In a project to classify livestock grazing intensity using participatory geographic information systems (PGIS), we encountered the problem of how to synthesize PGIS-based maps of livestock grazing intensity that were prepared separately by local experts. We investigated the utility of evidential belief functions (EBFs) and Dempster’s rule of combination to represent classification uncertainty a...

Wetlands are ecologically and economically important ecosystems with high conservation value. Although wetland vegetation is strongly determined by abiotic factors, grazing disturbance may also be an important influence on this community. We evaluated the effects of livestock grazing on wetland vegetation in marsh and wet meadow zones in intermountain depressional wetlands in the southern inter...

In the mountainous rangeland of inland arid regions of Eurasia, seasonal grazing has been important to local communities for production of food, fiber, and for income, for the past thousand years. Recent population increases and other changes have put traditional grazing systems under pressure. However, empirical data describing soil properties or the impact of traditional grazing practice on t...

Due to the decreasing trend of rangelands, many native species are vulnerable and even at risk of extinction. Therefore, seed preservation and propagation of native species of rangelands and recognition of the characteristics of grazing, drought tolerance and their production potential are very beneficial. In this study, the five species of Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra, Br...

Grazing changes plant species composition of grassland ecosystems by selective removal and trampling. Grazing also alters soil physical and biogeochemical properties and can dramatically change hydrologic processes that can impact water budgets and quality. For these reasons, practical means are needed to assess grazing management practices and its impacts upon the land. This study examines whe...

the effects of different grazing intensities on the above and underground biomass of twospecies festucaovina l. and alopecurustextilisboiss. in the north sabalan rangelands (in shabil) were investigated. sampling on the light, medium and heavy grazing intensities in the flowering stage (the second half of june 2013) were performed. initially, from a 90-meter transects perpendicular to the slope...

this study investigates monthly and seasonal variations of carbon emission from the soil at different grazing intensities. three areas of exclosure, low and high grazing intensities were selected in ghoosheh region of semnan province. carbon emission was measured monthly, in each treatment applying alkali traps (csc) during a year. emission and grazing data were analyzed, using a factorial expe...

introduction:changes caused by grazing on range ecosystem are generally assessed based on the soil conditions and vegetation. livestock as one of the major elements in range land ecosystems has different effects on different parts of this ecosystem. one of these impacts is excessive livestock grazing capacity which can have different effects on soils and plants in various intensities. materials...

Small mammals play important roles in many ecosystems, and understanding their response to disturbances such as cattle grazing is fundamental for developing sustainable land use strategies. However, how small mammals respond to cattle grazing remains controversial. A potential cause is that most of previous studies adopt rather simple experimental designs based solely on the presence/absence of...

Semi-steppe rangelands are a complex, highly dynamic and often multi-layered mosaic of grassland, shrubland, and intermediate communities. A few recent studies have explicitly or implicitly developed synthetic hypotheses about how interactive effects of human made disturbances initiate dynamic changes in plant community composition to cause a shifting mosaic of vegetation pattern across the lan...