m (0.9 mile) downstream. Article...

This nonbrittle Siberian taiga receives 300-500 mm (11-20") of precipitation, most falling as snow. Low evaporation keeps the soil moist year-round. Article...

In a test of animal impact, this 2 ha (5 acre) test plot got repeated "nuked" with up to 1,000 cattle between very long rest periods. Result: lusher growth than outside the fence. Babbitt Ranch, Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.A. Photos: Dan Dagget.

Destroyed by feral cattle and donkeys (top), this former wetland in Australia is being restored by livestock. Article...

Scientific land management was developed in damp, (nonbrittle) climates like this. Seasonally dry and arid climates respond differently to management. Article...

A severely desertified area that grew only invading Harpuis bush and provided no food for livestock or wildlife (top) now grows lush native grasses. Notice same post in both pictures. Article...

Across the fence from where weed control failed (top), this dense sward in South Africa out-competes invasive weeds. Article...

Reseeding failed to revegetate these mine tailings in the Nevada desert (top). Restored by livestock (middle), the mine outperformed some nearby hayfields. Learn more...

Continuous grazing in the surrounding area caused this river to dry up.

Same day, same area: managed grazing is restoring this river's health. Article...

1986 (top): 11% snakeweed, 46% bare ground. 1990 (bottom): 1% snakeweed, 30% bare ground, twice as many cattle, and native plants are returning. Article...

Canadian researchers kept the leaves of this common bunch grass clipped to various lengths. Short leaves can only feed short roots. Both overgrazing and prolonged rest can cause short leaves.

Despite low precipitation and high runoff in spring before the ground thaws, this nonbrittle Siberian taiga stays moist year-round. Article...

Riprap and re-contouring failed to stop erosion on this California stream's bare banks (top). Today, stream banks revegetated by managed grazing withstand yearly flooding. Article...

Topsoil eroding from North American farmland. In 200 years, the U.S. has lost over 1/3 of its topsoil. Half of U.S. fertilizer simply replaces nutrients lost to soil erosion. Erosion slide show...

Nearby portions of Date Creek, Arizona, U.S.A., photographed on the same day. The only difference is management. Learn more...

Cattle maintaining South African veldt where most native grazers are gone. Grassland management slide show...

Land restoration expert Tony Tipton examines dying plants on desertified Nevada rangeland. Article...

Topsoil and water pour into Tamworth Creek following heavy rain near Coolah, Australia. Erosion slide show...

Landscapes that stay damp year-round, like this nonbrittle taiga in Siberia, respond to management differently than seasonally dry landscapes, regardless of total rainfall. Article...

Erosion often happens when plant roots are too shallow to hold soil. This brittle (seasonally dry) grassland in northeastern Oregon was damaged by prolonged rest from grazing. Erosion slide show...

Erosion happens easily where the soil surface is bare. Erosion slide show...

Developed in moist climates like this, modern range management produces desertification in seasonally dry and arid climates. Article...

Poor or no management destroyed most of the the forests in northern Australia's Kimberley region. Now this lone rain forest tree struggles to survive in an unrestored area. Erosion slide show...

Horses breaking up an old road for revegetation (top), and new growth colonizing the roadbed. Land restoration projects...