Rangeland Ecology & Management最新文献

{"title":"Editorial Board/Journal Info","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S1550-7424(25)00117-4","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S1550-7424(25)00117-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Page IFC"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144907422","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":"Fire Influences Patch Selection by Cattle More Strongly than Previous Grazing Events","authors":"Esben L. Kjaer ,&nbsp;Ryan F. Limb ,&nbsp;Michael Hamel ,&nbsp;Benjamin Geaumont ,&nbsp;Jason P. Harmon ,&nbsp;Torre J. Hovick ,&nbsp;Kevin Sedivec","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding where animals graze and why they choose to graze there can be critical to rangeland and ecosystem management with misunderstandings of grazing distribution and behavior often being detrimental to management goals. Over time, grazing animals create grazing lawns that attract grazing animals due to ease of accessibility to more palatable regrowth. Similarly, fire can defoliate large areas of vegetation and promote new plant growth that is preferentially grazed by herbivores (i.e., pyric-herbivory in a patch-burn grazing framework). Grazer distribution in pyric-herbivory studies has been tracked through various metrics that produce valuable data. However, these data often lack precise information on what animals consume and do not account for differential plant production, limiting our ability to understand and apply pyric-herbivory to rangeland management through patch-burn grazing. Simultaneously monitoring plant biomass production and livestock grazing utilization would be the most comprehensive method to show site selection by grazing animals. To examine how previous grazing events influence grazing patterns, we collected data over 3 years on the utilization rate of patches by cattle in patch-burn grazing pastures and compared them to utilization rates in season-long grazed pastures. We found that regardless of management, grazing patterns were influenced by grazing in prior years. However, grazing in patch-burn pastures was more strongly influenced by fire than previous grazing events. Our results suggest that in the absence of additional disturbances, grazing patterns from previous years influence grazing patterns in the current year. However, disturbances that remove dead vegetation and promote regrowth, such as fire, override the influence of previous grazing patterns, modifying patch selection. Moving forward, these disturbances can be used to negate the effect of established grazing lawns and promote targeted grazing in areas with fresh regrowth, which benefits management goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 29-36"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144570106","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":"Influence of Overhead Vegetation and Economic impact on Nest Success of Ground-Nesting Birds in Chinese Grasslands: A Case Study From Inner Mongolia","authors":"Hongtao Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>China’s semi-arid grasslands, particularly in Inner Mongolia, are undergoing rapid ecological changes due to overgrazing, agricultural expansion, and land degradation—threatening the reproductive success of native ground-nesting birds. This study investigates how overhead vegetation structure influences nest site selection and survival of the Mongolian Lark (Melanocorypha mongolica) and examines the broader economic implications of habitat degradation on avian reproductive success. Across 4 breeding seasons (2018–2022), 147 nests were monitored, revealing a 73% failure rate—predation being the primary cause. Using logistic regression and habitat modeling, results showed that denser overhead vegetation significantly improved daily nest survival rates, highlighting its protective role against aerial predators and microclimatic stress. Birds showed a clear preference for structurally complex, shrubby grasslands with tall clumps and high upper visual obstruction, while edges and perches had minimal influence on site selection. These findings underscore the ecological value of maintaining vegetation heterogeneity and suggest that preserving or restoring such features has cost-effective benefits for avian biodiversity. Economically, the conservation of structurally intact grasslands could reduce the need for costly species protection programs by enhancing natural nest survival. Therefore, habitat management strategies that promote tall, overhead vegetation in grasslands represent not only an ecological priority but also a sustainable investment in biodiversity conservation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 145-152"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144686124","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":"Assessment of Drought Impact on Rangelands Using Multi-Index Remote Sensing Approach","authors":"Zhewen Zhao ,&nbsp;Rana Waqar Aslam ,&nbsp;Iram Naz ,&nbsp;Zohaib Afzal ,&nbsp;Anum Liaqut ,&nbsp;Muhammad Azeem Liaquat ,&nbsp;Hela Elmannai ,&nbsp;Rana Muhammad Zulqarnain","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.018","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.018","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluates drought impacts on rangeland ecosystems in during 2024 using multiple remote sensing indices and land use/land cover analysis. The research integrates vegetation-related indices (NDVI, VCI, VHI, ESI), water-related indices (NDWI, SMI, SPI, TCI), and drought-specific indices (PDSI, DSI, NDDI, LST) to assess drought severity across the region's limited rangeland resources. Land Use/Land Cover classification reveals that rangelands occupy only 1,319.3 km² (1%) of the total area, predominantly in western and southwestern regions where drought conditions are more severe. Rangelands exhibit poor vegetation health with low NDVI values (0.12–0.25) and below-normal vegetation conditions (VCI 25–45), particularly in western areas where VHI values fall below 30. Water-related indices show severe moisture deficits, with negative NDWI values (–0.35 to –0.45) and low soil moisture (SMI 0.07–0.11). Comprehensive drought indices confirm moderate to severe drought conditions, with PDSI values ranging from –40 to –80 and DSI values between –25 and –40. Correlation analysis reveals generally weak relationships among indices (coefficients between –0.25 and 0.25), supporting the value of a multi-index approach. Comparative analysis shows that rangelands experience greater drought stress than irrigated croplands but less extreme conditions than bare ground areas, with intermediate NDVI (0.18), NDWI (–0.39), and PDSI (–45.2) values. These findings provide critical information for developing targeted drought management policies and adaptive rangeland conservation strategies in arid regions. The multi-index approach provides a framework for comprehensive drought assessment in rangeland ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 198-209"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144772665","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":"Distribution of Plant Functional Groups in Relation to Continuous Grazing and Distance to Water Sources for Livestock in the Arid Chaco, Argentina","authors":"Juan Antonio Scaglia ,&nbsp;Daniel German Flores ,&nbsp;Raúl Tapia ,&nbsp;Mariana Martinelli ,&nbsp;María Gabriela Navea ,&nbsp;Marcia Diaz Peluffo","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the Arid Chaco savannahs, the presence of permanent water sources for livestock affects the spatial patterns of grazing, generating a gradient of grazing intensity that affects the composition of plant communities and the functioning of the ecosystem. The characteristics of plant species give rise to species-specific responses to environmental stimuli. These characteristics can group species into different functional plant groups that determine the effect of various disturbances on the functioning of the ecosystem. In this context, our study proposes the hypothesis that continuous grazing associated with permanent water sources generates a cumulative livestock pressure that determines different ecological conditions for plant communities in different geomorphological units. Under this hypothesis, we make the following predictions: 1) The distribution of water sources directly and indirectly influences the spatial distribution of functional plant groups, and 2) Variation in the quality of forage resources is associated with the distribution of some functional plant groups. Five plant functional groups were defined: annual nonfodder herbaceous plants, perennial nonfodder herbaceous plants, fodder woody plants, fodder herbaceous plants, and nonfodder woody plants. The plant functional groups significantly affected were those related to the production of fodder herbaceous plants and nonfodder woody plants. The relationship between the contribution of the functional groups of plants and the forage quality of the plant communities in the geomorphological units studied shows that forage grasses have a positive relationship and nonforage woody plants have a negative relationship. At distances greater than 1 250 m in the alluvial plain and 1 900 m in the foothills, the growth of forage species increase significantly. This can serve as a reference for planning the distribution of water sources for livestock in semi-arid plains, such as the area studied.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 48-59"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144579870","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":"Corrigendum to “Well-Connected Core Areas Retain Ecological Integrity of Sagebrush Ecosystems Amidst Overall Declines From 2001–2021” [Rangeland Ecology & Management Volume 97, November 2024, Pages 41-50]","authors":"David M. Theobald ,&nbsp;Alexander V. Kumar ,&nbsp;Kevin Doherty ,&nbsp;Katherine A. Zeller ,&nbsp;Todd B. Cross","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.014","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Page 218"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144907424","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":"Mapping and Modeling Aboveground Biomass Dynamics in Savanna Grasslands Southern Ethiopia","authors":"Yeneayehu Fenetahun ,&nbsp;Wang Yongdong ,&nbsp;You Yuan ,&nbsp;Ogbue Chukwuka ,&nbsp;Yahaya Ibrahim ,&nbsp;Xu Xinwen","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the dynamics of aboveground biomass in savanna grasslands is essential for effective land management and conservation, particularly in regions like Southern Ethiopia, where these ecosystems are widespread. This research introduces a prototype model that integrates field measurements and remote sensing data to monitor biomass dynamics more accurately. The model provides a strong framework for precisely tracking biomass fluctuations and comprehending the processes impacting these dynamics in savanna grasslands by combining both field and remote sensing data. The model demonstrated strong correlations between predicted and observed biomass: R² = 0.71 during the rainy season, R² = 0.63 during the dry season, and R² = 0.83 for annual averages. Consequently, our data show regions with high biomass productivity as well as those that are vulnerable to degradation and offer insightful information about the spatial patterns of biomass distribution. The findings present a reliable tool for monitoring aboveground biomass changes in savanna grasslands, supporting informed land management and conservation efforts. Additionally, the model's adaptability to similar ecosystems can enhance our understanding of global savanna dynamics and promote sustainable land management practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 128-138"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144633176","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":"Movements and Survival of Adult Mule Deer Bucks in a Wildlife Enterprise Trophy Ranching Context","authors":"Louis C. Bender ,&nbsp;Mike Reardon ,&nbsp;Allen Darrow ,&nbsp;James Lucero","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.05.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ranch economics are increasingly dependent upon wildlife enterprises throughout the arid Southwestern USA and Mexico, and mule deer (<em>Odocoileus hemionus</em>) are perhaps the most economically important species in the region. Because significant investments by landowners are necessary for trophy management (i.e., high adult sex [buck:doe] ratio, high buck survival, and advanced [older] buck age structure), loss of bucks to adjacent properties and increased mortality on ranches (both a potential consequence of more intense competition among deer under trophy management) could represent significant disincentives to managers. Hence, we evaluated the movements and survival of adult bucks in a ranch context in northeastern New Mexico, USA, to evaluate these concerns. We found that both concerns were warranted, especially for small ranching enterprises. Despite small home ranges (16.0 km²) and core areas (4.4 km²) due to intensive management for quality deer habitat, deer spent ca. 40% of their time on adjacent properties regardless of season, and half of deer with &gt;50% of their annual ranges on adjacent properties were harvested there. Similarly, low body condition postrut predisposed all age (year)-classes of bucks to nonharvest mortality, likely an unavoidable consequence of trophy management. The most important consideration with respect to off-ranch movements is ranch size; properties &lt; 4× larger than adult buck home ranges in arid Southwestern environments should question if investment in trophy buck production is viable. For ranches lacking intensive deer habitat improvement programs, adult buck home ranges are likely &gt; 20 km², suggesting a size of ≥ 80 km² for ranches to ensure that a significant proportion of adult bucks are full-time residents, and hence allow managers to realize returns from trophy management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 11-17"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144501440","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":"heterogeneityR: An R Package for the Measurement of Rangeland Vegetation Structure From Ground-Based Digital Imagery","authors":"Remy C. Sutherland,&nbsp;Nathan M. Moore,&nbsp;Alexander G. Barnes,&nbsp;Samuel D. Fuhlendorf","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Measurement of vegetation structure is highly relevant to many rangeland management objectives, but the utility of individual methods for monitoring or research purposes can be constrained by temporal and financial cost, applicability, and associated error. Previous methodological advancements have reduced surveyor bias and field collection time using ground-based digital imagery. However, these techniques can present their own limitations including increased processing time, cost of specialized equipment or software, and incompatibility across ecosystems. Here we present <em>heterogeneityR</em>, a free software package developed within the open-source R environment, to address previous methodological constraints. The package provides an automated image analysis pipeline that uses a machine learning framework to rapidly calculate an assortment of vegetation metrics (including visual obstruction, height, fuel loading, and structural heterogeneity) from field collected imagery and is customizable to training datasets specific to a user’s site, vegetation characteristics, and objectives. We evaluated the efficacy of the package using data collected within tallgrass prairie pastures that are grazed and patch-burned on a three-year rotation to create a mosaic of patches that vary with time since fire. Visual obstruction estimates were correlated with standing biomass of overall vegetation (R² = 0.90) and individual fuel types (live fuel R² = 0.81, dead fuel R² = 0.70). Time since fire had a significant effect on all model outputs and multiple comparisons tests revealed differences between burn patches for most metrics, indicating the high degree of patch-scale variance within the system. Our results demonstrate the utility of <em>heterogeneityR</em> to efficiently assess field collected data relevant to objectives in livestock production, fuels management, and conservation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 72-80"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144587507","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":"Risks and Rewards of Pre-emergent Herbicide (Indaziflam) to Defend Core Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystems Under Suboptimal Precipitation","authors":"Brynne E. Lazarus,&nbsp;Matthew J. Germino","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2025.06.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Protection of intact habitat from the spread of invasive plants is a global priority, especially where invaders alter wildfire occurrence. Invasion of perennial sagebrush-steppe ecosystems by cheatgrass and other fire-promoting exotic annual grasses (EAGs) is one of the most notorious examples of this problem. Protection and expansion of the remaining intact “core” sagebrush areas are key management goals, and whether this can be accomplished by temporarily inhibiting annual plant populations with pre-emergent herbicides is a key question. We applied indaziflam in fall 2019 to replicate plots within two sagebrush-steppe sites in the Northern Great Basin, USA: 1) a relatively intact, uninvaded, unburned “core” site and 2) a partially invaded site that burned in the 2015 Soda Wildfire. Vegetation cover, density, and growth responses of native perennials were measured annually to 2024. We asked whether our treatments “defended” and “grew” core sagebrush areas. EAG cover remained &lt;15% in indaziflam-treated plots while increasing to &gt;30% in control plots by the fifth year after treatment at the unburned site but did not differ with treatment at the burned site. Native perennial grasses, forbs, and big sagebrush cover and growth did not differ with indaziflam treatment at either site. Moss cover was temporarily lower in indaziflam-treated plots at the unburned site, and cover of a native annual forb was significantly lower in indaziflam-treated plots throughout the study across both sites. Despite posttreatment drought and apparent patchiness in treatment implementation, our treatments “defended the core” by preventing crossing of the 20% EAG invasion threshold in the unburned site but not did not “grow the core.” Our results provide an example of a case in which proactive protection may be easier to accomplish than reactive restoration. Herbicide treatment effects may be sensitive to weather and application details. Implementation monitoring could help explain variability and improve success.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 153-159"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144695244","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}