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...

The need to balance biodiversity conservation with sustainable development, though widely agreed upon, is elusive in practice. Human societies are increasingly disconnected from the ecosystems which support them. The loosening connection and growing scientific acceptance that ecosystems are complex, dynamic, non-linear systems pose new challenges for rangeland monitoring. Consequently, although...

forests and rangelands are the most important natural ecosystems which provide many economic benefits to the society due to their biodiversity and ecological functionalities. dashtenaz wildlife refuge, sari, is a sylvan region, covering 55 ha of rangeland with abundant diversity, is refuge of an endangered species of deer called dama mesopotamica. in this study, contingent valuation method (cvm...

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 fo...

Forests and rangelands are the most important natural ecosystems which provide many economic benefits to the society due to their biodiversity and ecological functionalities. Dashtenaz wildlife refuge, Sari, is a sylvan region, covering 55 ha of rangeland with abundant diversity, is refuge of an endangered species of deer called Dama mesopotamica. In this study, Contingent Valuation Method (CVM...

The importance of accurately monitoring rangeland degradation dynamics over decades is increasing in Linxia rangeland, the birthplace of the Yellow River in China. Since 2000, the Chinese government has implemented the “Grain for Green” program and enforced a grazing ban in Gansu province, one of the most degraded provinces, to mitigate the problem of rangeland degradation. The effects of these...

Conservation prioritization usually focuses on conservation of rare species or biodiversity, rather than ecological processes. This is partially due to a lack of informative indicators of ecosystem function. Biological soil crusts (BSCs) trap and retain soil and water resources in arid ecosystems and function as major carbon and nitrogen fixers; thus, they may be informative indicators of ecosy...

The introduction of domestic livestock particularly sheep and rangeland grazing by Norse settlers to Faroe during the 9th century has generally been described as a major pressure on a sensitive landscape, leading to rapid and widespread vegetation change and contributing to land degradation. This view has, however, been developed without consideration of Norse grazing management practices which...