www.frontiersinecology.org © The Ecological Society of America R – including grasslands, shrublands, savannas, deserts, prairies, steppe, and tundra – comprise 30–40% of Earth’s ice-free terrestrial surface (depending on one’s definition and data sources; Asner et al. 2004) and account for 91% of the world’s grazing lands (Reid et al. 2008). Encompassing watersheds for vast downstream populatio...

This paper reviews current knowledge of the social behavior of grazing beef cattle and discusses how that knowledge can be applied to rangeland cattle management. Cattle herds are composed of social subgroups that influence grazing distribution on rangeland. Grazing distribution is, in part, a learned response; therefore, management strategies that alter the social composition and structure of ...

The potential for wind erosion in South Central Colorado is greatest in the spring, especially after harvesting of crops such as potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) that leave small amounts of crop residue in the surface after harvest. Therefore it is important to implement best management practices that reduce potential wind erosion and that we understand how cropping systems are impacting soil eros...

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...

Although the emerging field of precision livestock farming (PLF) is predominantly associated with intensive animal production, there is increasing interest in applying smart technologies in extensive rangeland systems. Precision livestock farming technologies bring the possibility of closely monitoring the behaviour, liveweight and other parameters of individual animals in free-ranging systems....

Landscape approaches can be subjected to mistakenly targeting a single "best" level of governance, and paying too little attention to the role that cross-scale and cross-level interactions play in governance. In rangeland settings, resources, patterns of use of those resources, and the institutions for managing the resources exist at multiple levels and scales. While the scholarship on commons ...

Rangelands of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP), although sparsely populated and contributing little to China’s overall economy, play an important environmental role throughout Asia. They contain high biodiversity values and can also potentially provide China with a source of cultural and geographic variety in the future. Chinese government reports paint a gloomy picture, considering vast porti...

Extensive livestock grazing even in unsuitable land has increasingly grown in most parts of semi-arid rangeland. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to identify suitable land for livestock grazing for optimum utilization while causing minimum impact to the environment. This paper adapted the schematic model based on the concepts presented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of suitabi...

The combined impacts of woody plant encroachment and climate variability have the potential to alter water balance in many sagebrush steppe ecosystems Western USA, leading reduced availability these already water-scarce regions. This study compared water-balance characteristics two adjacent semiarid watersheds central Oregon, USA: one dominated by big western juniper. Precipitation, springflow,...