Rangeland vegetation dynamics can be affected by various natural and unnatural factors over time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the dynamics of vegetation under the climatic conditions and soil properties. Accordingly, data collection for evaluating vegetation dynamics in rangeland ecosystems of Ardabil province was conducted at three research sites including Moqan winter rangela...

In recent years, steppe degradation in North China has become a serious environmental problem. Most research on steppe degradation is conducted at the level of communities or at the scale of small regions. To better understand the spatio-temporal variation and driving factors of grassland degradation, monitoring and analysis at broad regional scales are needed. This paper systematically describ...

Knowledge of the relationships between biotic components of rangeland ecosystem i.e. herbivores and plants is important for range managers. In order to study herbivorse grazing intensity on plant species diversity, an experiment was conductef using fuor grazing treatments in darrehshar rangelands, Ilam province in 2015. Plant species data were taken based on a randomized-systematic sampling met...

BACKGROUND The Mongolian steppe is one of the most important grasslands in the world but suffers from aridization and damage from anthropogenic activities. Understanding structure and function of this community is important for the ecological conservation, but has seldom been investigated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In this study, a total of 324 quadrats located on the three main types of...

Clarifying spatial variations in aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) of grasslands is critical for effective prediction of the response of terrestrial ecosystem carbon and water cycle to future climate change. Though the combination use of remote sensing products and in situ ANPP measurements, we quantified the effects of climatic [mean annual prec...

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The Issue Invasive species, widely distributed across the western United States, pose critical conservation challenges on both non-Federal and Federal rangelands. Two of the biggest threats to ecosystem stability and integrity in the Great Basin (most of Nevada, a large part of Utah, and smaller sections of Oregon, Idaho, and California) are invasive annual grasses, particularly cheatgrass and ...

Global warming is projected to continue, leading to intense fluctuations in precipitation and heat waves and thereby affecting the productivity and the relevant biological processes of grassland ecosystems. Here, we determined the functional responses to warming and altered precipitation in both typical and desert steppes. The results showed that watering markedly increased the aboveground net ...

The genetic diversity found in domestic breeds allows farmers to develop new characteristics in response to changes in the environment, the appearance of diseases, or of modifications in market conditions. Indigenous breeds often possess gene combinations and special adaptations (such as disease resistance, adaptation to harsh conditions or poor-quality feeds) not found in other breeds. Five Ro...