Abstract Watershed rangelands in Northern Afghanistan provide various ecosystem services that support the local people’s livelihoods, but they are now highly degraded essentially due to continuous high grazing pressure and recurrent droughts. Effects of shrub establishment method enhanced by water harvesting techniques rehabilitate have not been well addressed. The main goal this study was eval...

abstract. information on forage quality in phenological stage could help range managers to choose suitable grazing method to achieve higher animal performance without detriment to vegetation. vetiver grass (vetiveria zizanioides) is a non-native perennial grass that was introduced to the iran in 2008. this plant is a multi use species that could be considered from different viewpoints. thus, it...

Understanding the distribution pattern and maintenance mechanism of species diversity along environmental gradients is essential for developing biodiversity conservation strategies under environmental change. We have surveyed the species diversity at 192 vegetation sites across different steppe zones in Inner Mongolia, China. We analysed the total species diversity (γ diversity) and its composi...

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 ...

Soil alkalinisation generally constitutes a major threat to irrigated agriculture in the semiarid regions of West Africa. The improvement of sodic soils is generally difficult and expensive. However, a recent study in the Niger valley in NIGER, reveals that a natural dealkalinisation is possible under natural conditions in a semi-arid climate. Transformation of non-saline sodic soil into brown ...

Introduction: Rangeland ecosystems provide multiple ecosystem services, including feed resources for wild and domestic herbivores in semi-arid areas. However, under the ever increasing environmental changes, the impact of rainfall variability on the productivity and vegetation dynamics of rangelands are the great challenges that pastoral community are facing today. As a result, the potentials o...

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...