Rangeland Ecology & Management最新文献

{"title":"Late Summer Intensive Grazing, an Alternative to Herbicide Application in Rangelands of the Flooding Pampa","authors":"Joaquín Asad ,&nbsp;Kevin Van Sundert ,&nbsp;Ana V. Eljall Qüesta ,&nbsp;Pablo Preliasco ,&nbsp;Josefina L. De Paepe","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Flooding Pampa harbors grasslands of high conservation value and provides grazing ground for extensive livestock production in uplands while lowlands are less productive. The Aboveground Net Primary Productivity (ANPP) of cool-season C3 grasses limits livestock production in this region. Consequently, two managements have been implemented to promote ANPP of these upland grasses, in contrast to the No Promotion (NP) traditional management with continuous stocking during the entire year: Herbicide Promotion (HP), and less commonly, Late Summer Intensive Grazing (LSIG). Here, we compare the effectiveness of LSIG as a potential alternative to herbicide application in promoting cool-season grass production and evaluate both short- and longer-term impacts on inter- and sub-annual ANPP. To this end, we integrated remotely sensed ANPP data from 2013 to 2019 with rainfall data from meteorological stations, field observations, and management information provided by farm managers. We found that in comparison to NP in uplands, both HP and LSIG successfully promoted ANPP during the cooler months (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). However, under HP, this came at the expense of warm-season grasses and annual ANPP, to such an extent that upland annual ANPP under HP was reduced to similar values of the normally less productive lowlands. Our study showed that cool-season grasses can be successfully promoted with or without herbicide use, but HP leads to a longer-term degradation of forage resources. Contrary to HP, LSIG is a management that reconciles the dual goals of livestock production and grassland conservation in the Flooding Pampa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"98 ","pages":"Pages 9-17"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142746896","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":"Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Responses to Long-Term Flood Irrigation and Fertilization in High-Elevation Hay Meadows","authors":"Daniel M. Adamson ,&nbsp;Urszula Norton ,&nbsp;Jay B. Norton ,&nbsp;Shannon E. Albeke ,&nbsp;Brian M. Sebade ,&nbsp;Linda T.A. van Diepen","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.07.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.07.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rangelands are an important grazing resource worldwide, but in many regions, supplemental forage is needed to support grazing during parts of the year. Mountain irrigated hay meadows are an integral hay-producing component of livestock operations in the Intermountain Western United States (US), but productive capacity is made challenging by short growing season (elevation &gt;2000 m) and inefficient flood irrigation strategies. Further, these factors have reduced residue decomposition and led to the development of an organic horizon at the soil surface which stores large amounts of soil organic matter (SOM) and nitrogen (N). Better understanding of N-cycling and SOM dynamics is necessary to improve N management and sustainability of forage production in meadows. A field study was conducted at four ranches in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado, US, in 2021 to evaluate the effect of long-term flood irrigation and N fertilization on soil carbon (C) and N pools. Soil pits were excavated to 1.5-m depth in three management systems: unirrigated rangeland, irrigated-unfertilized meadow, and irrigated-fertilized meadow. In each pit, genetic soil horizons were sampled and analyzed for total organic C (TOC), total N (TN), dissolved organic C (DOC), and N (DON), microbial biomass C (MBC), and N (MBN), potentially mineralizable C (PMC), and N (PMN), nitrate, and ammonium. Irrigation dramatically increased TOC concentration at the soil surface, and also increased TOC in the entire profile. However, N fertilization negated the effects of irrigation, as fertilized meadow stabile and labile C and N pools more closely resembled those of rangelands. Fertilized and unfertilized meadows had less labile C and N per unit of stable C and N compared to rangelands, and lower PMN, suggesting lower SOM mineralization or loss to leaching. Alternative irrigation strategies that reduce soil waterlogging will likely improve SOM cycling and forage production in hay meadows but should be balanced with SOM sequestration and other ecosystem services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"98 ","pages":"Pages 283-292"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142746791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revisiting the Rotational Grazing Dilemma: The Role of Terminology in System Comparison Outcomes","authors":"Tong Wang ,&nbsp;Urs Kreuter","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The contentious rotational grazing debate has continued without resolution for decades with proponents and opponents drawing contradictory evidence-based conclusions. Lack of explicit distinction in grazing systems’ terminology may be an important contributor to the contradictory conclusions, but this issue has received scant attention. To better understand the role of terminology in the grazing management efficacy, we surveyed 870 ranchers in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas during January to March 2022. Dividing ranchers into extensive, intermediate, and intensive groups based on their self-identified grazing practice and paddock numbers, we compared a wide range of variables including ranch/rancher characteristics and grazing outcomes among the three groups. We found that the extensive group differed from the intermediate group in 4–15% of the examined variables, whereas the extensive and intensive groups differed in 63–81% of the variables. In terms of ranching outcomes, we found no difference between the extensive and intermediate groups, yet the extensive group differed from the intensive group in 50–100% of the studied outcomes. Such differences highlight the importance of distinguishing between intermediate and intensive grazing management groups when examining the benefits of rotational grazing over continuous grazing, a notable deficiency in much of the previous literature. Our results also point to the need to refine terminology used for grazing management strategies and intensity to ensure consistent comparisons across studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"98 ","pages":"Pages 246-255"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142746899","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 and Grazing Reduce Invasive Grass Thatch in Rangelands","authors":"Esben L. Kjaer ,&nbsp;Ryan Limb ,&nbsp;Benjamin Geaumont ,&nbsp;Jason Harmon ,&nbsp;Torre Hovick ,&nbsp;Kevin Sedivec","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rangelands globally are invaded by exotic species. In the northern Great Plains, Kentucky bluegrass (hereafter, “bluegrass”) invades rangelands by forming a thick thatch layer that alters water and nutrient cycling and prevents seed germination by native plants. Consequently, management actions that focus on reducing the bluegrass thatch layer have a greater chance of successfully promoting native plant diversity. To determine how different rangeland management practices impact bluegrass thatch, we measured thatch depth at multiple points across pastures invaded by bluegrass in south-central North Dakota. Each pasture was managed with either patch-burn grazing, modified twice-over rest-rotational grazing (MTORG), or season-long grazing. We also measured thatch in a control pasture that was neither burned nor grazed the previous 5 years. Both the patch-burn grazing and MTORG pastures were designed to increase landscape-level heterogeneity and promote biodiversity. We found that all forms of rangeland management resulted in a thinner thatch layer than our control pasture (3.92 ± 0.27 cm). However, pastures managed with patch-burn grazing had less thatch (1.79 ± 0.03 cm) than those managed with either MTORG (2.60 ± 0.03 cm) or season-long grazing (2.59 ± 0.05 cm). These results suggest that any form of cattle grazing can reduce bluegrass thatch, however fire followed by grazing can further reduce bluegrass thatch. A reduction in thatch resulting from interacting fire and grazing may lessen the impact of bluegrass on rangelands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"98 ","pages":"Pages 414-418"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142746259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climate Change Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Strategies for Land Managers on Northwest US Rangelands","authors":"Anna T. Maher ,&nbsp;Holly R. Prendeville ,&nbsp;Jessica E. Halofsky ,&nbsp;Mary M. Rowland ,&nbsp;Kirk W. Davies ,&nbsp;Chad S. Boyd","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.04.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.04.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rangelands around the globe are experiencing management challenges associated with existing and emerging stressors, including more frequent and severe fires, woody species expansion, annual grass invasion, heavy, repeated growing season grazing, and climate change. Disturbance is an essential part of rangeland systems. Yet climate change is likely to affect rangelands most directly by increasing the likelihood, severity, and extent of long term, negative impacts from disturbance. We conducted a synthesis of key vulnerabilities to climate change for Northwest US rangelands. These rangelands are projected to become warmer and drier this century, with episodes of more extreme droughts and higher likelihood of more severe fires affecting larger areas. Many of the vulnerabilities identified in our synthesis, such as increased frequency of fire and invasive grass proliferation, can have lasting effects, leading to “undesirable transformations” (substantial and persistent changes in vegetation composition and reductions in ecosystem services). For example, larger, more severe fires have led to the rapid loss of critical Greater sage-grouse habitat and diminished forage production capacity for livestock in some areas, lowering provisioning of ecosystem services, increasing fire management costs, and impacting rural livelihoods. Rangeland managers need guidance connecting climate change projections to on-the-ground management actions. We conclude from our synthesis of climate change vulnerabilities that supporting rangeland recovery is an important climate adaptation approach on Northwest rangelands. Proactive climate adaptation strategies (e.g., supporting soil health and vegetation) and example practices (e.g., establishing climate-adapted perennial plant species) are presented according to key action areas: prepare for, respond to, and recover from disturbance. Identifying specific adaptation needs at more local scales, like the management unit level, may be further refined through proactive planning and experimentation in collaborative settings that allow for resource pooling and foster learning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"98 ","pages":"Pages 399-413"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142192453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of Postwildfire Mechanical Seeding on Soil Properties in Wyoming Big Sagebrush Communities","authors":"Brian M. Morra ,&nbsp;Beth A. Newingham ,&nbsp;Amy C. Ganguli ,&nbsp;Brian K. Howard ,&nbsp;Nancy L. Shaw","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Reduction of vegetation following wildfire in rangelands of the western United States can result in invasion of exotic annual grasses and elevated soil loss to wind erosion. In response to these threats, various mechanical seeding methods (such as drill seeding and mechanical mixing of broadcast seeds) are commonly employed by restoration practitioners. Despite their common use, little information exists about how additional disturbance from mechanical seeding (following wildfire disturbance) may further contribute to soil loss from wind erosion. Here, we compared the effects of mechanical seeding techniques on soil properties following two wildfires occurring in similar climates with contrasting soil textures (silty loam and gravelly loam soils). Using either a rangeland or minimum-till drill to create furrows or mix broadcasted seeds into soils, we quantified wind erosion risk for unburned sites, burned nonseeded sites, and seeded sites according to soil aggregate stability, horizontal sediment flux, surface microtopography, and soil compaction. Effects of mechanical seeding were small relative to those created by wildfire. For burned areas, differences in site stability were greatest between sites. Following wildfire, the largest decrease in site stability occurred in fine-textured soils, where horizontal sediment transport was increased by nearly five orders of magnitude relative to unburned areas. Despite these initial differences, site stability in fine-textured soils may have improved to a greater degree than stability at the coarse-textured site. Furthermore, we found minimal differences between drill types on site stability but, instead, observed that the largest differences in soil properties were created by furrow versus broadcast seeding. The different outcomes of rehabilitation on site stability found here, paired with the spatial extent to which wildfire affects landscapes, highlights the importance of postfire monitoring of site stability in more locations that vary by soil, plant, landscape, and climatic variables.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"96 ","pages":"Pages 163-172"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142011309","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":"Identification of Climatic Refuges of Mouflon Under Future Climate in Central Iranian Protected Areas","authors":"Azita Rezvani,&nbsp;Sima Fakheran,&nbsp;Mahmoud-Reza Hemami","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Habitat destruction is one of the biggest threats to wildlife populations. Climate change may exacerbate the impacts of habitat destruction and alter the distribution of species. We projected the impact of climate change on the distribution of mouflon (<em>Ovis gmelini</em>) in central Iran in 2055 and 2085, evaluated the efficiency of protected areas for protecting this species, and identified potential climatic refugia for this species. We analyzed presence data of mouflon according to climate and topographic factors and generated an ensemble model of habitat suitability based on nine species distribution models. In the modeling process, the most important uncorrelated variables were chosen. Using circuit theory, potential connectivity between habitat patches was estimated. To assess the impact of climate change on the study area in 2055 and 2085, two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), SSP 2.6 and SSP 8.5, were used based on the global circulation models. Based on the climatic suitability model, approximately 34.11% of protected areas were recognized as suitable habitats for mouflon. In the forecasted climate conditions, approximately 3.30% of suitable habitats would become unsuitable and approximately 9.36% of the current protected areas will lose their efficiency in supporting this species. In addition, climate change may reduce habitat connectivity for mouflon in the future. We conclude that the development of the network of protected areas and attention to habitat connectivity are necessary for the future migration and survival of this species; therefore, conservation planning should consider the future potential of protected/unprotected areas in supporting mouflon populations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"96 ","pages":"Pages 173-182"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142011310","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":"Grazing Intensity Controls the Seasonal Utilization of Functionally Diverse Patches by Mediating Herbivore Selectivity","authors":"Nicolas Caram ,&nbsp;Felipe Casalás ,&nbsp;Pablo Soca ,&nbsp;Marcelo O. Wallau ,&nbsp;Lynn E. Sollenberger ,&nbsp;Mónica Cadenazzi ,&nbsp;Pablo Boggiano","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Understanding the mechanistic link between plant functional traits and foraging patterns across seasons and grazing intensities is crucial for implementing sustainable grazing systems and predicting ecological successions. We assessed the interaction effects of grazing intensity, season, and leaf functional traits on herbivore grazing patterns in a native grassland composed of functionally diverse patches in four 10–14 ha paddocks managed under lenient or moderate grazing intensities. Seasonal botanical composition was estimated in permanent 20 × 20 cm patches. Defoliation events of species in patches were recorded every 7–10 d, four times during summer-autumn, and five times during winter and spring. Leaf dry matter content, specific area, tensile strength, and width of dominant grass species were measured seasonally, and species were allocated to functional groups. The proportion of total defoliation events occurring in each functional group and their selectivity index were estimated for each period and season. We tested the relationship between trait community weighted mean in the pasture and that grazed by cattle for each quadrant and period within seasons. Cows focused grazing on resource-acquisitive strategy species with wider and more tender leaves during summer-autumn under both grazing intensities. As herbage mass and accumulation decreased during winter, cows shifted their foraging strategy toward shorter patches and previously rejected, tougher-thinner leaves and resource-conservative strategy species stockpiled from summer-autumn, not overgrazing the resource-acquisitive species. However, this general pattern was modulated by grazing intensity; cows grazed taller patches and more tender and wider-leaved species under lenient than moderate grazing intensity. Thus, the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of desired and rejected stockpiled patches of different functional groups was managed by integrating seasonality, grazing intensity, and leaf functional traits. Therefore, the general principle of foraging selectivity toward desired species can be altered by management practices and inherent species attributes, maintaining communities of species of different ecosystem functions in equilibrium.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"96 ","pages":"Pages 152-162"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142011308","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":"Using Fine Resolution Remotely Sensed Data-Derived Land Cover to Inform Dryland State and Transition Models","authors":"Elisabeth van der Leeuw ,&nbsp;Willem J.D. van Leeuwen ,&nbsp;Stuart E. Marsh ,&nbsp;Steven R. Archer","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.06.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>State and transition models (STMs) are widely used for organizing, understanding, and communicating complex information regarding ecological change. One foundational component of STMs is the representation of the current state of ecological sites (ecosites) delineated by topoedaphic features. Field inventory and assessment techniques used to characterize ecosites are labor-intensive and based on limited sampling in time and space. Remote sensing and Geographic Information System technologies increasingly offer opportunities to generate synoptic, high-resolution characterizations of ecosites in heterogeneous and remote rangelands. Here, we show how advanced remotely-sensed hyperspectral data acquired by the National Ecological Observatory Network can be combined with uncrewed aerial vehicle data within a GIS framework to quantify land cover at scales that inform STMs in Sonoran Desert landscapes in southern Arizona. Using 1 m airborne hyperspectral reflectance data, spectral vegetation and moisture indices (derived from hyperspectral bands and rendered together with the hyperspectral stack), and aerial imagery for ground-truthing, we were able to 1) produce a classification product quantifying some, but not all, plant and soil categories used in STMs and 2) delineate the spatial pattern and areal extent of ecological states on several ecological sites. Our remote sensing-based assessments were then compared to vegetation state maps based on traditional field surveys. We found that with the exception of native vs. nonnative grass ground cover, remote sensing picked up contributions of key ecostate classification variables. Remote sensing products thus have value for planning and prioritizing field surveys and pinpointing areas of concern or novelty. Furthermore, remote sensing approaches more thoroughly encompass greater spatial extents and are ostensibly more cost-effective than traditional field surveys when viewed through the lens of the time-series analyses needed to document whether the ecological states in STMs are stable or in the process or transitioning.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"96 ","pages":"Pages 128-142"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S155074242400085X/pdfft?md5=0b38678fbf7a2f405a90b218a9c4b4e6&pid=1-s2.0-S155074242400085X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142011307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of Land Use Land Cover Changes in Response to Land Surface Temperature With Satellite Indices and Remote Sensing Data","authors":"Qun Zhao ,&nbsp;Muhammad Haseeb ,&nbsp;Xinyao Wang ,&nbsp;Xiangtian Zheng ,&nbsp;Zainab Tahir ,&nbsp;Sundas Ghafoor ,&nbsp;Muhammad Mubbin ,&nbsp;Ram Pravesh Kumar ,&nbsp;Sanju Purohit ,&nbsp;Walid Soufan ,&nbsp;Khalid F. Almutairi","doi":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.07.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rama.2024.07.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Land use and land cover (LULC) changes are known as the main factors causing soil degradation, which presents considerable obstacles to maintaining soil quality and the resilience of ecosystems. Human activities substantially impact LULC changes, particularly in areas experiencing rapid development. The objective of this study is to assess the changes in LULC, land surface temperature (LST), Normalized Differentiate Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Normalized Differentiate Built-up Index (NDBI) in Kasur District from 1991 to 2021. The study analyzed five major LULC classes: Water bodies, Urban areas, barren land, forest Cover, and vegetated areas. Our analysis revealed that the Urban area of Kasur expanded by around 16.27%. The vegetation cover experienced a slight decline of just 1%, while water bodies declined by 0.26%. Forest cover experienced a decrease of about 0.54%, and bare land decreased significantly by 14.4%. The imagery classification achieved an overall accuracy of 88% to 92%. The highest NDVI value was observed in 1991 (+0.89), while the lowest was in 2021 (+0.56). Similarly, the highest NDBI recorded was +0.83 in 2021, while the lowest was +0.65 in 1991. The linear regression analysis revealed a strong negative association between the NDVI and NDBI. LST results exhibited a 0.55°C increase between the years 1991 and 2021. The study's findings align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-15, which aims to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt land degradation and biodiversity loss.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49634,"journal":{"name":"Rangeland Ecology & Management","volume":"96 ","pages":"Pages 183-196"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141933674","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}