Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Version 4.0

TitleInterpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Version 4.0
Publication TypeBook
Year of Publication2005
AuthorsPellant M., Shaver P.L, Pyke D.A., Herrick JE
Volume1734-6
PublisherUSDI, BLM, NSTC, Division of Science Integration, Branch of Publishing Services
CityDenver, CO
ARIS Log Number170956
Keywordsecosystem attributes, evaluate, indicators, interpreting, rangeland health, soil, technical reference, vegetation
AbstractThis book describes a protocol for using 17 qualitative soil and vegetation indicators to evaluate the status of three ecosystem attributes: soil and site stability, hydrologic function, and biotic integrity. Qualitative assessments of rangeland health provide land managers and technical assistance specialists with a good communication tool for use with the public. Many of these tools have been used successfully for this purpose over the past 100 years. The technique described in this book can be used to provide early warnings of resource problems on upland rangelands. It can also be used to help identify specific resource issues (e.g., erosion or invasive species) that must be addressed and to prioritize land for management resources. Version 4 is the second published edition of this technique. The changes in Version 4 are designed to improve the consistency in the application of the process. The most significant modification was the replacement of the Ecological Reference Area Worksheet with the Reference Sheet. The Reference Sheet facilitates consistent application of the process throughout an ecological site by integrating all available sources of data and knowledge to generate a single range of reference conditions for each indicator.
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