Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
Title: An integrative assessment and management optimization system for grazing landsAuthor
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 12/5/2022 Publication Date: 12/5/2022 Citation: Toledo, D.N., Kobilansky, C.L., Hendrickson, J.R. 2022. An integrative assessment and management optimization system for grazing lands. Meeting Abstract. 1. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Fire and grazing are part of the natural disturbance regime of most rangelands. Removing either will inhibit natural processes and can lead to degradation. Adequate assessment and monitoring can provide an early warning sign that undesirable changes are occurring or that ecological dynamics are nearing a management threshold. Assessment and monitoring are also key to ensuring adequate objectives are set and to ensure progress toward those objectives. The Integrated Grazingland Assessment method, which was developed by USDA-ARS and has now been adapted and incorporated into the NRCS National Range and Pasture Handbook, provides a way of assessing grazinglands and detecting changes in ecological attributes relative to a site's ecological potential. The integrated assessment informs managers about factors that could be keeping the area from operating at its full or optimized ecological and/or productive potential. In 2019 we began an experiment to compare the effects of prescribed fire, mob grazing, season-long grazing, and a combination of grazing and fire on different grazingland health indicators using the Integrated Grazingland Assessment method. We report on treatment differences captured by the Integrated Grazingland Assessment method and explain how land managers can enhance management by appropriately matching objectives, monitoring and assessment, and land management. |
