Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Concepts and Factors Applicable to the Measurement of Range Condition
Author
Wilson, A. D.
Tupper, G. J.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1982-11-01
Body

The concept of range condition is reanalysed in terms of the nature of changes in land and vegetation and the purpose of measurement. A new framework is outlined which presents range condition as an overall concept based on change in the value of land attributes, relative to their potential value. These attributes include factors such as the composition and quantity of the vegetation, the stability of the soil and the productivity of the land in terms of animals, water yield, or amenity value. On this basis, indices of change in each attribute may be constructed from vegetation measurements. This will include separate indices of soil stability, animal productivity, and vegetation change (flora conservation), which may or may not be correlated with one another. Range condition cannot be defined by one of these attributes alone, so that the separation of ecological and productivity-based methods is artificial. Overall the importance of soil stability is considered to be greater than productivity, which in turn is greater than vegetation change, but this will depend on the type of land and the dominant land use. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/3898238
Additional Information
Wilson, A. D., & Tupper, G. J. (1982). Concepts and factors applicable to the measurement of range condition. Journal of Range Management, 35(6), 684-689.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/645979
Journal Volume
35
Journal Number
6
Journal Pages
684-689
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
animals
Ammenity
shrub encroachment
biomass
concepts
ecology
quantity
water yield
soil
Factors
measurements
productivity
classification
composition
range condition
land
vegetation
frequency
cover
erosion
soil stability
Value