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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #419857
Research Project: Knowledge Systems and Tools to Increase the Resilience and Sustainablity of Western Rangeland Agriculture

Location: Range Management Research

Title: Integrating erosion models into land health assessments to better understand landscape condition

Author
item WHEELER, BRANDI - New Mexico State University
item Webb, Nicholas
item Williams, Jason
item EDWARDS, BRANDON - New Mexico State University
item FAIST, AKASHA - University Of Montana
item Herrick, Jeffrey
item KACHERGIS, EMILY - Bureau Of Land Management
item LEPAK, NIKA - Bureau Of Land Management
item McCord, Sarah
item Newingham, Beth
item PIETRASIAK, NICOLE - University Of Nevada
item Toledo, David

Submitted to: Society of Range Management
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2024
Publication Date: 2/13/2025
Citation: Wheeler, B., Webb, N.P., Williams, J.B., Edwards, B., Faist, A., Herrick, J.E., Kachergis, E., Lepak, N., McCord, S.E., Newingham, B.A., Pietrasiak, N., Toledo, D.N. 2025. Integrating erosion models into land health assessments to better understand landscape condition. Society of Range Management. Abstract.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Rangeland management is fundamental in maintaining or restoring rangeland ecosystem resources and services. Assessments of land health provide information for land managers to determine potential actions to achieve their management objectives. Qualitative and quantitative indicators provide the information to complete assessments of land health. For instance, Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health (IIRH) uses qualitative indicators of past erosion evidence as well as quantitative indicators of current erosion susceptibility to assess land health. Quantitative model estimates, such as sediment transport from the Aeolian EROsion (AERO) model and soil loss from the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM), could be incorporated into assessments of land health to describe erosion processes. Clarifying the benefits and a conceptual basis for integrating erosion models into assessments of land health will facilitate the use of land health assessments to inform management decisions. We present a conceptual basis for integrating modeled erosion indicators with qualitative and less reproducible quantitative indicators to evaluate land health using IIRH, AERO and RHEM. We found that integrating erosion models into assessments of land health can: A) improve understanding about the potential rate of erosion relative to ecologically similar sites and given the frequency of storm events in an assessment area; B) increase consistency of land health assessments by making some inputs to soil and site stability and hydrologic function assessments more reproducible; C) provide another line of evidence to support assessment conclusions; D) bring balance to assessment protocols that give more consideration to one erosion process (e.g., water) over another (e.g., wind); and E) support identifying areas with erosion risk where recent weather has not yet contributed to significant erosion evidence. Integrating erosion models into land health assessments can improve understanding of landscape condition to better inform rangeland management decisions and achieve management and restoration objectives.