Rangelands最新文献

Targeted grazing is a management strategy for fuel reduction and cheatgrass control in the Great Basin. However, concerns of cattle acting as endozoochorous seed dispersal agents of invasive grass species have been expressed.

In vitro and in situ techniques of ruminal fermentation and enzymatic digestion were employed to evaluate seed mortality.

Our results showed a nearly complete inhibition of germination after 36 hours in the rumen followed by 3 hours in the abomasum.

Our results indicate cattle grazing cheatgrass-infested rangelands will not spread cheatgrass seed via excrement.

Cheatgrass seeds consumed in the fall will have a slight lag in microbial degradation.

Southeastern New Mexico's rangelands are under stress due to a prolonged drought.

Atriplex lentiformis and Atriplex canescens are native forage halophytic shrub species.

In New Mexico and throughout the United States large amounts of water are generated daily during the extraction of oil and gas.

A. lentiformis and A. canescens grow in high soil salinity conditions, which infers they can be used for rangelands improvement.

Both these species could act as candidate crops for animal fodder grown in arid areas.

After years of overgrazing in the late 1800s and early 1900s with little to no management, range management efforts shifted to focus on eradication of sagebrush to promote forage production from World War II to the 1970s.

From the 1970s to present the paradigm shifted to an emphasis on leaving sagebrush intact for the benefit of sagebrush-obligate wildlife.

However, neither management paradigm has yielded an ideal outcome with approximately 30% of the Great Basin being identified as “poor condition shrubland,” with >10% shrub cover and a high ratio of annual to perennial herbaceous cover.

A combination of new and old restoration methods is needed to restore degraded sagebrush communities to rejuvenate the declining perennial herbaceous understories and increase biotic resiliency of the shrub community.

The concepts of ecosystem services and nature's contributions to people highlight linkages between people and nature, directly addressing relationships and the flow of values.

Understanding stakeholder values in specific collaborative contexts may aid in solution-focused approaches, minimizing tradeoffs, improved group cohesion, and partnership success, as rangeland managers attempt to match strategies to needs of landscapes and people.

Using a mixed-methods approach, we explored pluralistic, sociocultural values and perspectives of diverse stakeholders regarding rangeland ecosystem services.

We noted patterns in how stakeholder groups prioritized certain ecosystem services over others and how this prioritization is a reflection of unique yet overlapping values systems.

Sustainable rangeland management is about the ecological underpinnings of a place and also about supporting the people and communities who have direct relationships with those landscapes.

Transplanting the keystone shrub Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush) post fire is a common management practice in the Great Basin due to the species high fire mortality rates and episodic natural recovery.

Soil characteristics play a major role in big sagebrush transplant survival among many other influential abiotic and biotic factors.

In our case study, a soil contrast between a sandy loam and rocky clay soil had minor impact on mortality rates, likely due to microsite soil selection within the rocky clay soil complex, which ameliorated the expected negative effects.

A considerable proportion of mortality in both soil types occurred post planting (within 1 month) or was associated with suspected herbivory. Higher mortality was slightly associated with higher cover of nearby herbaceous plants, suggesting competition for resources.

Selecting planting sites based on soil factors within larger landscapes, as well as avoiding areas of high competing cover, could increase survival in marginal sites. However, low initial survival and/or herbivory with planting can have large impacts on overall outcomes.

Artificial raptor perches can provide hunting and resting locations for birds of prey in rangelands, providing a benefit for biodiversity and vertebrate pest control for ranchers.

Perches can be attached to existing fenceposts in rangelands with rocky soils.

Common raptor species in our study area frequented the perches, especially American kestrels, great-horned owls, barn owls, red-tailed hawks, and turkey vultures. These species are likely to provide ecosystem services to ranchers through pest-control and sanitation.

Raptors more often used perches in irrigated pastures or in areas with a slope more than perches in unirrigated pasture and within oak woodland. Perch use may be higher in areas with higher prey availability, favorable updrafts for flight, and fewer nearby natural perches.

We do not recommend placing perches on unsteady fence lines in areas with high cattle activity because we documented cattle investigating the perches and this could lead to perches being knocked over.

Multipartner publications are often not used due to insufficient dissemination.

Incorporating partners into existing Extension programs provides scaffolding to communicate complex scientific concepts to a lay audience, such as land managers or agency personnel.

Participation, experiential learning, and creating a community of like-minded individuals is valuable in teaching new concepts to an audience, thereby resulting in a change in knowledge.