Applicability of Montreal Process Criterion 1 - conservation of biological diversity - to rangeland sustainability

Nine indicators of biodiversity conservation have been defined by the nations participating in the Montreal Process for assessing sustainability of temperate and boreal forests. Five of these indicators address compositional and spatial diversity of ecosystems; two address species diversity; and two are indirect measures of genetic diversity. Our objective was to evaluate their applicability for assessing biodiversity on rangeland ecosystems. In addition to assessing applicability, we also address whether data and methods exist to measure each indicator, and review research that is needed to improve implementation. In general, we found no ecological arguments for disqualifying any of the proposed indicators as applicable to rangelands. We did find, however, that unambiguous definitions, data, and methods were woefully lacking. Although some data exist for some indicators and some taxa, none of the indicators can be quantified in a thorough and rigorous manner at a national scale. Consequently, initial assessments of biodiversity on rangelands will have to be based on incomplete data. Research in the areas of definition clarification, inventory design, and testing of critical assumptions is necessary to conduct comprehensive, broad-scale assessments of biodiversity.