rangeland Flashcards
Where are rangelands and why
- Too dry
- Too wet
- Too hilly
Too cold
how much terrestrial land do rangelands take
70%
40% grass and shrub
30% forest
Rangelands:
a type of land not suited for continuous cultivation, recieves limited management outputs
Rangeland management
- Management of rangelands for perpetual production of goods and sevices desirable by society
rangeland, pasture, cropland inputs
Rangeland: rare
Pasture:Periodic cultivation
Regular fertilization
Occasional herbicide
Cropland: Annual cultivation, fertilization, and pesticides
Rangeland vs cropland management
RANGELAND
1) extensive management(large land base?)
2) optimize production around mean
3) low energy subsidies
4)Low ecological cost
5)Long term biological pllanning
Cropland management
1 Intensive management(small land base)
2 Maximize production at stable levels
3 High energy subsidies to stabalize production
4 High ecological costs
5 Short term financial planning
Energy flow
Ability of plant community to convert sunlight to biomass
Nutrient cycling
efficiency of nutrient uptake, assimilation, and return
Hydrologic function
efficiency of water recapture, retention by soil, and uptake by plants
What do rangelands store a lot of?
carbon
Unique vegetation
Soil + climate + topography + disturbance
wildfire importance
Creation of open habitats and control of woody speceis
how oftend does shit catch on fier
tallgrass prairie
mixes prairies
boreal forest
alpine
- Tallgrass prarie- 2-4 yrs
- Mixes praries- 25 yrs
- Boreal 80-150 yrs
Alpine -300yrs
- Intermediate disturbance hypothesis:
intermediate herbivory increases species diversity
- Too much degrades
-Removing of grazinng may reduce productivity bc litter accumulation
