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...

BACKGROUND Cutaneous leishmaniasis constitutes a major public health problem in many parts of the world including Iran. The primary objective of this study was to identify Leishmania species in endemic districts of Kerman Province, south-eastern Iran. METHODS This study was conducted by random sampling as cross- sectional descriptive between 2008 and 2010. Overall, 203 skin scraping smears we...

Rangelands are the most common form of terrain WE PROPOSE A PARADIGM THAT in both the United States (where it accounts for 61% of all land surface) and the world (70% of all land surface). ENHANCES HETEROGENEITY Rangelands consist primarily of native plant communities managed, typically, for livestock production (Holechek et al. INSTEAD OF HOMOGENEITY TO PROMOTE 1998). Because they can embrace ...

(2021). Montane rangelands in a changing world. African Journal of Range & Forage Science: Vol. 38, Rangelands Changing World, pp. iii-vi.

Rangelands of China have for centuries provided forage for livestock but now their role in water, soil, and biodiversity conservation is being recognised by Governments and people. However, much of the rangelands has recently degraded anddesertification is nowawidespread problem.The cause of the degradation is over-grazing andover-cultivation. Climate change is exacerbating theproblem.TheChines...

In previous papers we have considered the optimal mix of biodiversity in semi-arid rangelands, focusing on the steady state. This paper addresses the question of conservation in the optimal use of rangelands, where conservation is understood to mean maintenance of the system in a ‘natural’ state. We consider a rangeland that may exist in one of two states. In the ‘natural’ state, its dynamics a...

The evaluation of vegetation covers using conventional methods is difficult over arid areas due to several reasons such as lack of the suitable roads to these regions. Moreover, this task is time-consuming. For these reasons, remote sensing has been considered as an economic alternative for conventional field work. In this study, the feasibility of using IRS images in vegetation cover evaluatio...

The objective of this research was to identify the vegetation-soil relationships in Nodushan arid rangelands of Yazd. 5 sites were selected for measuring the cover of plant species and soil attributes. Soil samples were taken in 0-10 and 10-80 cm layers. The species studied were Salsola tomentosa, Salsola arbuscula, Peganum harmala, Zygophylum eurypterum and Eurotia ceratoides. Canonical corres...