Rangeland Systems: Processes, Management and Challenges

664 Pages·2017·18.435 MB·English

by  David D. Briske (eds.)

Springer Series on Environmental Management
David D. Briske Editor
Rangeland
Systems
Processes, Management and Challenges
Springer Series on Environmental Management
Series Editors
Lawrence R. Walker
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Department of Biological Sciences,
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Robert W. Howarth
Cornell University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Ithaca, New York, USA
Lawrence A. Kapustka
LK Consultancy, Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/412
The Springer Series on Environmental Management is concerned with humanity's
stewardship of the environment, our use of natural resources, and the ways in which
we can mitigate environmental hazards and reduce risks. The main focus of the
series is on applied ecology in the widest sense of the term, in theory and in practice,
and above all in the marriage of sound principles with pragmatic innovation. It
focuses on the definition and monitoring of environmental problems and the search
for solutions to them at scales that vary from global to local according to the scope
of analysis. No particular academic discipline dominates the series, for environmental
problems are interdisciplinary almost by definition. The volumes include a wide
variety of specialties, from oceanography to economics, sociology to silviculture,
toxicology to policy studies.
The series contributes to the immense effort by ecologists of all persuasions to
nurture an environment that is both stable and productive. Increasing rate of resource
use, population growth, and armed conflict have tended to magnify and complicate
environmental problems that were already difficult to solve a century ago. Attempts
to modify nature for the benefit of humankind have often had unintended
consequences, especially in the disruption of natural equilibria. Yet, at the same
time human ingenuity has developed a new range of sophisticated and powerful
techniques for solving environmental problems, such as pollution monitoring,
restoration ecology, landscape planning, risk management, and impact assessment.
The Springer Series on Environmental Management sheds light on the problems of
the modern environment and contributes to the further development of solutions.
David D. Briske
Editor
Rangeland Systems
Processes, Management and Challenges
Editor
David D. Briske
Ecosystem Science and Management
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX, USA
ISSN 0172-6161
Springer Series on Environmental Management
ISBN 978-3-319-46707-8 ISBN 978-3-319-46709-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-46709-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017930156
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017. This book is an open access publication
Open Access This book is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial 2.5 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/) which permits any
noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and
source are credited.
The images or other third party material in this book are included in the work’s Creative Commons
license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if such material is not included in the work’s
Creative Commons license and the respective action is not permitted by statutory regulation, users will
need to obtain permission from the license holder to duplicate, adapt or reproduce the material.
This work is subject to copyright. All commercial rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole
or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or
information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors
or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims
in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
This book summarizes the current status of scientific and management knowledge
regarding global rangelands and the major challenges that confront them. It origi-
nated from discussions to update the well-received book entitled Grazing
Management: An Ecological Perspective that was first published in 1991. However,
it became apparent that rangeland science had advanced so rapidly in the 25 years
since this book had been published that its scope was no longer sufficient to accom-
modate the newly created knowledge. Consequently, it was decided that a new book
with an expanded scope and greater relevance to contemporary rangeland chal-
lenges was required. This book also assesses why these major advances occurred so
rapidly following a half century of limited conceptual change. Major advances have
primarily been represented by scientific contributions such as nonequilibrium ecol-
ogy and resilience theory, but socio-political events, including new policy and
increasing societal demand for rangeland services, have also been important.
Collectively, this book represents an attempt to achieve these broader and more
contemporary objectives by emphasizing three major themes. The first summarizes
recent conceptual advances for rangeland science and management. The second
addresses the implications of these conceptual advances with respect to manage-
ment recommendations and policy decisions. The third evaluates some of the major
challenges confronting global rangelands in the twenty-first century. This book is
intended to complement applied range management textbooks by evaluating the
conceptual foundation of the profession and recommending changes to promote
future development and greater effectiveness.
The book is organized in three major sections addressing each of the primary themes.
• An ecological processes section includes six chapters highlighting major advances
in ecological knowledge and theory regarding the function and dynamics of
rangeland systems. Specific chapters emphasize woody plant encroachment, eco-
hydrology, soils and belowground processes, structural heterogeneity, nonequi-
librium ecology and resilience theory, and potential consequences of climate
change.
v
vi Preface
• A management section consists of five chapters describing major advances that
have originated, at least in part, from the knowledge previously described in the
ecological processes part. Management is used in a broad context that references
landscape and regional scales, in addition to smaller “pasture” scales, to opti-
mize land use decisions for both landowners and society at large. Specific chap-
ters focus on social-ecological systems, state-and-transition models, livestock
production systems, adaptive management, and wildlife–livestock interactions.
• A challenges section contains five chapters that focus on emerging, high profile
issues that will substantially impact the ability of rangelands to continue to pro-
vide ecosystem services to human societies. These chapters emphasize invasive
plant species, ecosystem services, climate change adaptation, ecological moni-
toring, and rangelands in developing nations.
Consolidation of these diverse and complex concepts within a single, readily
accessible volume is intended to improve communication among rangeland profes-
sionals as well as to better inform stakeholders from other sectors of current range-
land concepts and challenges. This volume is designed for a broad audience,
including ecosystem managers in the private sector, state and federal agencies, and
nongovernmental organizations; and policy makers in local, state, and national gov-
ernment. This content also has value for educational instruction and research, espe-
cially in multidisciplinary academic programs.
Collectively, the content of this book confirms that a more comprehensive frame-
work is necessary to address the complex challenges confronting global rangelands
in the twenty-first century. Rapid human population growth, climate change, land
tenure modification, landscape fragmentation, food security, biodiversity loss, and
globalized markets represent some of the major challenges that have minimized the
effectiveness of traditional range management. Many “complex” problems have
gone unrecognized or have been inappropriately identified as “simple” problems
that have been addressed with narrowly framed approaches. The complexity of con-
temporary challenges requires that rangelands be re-envisioned as integrated social-
ecological systems, in which societal values, goals, and capacities are given equal
consideration to those of ecological processes. A more comprehensive framework
of rangeland systems may enable management agencies and educational, research,
and policy-making institutions to more effectively assess complex problems and
develop appropriate solutions.
This book represents the most comprehensive and diverse compilation of knowl-
edge regarding rangeland systems to date. It is founded upon the collective experi-
ence, knowledge, and commitment of 80 authors who have worked in rangelands
throughout the world. The constructive contributions of 35 reviewers, some of
whom also served as authors of related chapters, improved the presentation and
quality of content and enhanced content integration among chapters. The USDA-
ARS Jornada Experimental Range generously provided funds to publish this book
Preface vii
in an open access venue and to partially support the summer salary of the editor
during book preparation. The guidance of the Springer Nature senior editor for
environmental science, Melinda Paul, and book project manager, Silembarasan
Panneerselvam, is gratefully acknowledged. I extend my sincere appreciation to all
who were involved in the inception, writing, and publication of this volume.
College Station, TX David D. Briske
Contents
1 Rangeland Systems: Foundation for a Conceptual Framework ......... 1
David D. Briske
Section I Processes
2 Woody Plant Encroachment: Causes and Consequences .................... 25
Steven R. Archer, Erik M. Andersen, Katharine I. Predick,
Susan Schwinning, Robert J. Steidl, and Steven R. Woods
3 Ecohydrology: Processes and Implications for Rangelands ................ 85
Bradford P. Wilcox, David Le Maitre, Esteban Jobbagy,
Lixin Wang, and David D. Breshears
4 Soil and Belowground Processes ............................................................ 131
R. Dave Evans, Richard A. Gill, Valerie T. Eviner, and Vanessa Bailey
5 Heterogeneity as the Basis for Rangeland Management ..................... 169
Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Richard W.S. Fynn, Devan Allen McGranahan,
and Dirac Twidwell
6 Nonequilibrium Ecology and Resilience Theory .................................. 197
David D. Briske, Andrew W. Illius, and J. Marty Anderies
7 Ecological Consequences of Climate Change on Rangelands ............. 229
H. Wayne Polley, Derek W. Bailey, Robert S. Nowak,
and Mark Stafford-Smith
Section II Management
8 Rangelands as Social–Ecological Systems ............................................ 263
Tracy Hruska, Lynn Huntsinger, Mark Brunson, Wenjun Li,
Nadine Marshall, José L. Oviedo, and Hilary Whitcomb
ix
x Contents
9 State and Transition Models: Theory, Applications, and Challenges 303
Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Andrew Ash, Joel R. Brown, Bulgamaa
Densambuu, María Fernández-Giménez, Jamin Johanson,
Matthew Levi, Dardo Lopez, Raul Peinetti, Libby Rumpff,
and Patrick Shaver
10 Livestock Production Systems ............................................................... 347
Justin D. Derner, Leigh Hunt, Kepler Euclides Filho, John Ritten,
Judith Capper, and Guodong Han
11 Adaptive Management of Rangeland Systems ..................................... 373
Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Joseph J. Fontaine,
Ahjond S. Garmestani, Noelle M. Hart, Kevin L. Pope,
and Dirac Twidwell
12 Managing the Livestock–Wildlife Interface on Rangelands ............... 395
Johan T. du Toit, Paul C. Cross, and Marion Valeix
Section III Challenges
13 Invasive Plant Species and Novel Rangeland Systems ......................... 429
Joseph M. DiTomaso, Thomas A. Monaco, Jeremy J. James,
and Jennifer Firn
14 Rangeland Ecosystem Services: Nature’s Supply
and Humans’ Demand ............................................................................ 467
Osvaldo E. Sala, Laura Yahdjian, Kris Havstad, and Martín R. Aguiar
15 Managing Climate Change Risks in Rangeland Systems .................... 491
Linda A. Joyce and Nadine A. Marshall
16 Monitoring Protocols: Options, Approaches, Implementation,
Benefits ..................................................................................................... 527
Jason W. Karl, Jeffrey E. Herrick, and David A. Pyke
17 Rangeland Systems in Developing Nations:
Conceptual Advances and Societal Implications ................................ 569
D. Layne Coppock, María Fernández-Giménez, Pierre Hiernaux,
Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Catherine Schloeder, Corinne Valdivia,
José Tulio Arredondo, Michael Jacobs, Cecilia Turin,
and Matthew Turner
Index ................................................................................................................. 643