Get reliable rangeland science

Shifts of rangelands into undesirable natural States (as described in State-and-Transition models) can be avoided using agronomic practices in order to maintain the function of rangeland ecosystems and thereby maintain the provisioning of goods and services from these areas. There is a need for a method that can be used to assess and optimize management of all grazinglands, including rangelands and pasturelands. We present an Integrated Grazingland Assessment methodology that uses Ecological Site Descriptions (ESD) and Forage Suitability Groups (FSG) descriptions to develop a standard for such grazingland evaluations. The Integrated Grazingland Assessment methodology takes the ecological strengths of the Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health methodology (Pellant et al. 2005) and combines it with the management optimization strengths of Pasture Condition Scoring (Cosgrove et al. 2001). By combining information found in ESDs and FSGs, this approach allows evaluators to assess site conditions and to make interpretations regarding management based on a standard method and site-specific attributes that can potentially optimize the ecological potential and livestock carrying capacity of a site. Standardized grazingland assessment and monitoring protocols based on ecological and land management principles can ultimately improve National level assessments, such as the National Resources Inventory, and will provide a valuable and efficient tool for assessing, managing and monitoring grazinglands.