Diagnosis and Treatment of Root Cause

We used the Diagnosis and Treatment of Root Cause process to help a farmer discover why a certain field had been overtaken by rushes in recent years. He had used the small paddock along a riverbank to set stock graze a few tups, and had tried a variety of different tools to get rid of the rushes.

In Step 6, “what can we do to remedy the cause?” we noted that changes in management practice on the adjacent land may have increased the flow of water downhill to this paddock. Then, we did a little research to understand a bit more about rushes, their life cycle, and the growing conditions in which they thrive and in which they decline (i.e. their biological weak link).

This is where the research of noted soil ecologist Dr. Christine Jones comes in. She told us:

The seeds of rushes travel in the air and water and are found everywhere. Rushes only come up on bare ground because the seed is like pepper and when growing need a lot of light. They can’t compete with grass and require bare ground. Too much grass will shade them and prevent them from growing. In my trials, holistic planned grazing with herd effect [soil disturbance with high stock density for a brief period] made rushes disappear nearly completely after a few grazings. They can’t survive a good trampling because the grass is encouraged by it, whereas the rushes with their shallow roots have a hard time to come back.

This begs the question, “what happened to create the bare soil in the first place?”

Low density set stock grazing leads to two patterns — the plants favoured by the livestock tend to be overgrazed, whilst the less favoured plants tend to be undergrazed and go rank.

Eventually, when a plant is overgrazed enough times, it dies, leaving behind bare soil, which opens the door to rushes and other bare-soil-loving plants. Because these paddocks were on the damp side, rushes, a hydrophytic or water-loving plant, sprang forth.

When should you use the Diagnosis and Treatment of Root Cause process? Use it when you want to test an action with the purpose of remedying a land-based problem. The first of the seven context check questions is, “Does this action address the root cause of the problem?” If the root cause is not obvious, then turn to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Root Cause process to give yourself the best chance of identifying the underlying root cause of the problem. Otherwise, you risk addressing only symptoms, which is costly in the long-run.

Remember to humbly assume that your decision may be wrong, and observe how the habitat responds to your new management. The “Plan > Monitor > Control > Replan” process diagrammed below enables you to take corrective action quickly.

Download your FREE copy of the Diagnosis and Treatment of Root Cause process here.