Get reliable rangeland science

Ecological Sites (ESs) are valuable sources of information for effective land management decision-making, monitoring, assessment and policy.  But their utility is limited because they are representative of ecological processes and management effects at one spatial scale; the plant community.  Many important ecological processes not only transcend scales, but their magnitude and impacts are determined by interactions among ESs.  Likewise, the spatial and temporal distribution of processes that occur within the physical bounds of an ES can have significant influence on their impacts at the plant community scale.  An understanding and ability to systematically categorize and describe these behaviors is critical to developing accurate predictive models.  A consistent, integrated approach is also necessary for credible predictions of the impacts of disturbance and management impacts on a variety of ecosystem services.  This 4 hour symposium will examine the concepts behind cross-scale evaluation of changes in ecological processes, the influence of management and the effects on the production of goods and services.