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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #171028

Title: CHALLENGES AND ADVANCES TOWARD SUSTAINABLE UTILIZATION OF ARID LAND RESOURCES IN THE USA

Author
item Havstad, Kris
item MCCLARAN, MITCHEL - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/4/2004
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Interpretive summary not required.

Technical Abstract: Sustainable use of renewable resources in arid land systems within the United States of America requires large amounts of land because productivity per unit area is generally very low. As a result, there are a great variety of soil types, vegetation, and land tenure within any land use enterprise. The sensitivity of soils and vegetation to overuse and their ability to recover when use levels are reduced varies among different types of soil and vegetation. In addition, land use tools and legal restrictions differ among the private, state, federal, and indigenous Indian tenure types. This spatial variation presents significant challenges to the planning, implementing, and monitoring efforts needed to achieve sustainable use of these resources. General principles and conceptual models are now being developed and employed to address these challenges and to highlight areas requiring additional research. These principles and models need to be applied at site and landscape spatial scales and should be based on realistic characterizations and predictions. One important principle is the need to incorporate local indigenous knowledge into these characterizations for effective management. On-the-ground application of these models will maximize chances of sustainable use through closer and more effective interactions among scientists, stewards, and producers.