Technical Abstract: The USDA/ARS action plan for the National Program in Rangeland, Pasture, and Forages contains five research components. The first component of this action plan, developed in 1999-2000, is entitled "Ecosystems and their Sustainable Management." One of the main problem areas within this research component is "Monitoring and Assessment Technologies" with the following three goals: (1) Develop and calibrate monitoring systems that reflect basic ecosystem functions and are rapid, quantitative, repeatable, and applicable at a variety of spatial scales. Systems should be designed to function in diverse ecosystems, integrate new tools as they become available, and permit users to select from a range of indicators depending on their objectives, the particular ecosystem, and available resources. (2) Develop new tools to monitor and assess rangelands and pastures at large scales and others to scale up data collected at individual points in the landscape and to interpret data in the context of processes occurring across large areas. (3) Develop additional tools that more precisely reflect specific ecosystem functions and that can be used to distinguish fluctuations in ecosystem processes from directional trends in these processes.