Rangelands are an important component of global ecosystems and provide key ecological services. Beef production on rangelands is economically valuable in the U.S., but no spatially explicit estimates of vulnerability are currently available, which is especially important considering the broad geographical coverage of rangelands. We took an ecological approach to estimating climate change impacts to rangelands and subsequent changes to factors that would then affect cattle production. Multiple impact factors that may be opposing were anticipated and were combined to create a comprehensive picture of the future of U.S. beef production on rangelands. Furthermore, we demonstrate how different ecological factors have different probable futures and how examining multiple factors can provide new insights and adaptation solutions over single factor approaches. Results suggest the southwestern U.S. is the most vulnerable while northern rangelands are the least. While significant regional variation exists, the future of cattle production does not seem to be imminently threatened based on the analysis framework and range of climate scenarios used in the study.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.