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Rangelands are
grassland ecosystems used to graze domesticated livestock
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Rangeland degradation - causes
Ruminants
Cattle - massive use of grain and water resources
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Rangeland forage -
forbs, sedges, rushes, and grasses
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Rangeland vegetation adaptations, roots, fire resistance
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Decreasers, increasers, invaders
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Grazing pressure -
type of animals, number of animals, duration of grazing, and trampling
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Defoliators -
overgrazing historically prevented by predation, disease, and movement across the grasslands
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Fire and drought are important natural disturbances why?
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Natural + human disturbances (hunting, development…) can degrade rangelands explain
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Carrying capacity -
maximum sustainable density of grazers, varies with season, range condition, …
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Rangeland condition assessed with several metrics, % native plants, % production potential, …
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Historic rangeland community in the western U.S.
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Completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, huge changes in western grazing
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Public grazing - tragedy of the commons!
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1909 - Stockraising Homestead Act
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Effects on U.S. rangeland resources:
1905 - Forest Service
1934 - Taylor Grazing Act
1976 - Federal Land Policy and Management Act
1978 - Rangeland Improvement Act
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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
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Range management skills - agronomy, wildlife science, hydrology, …
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Range management activities
- Management of grazing pressure - continual versus rotational grazing systems
- Vegetation suppression - exotic species problematic; herbicides, fire, mechanical methods
- Reseeding
- Wild herbivore control
- Pest management - chemical and biological controls
- Predator control - compound 1080, problems
- Use of alternative livestock species
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Grazing fee controversy - rancher subsidies on public land
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