Woody plant encroachment into grasslands and rangelands is a world-wide phenomenon but detailed descriptions of changes in geographical distribution and infilling rates have not been well documented at large land scales. Remote sensing with either aerial or satellite images may provide a rapid means for accomplishing this task. Our objective was to compare the accuracy and utility of two types ...

This study was undertaken to determine the non-target impacts of rangeland grasshopper control using liquid bait formulations of insecticides (canola and corn oil as carriers of carbaryl, diflubenzuron, and malathion). The research was conducted on native rangeland in Wyoming under drought conditions. Three collection methods (pitfall traps, yellow sticky cards, and sweep nets) were used to est...

Rain-index insurance is strongly advocated in many parts of the developing world to help farmers to cope with climatic risk that prevail in (semi-)arid rangelands due to low and highly uncertain rainfall. We present a modeling analysis of how the availability of rain-index insurance affects the sustainability of rangeland management. We show that a rain-index insurance with frequent payoffs, i....

Since the mid-1980s, sagebrush rangelands in the Great Basin of the United States have experienced more frequent and larger wildfires. These fires affect livestock forage, the sagebrush/grasses/forbs mosaic that is important for many wildlife species (e.g., the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)), post-fire flammability and fire frequency. When a sagebrush, especially a Wyoming big...

Rangeland plant communities of the Intermountain West differ in their ecology and management requirements. Successful management of extensive areas at plant community-level resolution first requires an efficient, cost-effective means of plant community classification and mapping. We evaluated the influence of image acquisition date and satellite imaging system on the accuracy of plant community...

Adapting what we currently know about ecosystems to a future where rangelands are changing is a new frontier in rangeland management. Current tools for knowledge discovery and application are limited because they cannot adequately judge ecological relevance of knowledge to specific situations. We propose development of integrated knowledge systems (KSs)— collections of resources (e.g., data, an...

Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski) is an exotic annual grass invading rangelands in the western United States. Medusahead is a serious management concern because it decreases biodiversity, reduces livestock forage production, and degrades the ecological function of rangelands. Despite the obvious importance of ranchers as partners in preventing and managing medusahead in rangel...