this research investigates the vegetation of 4600 ha of polour semi-steppe rangelands in relation to edaphic and physiographical parameters in mazandaran province. for this purpose, 23 land units were selected from overlaying slope, aspect and elevation maps using geographic information system (gis). within each unit, 3 parallel transects with 100 m length, each containing 10 quadrates (accordi...

Evaluation of range conditions and plant diversity circumstances can help to rangeland managers who establish their managerial approaches on the basis of ecological capabilities of rangeland ecosystems. Hence, surveying of rangelands was done in four sites of northern Alborz Mt. including western Alborz (Masooleh site), west to middle Alborz (Javaherdeh site), central area (Polour site), and ea...

evaluation of range conditions and plant diversity circumstances can help to rangeland managers who establish their managerial approaches on the basis of ecological capabilities of rangeland ecosystems. hence, surveying of rangelands was done in four sites of northern alborz mt. including western alborz (masooleh site), west to middle alborz (javaherdeh site), central area (polour site), and ea...

Livestock grazing potentially has substantial influence on fuel characteristics in rangelands around the globe. However, information quantifying the impacts of grazing on rangeland fuel characteristics is limited, and the effects of grazing on fuels are important because fuel characteristics are one of the primary factors determining risk, severity, continuity, and size of wildfires. We investi...

Climate is the most important factor of plants distribution in global and regional scale. Understanding the current distribution of vegetation cover and its interaction with climate regularity is important for predicting its future. In order to determine the effective climate factors in plant life-form in Polour rangelands in the Damavand summit (2400 to 4100 m above sea level), Iran, a study w...

Rangelands are expansive, unimproved lands located in arid or semi–arid regions, spanning a variety of landscapes including savannahs, high and low altitude deserts, mountain meadows, and tundra. Rangelands are generally unsuitable for crop production due to aridity, topography, and extreme temperatures. Rangelands support varying mixtures of native and nonnative grasses, grass–like plants, for...

Rangelands are uncultivated lands that include grasslands, savannahs, steppes, shrub lands, deserts and tundra. The native vegetation on rangelands is predominantly grasses, forbs and shrubs (Kothmann, 1974). Rangelands cover 31 percent of the land surface area of the United States (Havstad et al., 2009), and up to half of the land surface area worldwide (Lund, 2007). Most land areas that are n...

Models that seek to guide decisions on policy in rangelands must address the close links between ecological, economic, and social processes, and the adaptation of participants through time. We used an agent-based modeling approach to implement a parsimonious conceptual model of rangelands that includes biophysical processes central to the functioning of rangelands, commercial enterprises, and i...

To reduce dependence on foreign oil reserves, there has been a push in North America to develop alternative domestic energy resources. Relatively undeveloped renewable energy resources include biofuels and wind and solar energy, many of which occur predominantly on rangelands. Rangelands are also key areas for natural gas development from shales and tight sand formations. Accordingly, policies ...

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...