The concept of ecosystem services--the benefits that nature provides to human's society--has gained increasing attention over the past decade. Increasing global abiotic and biotic change, including species invasions, is threatening the secure delivery of these ecosystem services. Efficient evaluation methods of ecosystem services are urgently needed to improve our ability to determine managemen...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of growing cattle when intensively grazing stockpiled endophyte-infected (E+), endophyte-free (E-), and nontoxic endophyte-infected (EN) tall fescue during the winter. The experiment was conducted over 5 consecutive winters. In each year, plots (1 ha each, 4 per treatment) were harvested for hay in August, fertilized in September, and ...

Application of existing and novel management techniques can alter traditional livestock grazing patterns and significantly improve the sustainability of arid rangelands. Livestock often congregate and heavily graze riparian areas and other sensitive rangeland, while abundant forage remains in other areas. Increasing the uniformity of grazing can help protect fisheries, wildlife habitat, and oth...

The study of the relationships of the plant species with the soil in a salty ecosystem would play a significant role in the ecologic programming and management of these inhabitants. The saline and alkaline rangelands of the Golestan province are areas that contain salty soil with high underground crusts. The areas are covered by halophyte plants such as Frankenia hirsuta. This species is a pere...

Wild burros (Equus asinus), protected by the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act on some federal lands but exotic animals many ecologists and resource mangers view as damaging to native ecosystems, represent one of the most contentious environmental management problems in American Southwest arid lands. This review synthesizes the scattered literature about burro effects on plant communit...

Pastures located on southern Iowa cow/calf farms, from 8 to 125 ha in size, were used to evaluate the effects of microclimate, shade, botanical composition, and other pasture characteristics influencing the temporal/ spatial distribution of cattle within and outside streamside zones of pastures. Cows were Angus and Angus-cross on 4 of the farms, and Mexican Corriente on the remaining farm. Duri...

Moist high-altitude grasslands in South Africa are renowned for high avifaunal diversity and are priority areas for conservation. Conservation management of these areas conflicts with management for other uses, such as intensive livestock agriculture, which requires annual burning and leads to heavy grazing. Recently the area has become target for water storage schemes and renewable electricity...