Rangelands represent one of the most important natural resources in mountainous regions of northern Nepal. However, a poor understanding of the social dimensions of rangeland use has limited their proper management and sustainable development, which represent major challenges for Nepal's resource managers. Institutional development is thought to be a viable solution to this problem and may ulti...

In recent years, steps have been taken to implement a new crop insurance program for rangeland and pasture. Unlike traditionally insured row and cereal crops, which have directly measurable yields, there is no such simple, ideal yield standard for rangeland and pasture because of uncertainties regarding how to generally and objectively quantify annual production. With remotely sensed imagery ac...

Empirical models are important tools for relating field-measured biophysical variables to remotely sensed data. Regression analysis has been a popular empirical method of linking these two types of data to estimate variables such as biomass, percent vegetation canopy cover, and bare soil. This study was conducted in a semi-arid rangeland ecosystem of Qazvin province, Iran. This paper presents t...

One of the most important micro engineers of the terrestrial ecosystems, especially in the arid areas is the harvester ants due to their activity in the soil through nest building; they can make major changes while influencing the surface and subsurface in the rangeland soil. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of harvester ants (Messor spp.) on some soil properties in Rood...

Rangelands are characterized by more arid climates than forested regions; therefore, establishing fire histories using traditional methods (e.g. fire-scars from trees or charcoal in lake sediments) is problematic. This study uses radiocarbon dating of charcoal preserved in alluvial fans and stream deposits to reconstruct a record of fire and geomorphic response in rangelands of southwestern Ida...

Rangelands are one of the most vulnerable parts concerning the climatechanges‟ impacts. These impacts are even stronger in the arid and semi-arid areas whererangeland ecosystems are in critical conditions. Therefore, it is crucial to figure out theactual dynamics of climate variations on the rangelands. The aim of this research was todetermine climate changes in Khabr rangeland, Kerman, Iran. S...

Abstract Over the last fifty years, most of the semi-arid rangeland in Iran has been converted to cropland without an equivalent reduction in grazing animals. This shift has led to heavy grazing pressure on rangeland vegetation. The present study has been conducted in Sisab Research Station in the North Khorasan Province to evaluate effects of long-term grazing exclosures on biodiversity of ra...

In the countries surrounding the Mediterranean basin, most of the semi-natural grazing lands are covered by rangelands. Rangelands can be defined as highly heterogeneous natural vegetation communities with high conservation value, growing in harsh environments (poor soils, unfavourable climatic conditions). In the recent socio-economic context, traditional livestock grazing practices that enabl...

Biodiversity in rangelands is decreasing, due to intense utilization for livestock production and conversion of rangeland into cropland; yet the outlook of rangeland biodiversity has not been considered in view of future global demand for food. Here we assess the impact of future livestock production on the global rangelands area and their biodiversity. First we formalized existing knowledge ab...