Range science, as an applied discipline, aims to provide useful information for land managers regarding how they can improve their land management, yet there are few studies examining how the process of knowledge production and dissemination in range science influences the kinds of knowledge available for land management. In this study we conduct an institutional analysis of the process of knowledge flow between researchers and extension staff within Texas A&M University's Agrilife agencies regarding drought management in rangeland ecosystems. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with key informants involved in generating and disseminating knowledge regarding drought management in Texas rangelands, we examine the process through which research questions regarding drought management in Texas rangelands are defined by research staff, how the findings are shared with extension staff, and how extension staff communicate research needs to research staff. We find that there are significant institutional barriers that obstruct knowledge flow in both directions: scientists define research agendas primarily in response to the needs of funders and scientific publishing outlets that are not driven by a need to generate actionable knowledge, while the dispersed nature and limited budgets of extension staff prevent them from effectively gaining access to knowledge and communicating knowledge needs. We also use detailed case studies to examine situations in which these barriers can be overcome.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.