Soil erosion by water is considered a major cause for land degradation in Jordan, where 0.14 cm of productive top soil is eroded annually. This investigation is intended to estimate the annual soil loss in Wadi Kerak watershed, and to examine the spatial patterns of soil loss and intensity, as an essential procedure for proper planning of conservation measures. To achieve these objectives, the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model has been applied in a geographical information system framework.

Vertical vegetation structure in rangeland ecosystems can be a valuable indicator for monitoring rangeland health or progress toward management objectives because of its importance for assessing riparian areas, post-fire recovery, wind erosion, and wildlife habitat. Federal land management agencies are directed to monitor and manage rangelands at landscapes scales, but traditional field methods for measuring vegetation heights are often too costly and time consuming to apply at these broad scales.

Government agencies are subject to increasing public scrutiny of land management practices. Consequently, rigorous, yet efficient, monitoring protocols are needed to provide defensible quantitative data on the status and trends of rangeland vegetation. Rigor requires precise, repeatable measures, whereas efficiency requires the greatest possible information content for the amount of resources spent acquiring the information. We compared two methods--point frequency and visual estimate--of measuring canopy cover of individual plant species and groups of species (forbs vs.

Understanding cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) dynamics in the Northern Great Basin rangelands, USA, is necessary to effectively manage the region's lands. This study's goal was to map and monitor cheatgrass performance to identify where and when cheatgrass dieoff occurred in the Northern Great Basin and to discover how this phenomenon was affected by climatic, topographic, and edaphic variables. We also examined how fire affected cheatgrass performance.

Sedge dominated peatlands do not rehabilitate well after being drained for rangelands and specific approaches are required in order to restore these sites. Restoration by blocking drainage canals aims to recover peatland functions, principally by raising the water table. Field surveys in Ruoergai, China identified the status of peatland degradation and satellite image analysis concluded that most of Ruoergai's peatlands are degraded mainly due to drainage and overgrazing.

In the western United States, livestock grazing often co-exists with recreation, cultural resource management and biodiversity protection on federal and state protected rangelands as well as on many local government open space areas. While the value of livestock grazing for managing rangeland vegetation to reduce fire fuel loads and improve wildlife habitat is increasingly recognized by resource management professionals, public concerns, and conflict between recreationist and livestock have led to reductions in public land grazing.

Site degradation occurs mainly through deterioration of the soil's capacity to capture and store water, as well as the loss of organic matter or the accumulation of salts or other toxic substances in the soil. This degradation process, leading to the reduction of the biotic potential of the site, is known as desertification. In this study, changes in bulk density, organic matter, and electrical conductivity are used as indicators of desertification in northeast Mexico.

Ultra-high-resolution digital aerial imagery has great potential to complement or replace ground measurements of vegetation cover for rangeland monitoring and assessment. This research investigated object-based image analysis (OBIA) techniques for classifying vegetation in southwestern USA arid rangelands with 4 cm resolution digital aerial imagery. We obtained high r-square values for the regressions relating ground- to image-based measures of percent cover (r-square values: 0.82–0.92).

A longitudinal study of California hardwood rangelands shows significant change in landowner characteristics and goals. Results of three studies spanning 1985 to 2004 were used to develop and evaluate a multiagency research and extension program known as the Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program. Program-sponsored education and research aimed at encouraging landowners to change woodland management has been reflected in a significant reduction in oak cutting and an increase in oak planting.

Grasslands of the Edwards Plateau of central Texas have been extensively altered through woody species encroachment, particularly as a result of increasing abundance of the invasive native shrub, Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei). Over the last several decades there has been widespread mechanical removal of the species. The wood is often left in place to decompose, either mulched or not. Where the wood is left to decompose might have some bearing on its rate of decomposition. This study was conducted to determine the rates of Ashe juniper wood decomposition as a function of open vs.

Successful prairie restoration will depend in part on convincing private landowners with agricultural and recreational use goals to implement appropriate rangeland management practices, such as prescribed burning and cattle grazing, to control invasive species and encroachment of woody plants. However, landowners have been slow to adopt appropriate practices in the US Midwest. The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes and behaviors of private landowners toward prescribed burning and moderate stocking as rangeland management tools.

For some fifteen years, dairy cattle farming has been considerably developing in various parts of the Andes. Milk is transformed into cheese or sold fresh, giving rural families a regular income which secures their food supply. The stock-rearing practices in these Andean dairying systems are unrecognized and are often considered, wrongly, as underperforming and inadequate.