Rangeland Ecology & Management最新文献

{"title":"The Degradation of Rangelands in Mongolia: An Actor-Centered Institutionalist Approach","authors":"Javkhlan Nyamjav ,&nbsp;Tanya Baycheva-Merger ,&nbsp;Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In Mongolia, 65% of rangelands are degraded to variable extent compared to their reference state. Despite numerous efforts, a regulatory instrument in the form of a Rangeland Law has not yet been adopted and implemented. Previous studies have focused on the degradation of rangelands through investigations of vegetation, and of institutions responsible for land regulations. However, no study has yet attempted to analyze this regulatory gap (i.e., the absence of Rangeland Law), and studies on interlinkages between the institutional void and rangeland degradation continue to be rare in Mongolia. By employing a qualitative research method involving policy documents and semistructured interviews, this study addresses these gaps from a novel perspective by examining the institutional and actor-oriented factors that have impeded the adoption of the Rangeland Law for the past decades based on the Actor-Centered Institutionalism framework. The research findings indicate that institutional factors influence the adoption of the Rangeland Law more strongly than actor-oriented factors and that the challenges facing rangeland governance in Mongolia are deeply intertwined with political dynamics and vested interests. Addressing these challenges requires an effort to depoliticize the discourse, to prioritize sustainable management practices, and to safeguard the cultural heritage and well-being of Mongolia’s herding communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selectivity Strategy and Forage Plant Use by Dromedaries in Saharan Rangeland in the Region of Ouargla (Algeria)","authors":"Hassen Mahma ,&nbsp;Abdelmadjid Chehma ,&nbsp;Johann Huguenin","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aim of this study was to monitor the grazing and utilization of feed resources by dromedary camels in the Saharan rangelands around Ouargla Algeria, and to illustrate how camels contribute to the maintenance and improvement of their environment despite the limited vegetation. The research methodology employed the tooth strikes method, involving direct observation of biting. In this study, a camcorder was used for the first time as a means to record camel activity on the range, aiming to prevent any loss of information. Recording sessions of 1 hour each were conducted in the morning and afternoon for each female camel, under conditions of decreasing vegetation availability during each season. The monitoring results revealed that dromedaries exhibit a distinct attitude toward plants. They allow the regeneration of less abundant species by taking small bites while consuming more extensively from the more abundant species. Statistical analysis demonstrated a highly significant relationship between species abundance and grazing probability (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). According to the “Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector” method, species with an abundance exceeding 13% have a sampling probability with a precision of 76.8%. In contrast, species with an abundance between 6% and 13% have a 45% probability of grazing, while those with an occurrence rate of 6% have a 7% probability of grazing. Likewise, the analysis of variance test indicated a highly significant relationship between plant height and grazing time (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.000). Consequently, the number of plant parts consumed was found to be proportional to the plant’s height. The camel’s behavior toward its environment facilitates the regeneration and preservation of plant cover in its pastures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 147-154"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144272275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Patch-Burn Grazing is Similar to Annual Burning in Effects on Belowground Invertebrates in Tallgrass Prairie","authors":"Zachary L.T. Bunch ,&nbsp;Meghan L. Avolio ,&nbsp;Sally E. Koerner ,&nbsp;Kevin R. Wilcox ,&nbsp;Lydia H. Zeglin ,&nbsp;Kimberly J. Komatsu","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Patch-Burn Grazing (PBG) is a rangeland management strategy that aims to promote heterogeneity across a landscape by burning rotating discrete patches of land, which draws cattle to the most recently burned areas. This is in contrast to Annual-Burn Grazing (ABG), which is a commonly used management practice across the rangelands of the midwestern United States that tends to homogenize the grazing landscape. PBG has been thought to promote biodiversity of a variety of taxa, including birds, small mammals, and plants. However, the impacts of PBG on invertebrate communities are not well understood. Here we investigate the effects of these alternative fire-grazing management strategies on soil-dwelling invertebrate communities in a tallgrass prairie rangeland ecosystem. Specifically, we examine the effects of each management style on overall biodiversity and variability of belowground invertebrates across the landscape, as well as the responses within individual burn areas of PBG. We found that soil-dwelling invertebrate richness at the plot-scale was higher in ABG compared to PBG, while community composition and abundance did not differ between the two management methods. Additionally, richness, evenness, and abundance of belowground invertebrates did not differ across the PBG landscape based on years since burning. Finally, beta-diversity of belowground invertebrates across the landscape did not differ between PBG and ABG. Overall, our results suggest that PBG does not differ from ABG in its impact on biodiversity in belowground invertebrate communities. Further research investigating why some taxa (e.g., birds, small mammals) respond differently than others (e.g., belowground invertebrates) would help inform land management decisions across the region. Understanding these dynamics expands our insights surrounding how heterogeneity driven by fire-grazing interactions impacts rangeland invertebrates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 140-146"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144272276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatiotemporal Assessment of Land Use Land Cover Change Detection and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index in Desert Area","authors":"Imran Aziz Tunio ,&nbsp;Sheeraz Ahmed Memon ,&nbsp;Habibullah Abbasi ,&nbsp;Abdul Ahad Abro ,&nbsp;Love Kumar ,&nbsp;Muhammad Abdullah Tunio ,&nbsp;Abdul Rehman Tunio ,&nbsp;Jaten Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.03.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.03.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the spatiotemporal changes in land use land cover (LULC) from 1990 to 2023 in the Islamkot subdistrict of Tharparkar, Pakistan, an area known for its vast coal reserves and environmental challenges. A change detection analysis was performed using the maximum likelihood supervised classification method, and a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis was conducted to evaluate vegetation variations. The findings indicate significant changes in land cover patterns: settlement, vegetation, water bodies, and mining areas increased by approximately 3.02%, 20.2%, 3.8%, and 0.9%, respectively, while bare land decreased by 27.9%. The primary drivers of these changes were identified as mining activities and precipitation variations. These results provide a foundation for informed land use planning, conservation efforts, and regional sustainable development strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 126-139"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144230715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nutritional Dynamics of Plant Growth Forms in a Forest-Grassland Mosaic","authors":"Noah G. Davis ,&nbsp;Samuel A. Wyffels ,&nbsp;Daalkhaijav Damiran ,&nbsp;Enkhjargal Darambazar ,&nbsp;Martin Vavra ,&nbsp;Robert A. Riggs ,&nbsp;Timothy DelCurto","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The objectives of this study were to determine the influence of plant community type, forest stand age, and season on the forage quality of plant growth forms in a forest-grassland mosaic. We determined the forage quality of plant growth forms (graminoids, forbs, and shrubs) at 64 sites in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, over four dates between May and September over two years. Samples were analyzed for crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Sites were classified according to climax vegetation and grouped as either forested (ponderosa pine, <em>Pinus ponderosa</em>; Douglas-fir, <em>Pseudotsuga menziesii</em>; grand fir, <em>Abies grandis</em>) or non-forested (meadow or grassland). Forested sites were also categorized as “young” or “old” based on mean diameter at breast height of less than or greater than 37.5 cm, respectively. Graminoid and forb CP in early May were 3.5 and 2.5 points greater in the grand fir community type than the other forested types (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.01) and were 2.7 and 4.9 points greater in the meadow type than the grassland type (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.04). In mid-September, graminoid CP was similar between all community types (<em>P</em> ≥ 0.78). In early May, forb ADF and NDF were similar between all community types (<em>P</em> ≥ 0.18). In mid-September, forb ADF was 10.7 points lower in the ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir types than in all other community types (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.02). Forb ADF and NDF were greater in young stands than in old stands (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Furthermore, forb ADF was 11.4 points greater in the young grand fir community type than all other forested types (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Our study characterizes forage quality across the growing season in diverse vegetation types and, in turn, can be applied to wildlife and livestock management to predict and manage animal landscape distribution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 117-125"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144230714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ranch-Level Economics of Lesser Prairie Chicken Conservation Practice Implementation","authors":"John A. Tanaka,&nbsp;Kristie A. Maczko,&nbsp;Jessica L. Windh","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.03.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.03.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In 2022, the lesser prairie chicken's northern distinct population segment was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and the southern distinct population segment was listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approximately 95% of the land area of the species is in private land ownership. Conservation is thus focused on these lands with funding potentially supplied through Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs, most notably through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Under EQIP, practice payments are made to landowners to implement planned conservation practices. Trees and uniform grazing are viewed as two of the main threats to the lesser prairie chicken over its range. We seek to estimate the economic impact of implementing lesser prairie chicken conservation practices on small and large representative ranches in 4 Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA). Models were developed in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) as recursive linear programs and run for 20 years using random cattle price sets and precipitation patterns for each MLRA. Baseline models were first developed to balance forage with the average herd size; conservation practice models that implemented practices on all or half the rangeland area, with the ranch paying 100, 25, or 0% of the conservation cost, were then compared to the baseline models. This modeling exercise shows that restoring lesser prairie chicken habitat on private ranches may or may not be profitable for the rancher or the ranch household. However, all of the scenarios show that with some level of financial assistance ranchers can implement LPC conservation practices without experiencing lasting negative impacts to their ranch or personal household incomes. The size of the ranch, how much area needs to be treated, the forage response to removing trees, cattle prices, and how much of the conservation practices need to be paid by the rancher all affect the profitability of restoration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 104-116"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144205450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thresholds and Driving Mechanisms of Plateau Pika Burrowing on Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Alpine Meadows","authors":"Yingxin Wang ,&nbsp;Luxi Peng ,&nbsp;Ziying Huang ,&nbsp;Lu Pei ,&nbsp;Jinxin Zhang ,&nbsp;Yongqiang Qian","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The activities of plateau pika (<em>Ochotona curzoniae</em>) significantly influence ecosystem functions and services in alpine meadow, yet further investigation is required to explore how pika burrowing impacts the ecosystem multifunctionality and its underlying drivers. Here, we evaluated the response of ecosystem multifunctionality to carrying levels of pika burrowing activity using various methodologies, including field surveys, laboratory analyses, and model approaches. Our study demonstrated that the criticality and reliability of ecosystem multifunctionality assessment in determining optimal pika burrowing thresholds surpass the utility of individual indicators. Specifically, maintaining low levels of pika burrowing disturbance emerges as essential for preserving multiple ecosystem functions. We observed that ecosystem multifunctionality and species richness peaked when pika burrowing densities were approximately 780 and 730 burrows per hectare, respectively. The critical threshold of pika burrowing density impacting ecosystem multifunctionality (transitioning from positive to negative) was identified at around 1 500 burrows per hectare. Structural equation models revealed that under low pika burrowing conditions, belowground ecosystem functions predominantly shaped ecosystem multifunctionality. Conversely, under high pika burrowing conditions, ecosystem multifunctionality was regulated by altering species richness and soil temperature. These findings put forward a broader insight into evaluating the relationship between ecosystem functions and plateau pika burrowing activities, offering a basis for developing reasonable ecological management strategies for rodent control in alpine meadow ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 93-103"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144205449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spread of Forage Kochia in Invasive Annual Grass-Dominated Sagebrush Steppe","authors":"Kirk W. Davies ,&nbsp;Lauren N. Svejcar ,&nbsp;Danielle R. Clenet","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forage kochia (<em>Kochia prostrata</em> (L.) Schrad.) is a nonnative, semi-shrub that has been seeded in the western US to improve forage and habitat value of nonnative grasslands, compete with invasive plants, and as green-strips to reduce wildfire spread. As with other introduced plants, there are concerns that it may spread from areas it has been seeded. Current information on the potential for forage kochia to spread are inconclusive and reported results contradict each other. Thus, empirical studies investigating its spread over long-term (10 yr) periods of time are needed to guide land management decision. We investigated the spread of “Snowstorm” forage kochia at 11 invasive annual grass-dominated plant communities in southeastern Oregon a decade after they had been seeded. The seeding boundary was permanently marked at the time of seeding to ensure accurate measurements of forage kochia spread. Forage kochia established beyond the seeding boundary at two of the 11 seeded sites. The maximum distance that forage kochia spread from the seeding boundary was 65 cm. These results suggest that forage kochia does not readily spread in annual grass-dominated sagebrush steppe and what little spread it exhibited was over a relatively short distance. The risk of forage kochia spreading and dominating annual grass-invaded rangelands, at least in this region, appears minimal. Additional investigations of forage kochia spread in different environments and across various plant communities is warranted to inform land managers of any potential risks. Multiple decades evaluations of its potential to spread would also be important. Even though additional research would be valuable, our results that forage kochia does not readily spread suggest it may be a relatively safe option to seed to diversify nonnative grasslands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 89-92"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modeling Future Lehmann Lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana) Distribution in Texas and Adjacent Areas","authors":"Juan G. García-Cancel ,&nbsp;Robert D. Cox","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.04.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lehmann lovegrass is non-native in North America and has recently been expanding its distribution with potentially detrimental effects for native plants and compounding ecological ramifications in the southwest United States. This grass has a low palatability for livestock and can create connecting fuel corridors in historically discontinuous landscapes, creating potential for novel fires. We collected publicly available geographic locations for this species in the eastern portion of its Texas range and developed maximum entropy models to determine potential range expansion through several climate change scenarios. We found that Lehmann lovegrass is likely to expand significantly in all projected models, suggesting concerns for species conservation and livestock production in the more arid areas of the study, which are expected to suffer more intense and prolonged drought episodes in the rest of the 21st century.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 80-88"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144116450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Managing for Flexibility on U.S. Forest Service Grazing Allotments","authors":"Susan Charnley ,&nbsp;Paige L. Stanley ,&nbsp;Abigail R. Kaminski","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.03.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.03.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many ranchers in the western U.S. operate in a rangeland environment characterized by seasonal and annual fluctuations in water and forage, recurring drought, spreading invasive plants, increased wildfire, warming temperatures, shifting grazing seasons, and predators. Climate change is predicted to exacerbate these characteristics. Flexible grazing management can facilitate adaptation to western rangelands while meeting desired resource conditions, including on federal lands, where thousands of western ranchers graze livestock for at least part of the year. To investigate current strategies and opportunities for promoting flexibility on federal grazing allotments managed by the U.S. Forest Service, we employed a survey of agency rangeland management specialists in the western U.S. (Forest Service Regions 1-6). We received responses from 129 individuals across 53 national forest and grassland units. We found that numerous practices supporting flexible grazing management were already in use on at least some units, and that laws and policies governing grazing on Forest Service lands were perceived as a minor constraint to flexibility. The primary policy change desired is the ability to increase use of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) categorical exclusions for rangeland improvement projects. Survey respondents perceived the main barriers to increasing flexibility in grazing management as being internal to the Forest Service. Prominent among them are budget and staffing limitations, the NEPA process, lack of capacity to conduct ecological monitoring, and fear of litigation. Managers offered multiple ideas for overcoming these barriers while emphasizing the need for increased budgets and staffing to implement flexible management approaches. We found that greater investment in and prioritization of the Rangeland Management Program within the Forest Service could help address lack of program capacity and alleviate some constraints to flexible grazing management on allotments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"101 ","pages":"Pages 64-79"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144068163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}