Rangeland Ecology & Management, Volume 68, Number 1 (January 2015)
http://hdl.handle.net/10150/656886
2024-03-29T06:58:34Z
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Rangeland Ecology & Management Table of Contents Volume 68, Number 1 (2015)
http://hdl.handle.net/10150/656959
Rangeland Ecology & Management Table of Contents Volume 68, Number 1 (2015)
2015-01-01T00:00:00Z
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When art and science meet: Integrating knowledge of French herders with science of foraging behavior
http://hdl.handle.net/10150/656958
When art and science meet: Integrating knowledge of French herders with science of foraging behavior
Meuret, M.; Provenza, F. D.
Landscapes are complex creative systems that continually transform due to ever-changing relationships among environments and organisms including human beings. During the past half-century, those who study these relationships and those who manage them have become increasingly isolated from one another in their attempts to understand and manage landscapes. As we have come to rely on experimental science to understand principles, we have diminished the importance of experiential knowledge in understanding and implementing practices. In this paper, we discuss convergence of the knowledge of herders from Southeastern France with the science of foraging behavior. We review insights of researchers gained through interviews with herders, surveys, and in situ recordings of the foraging behavior of closely herded sheep and goats. Though years of hands-on experience, herders have come to understand processes involved in food and habitat selection. Using a conceptual model of four steps, which represent four intertwined processes for a given herder-herd-fodder resource, we describe how herders 1) teach their animals to use the full range of forages, 2) train the herd to respect the boundaries of grazing areas, 3) modulate what they call the "temporary palatability scoring" of forages, and 4) establish daily grazing circuits to stimulate appetite and intake through meal sequencing. This knowledge is also valuable when the objective is to boost appetite for particular forages, such as coarse grasses, scrub, and invasive species. The practices of herders are consistent with scientific studies that show the importance of plant biodiversity for enabling animals to select nutritious diets and the significance of animal learning and culture on nutrition, production, and health. We conclude by highlighting implications for furthering the exchange between herders and scientists and by providing implications for managing grazing on pastures and rangelands, with or without shepherds and dogs, and targeting grazing on particular plants and habitats. © 2015 Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2015-01-01T00:00:00Z
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Weather affects grasshopper population dynamics in continental grassland over annual and decadal periods
http://hdl.handle.net/10150/656957
Weather affects grasshopper population dynamics in continental grassland over annual and decadal periods
Jonas, J. L.; Wolesensky, W.; Joern, A.
Understanding the complex dynamics of insect herbivores requires consideration of both exogenous and endogenous factors at multiple temporal scales. This problem is difficult due to differences in population responses among closely related taxa. Increased understanding of dynamic relationships between exogenous and endogenous factors will facilitate forecasting and suggest nodes in the life cycle of economically important species susceptible to intervention by managers. This study uses an information-theoretic approach to examine the contributions of weather and density to model population densities and growth rates of nine common grasshopper species from continental U.S. grassland over 25 years. In general, grass-feeding species and total grass-feeders as a functional group were most closely associated with weather during the year before hatching. Increased variability in prior growing season precipitation was associated with increased densities of Mermiria bivittata, Opeia obscura, Phoetaliotes nebrascensis, and the grass-feeding guild. Melanoplus sanguinipes densities tended to be smaller following warm fall seasons, while Amphitoruns coloradus declined during the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation or after warmer than average winters. Population growth rate dynamics of all grouped species combinations were best explained by models including variability in precipitation during the prior year growing season. Large-scale Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) patterns were also associated with growth rate dynamics of the mixed-feeding species group. Density showed a negative relationship with population growth rates of five species. This study indicates the importance of parental and diapause environmental conditions and the utility of incorporating long-term, readily obtained decadal weather indices for forecasting grasshopper densities and identifying critical years with regard to grasshopper management--at least to the degree that the past will continue to predict the future as global climates change. © 2015 Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2015-01-01T00:00:00Z
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Tourism impacts on indigenous pastoral communities in China
http://hdl.handle.net/10150/656956
Tourism impacts on indigenous pastoral communities in China
Fan, M.; Li, W.; Wei, G.; Luo, F.
In China, booming tourism is considered to be a win-win solution to fight both ecosystem degradation and poverty in pastoral areas. However, whether this alternative livelihood can reduce pressure on rangeland and improve livelihood of indigenous peoples has not yet been explored. To examine tourism's impacts on pastoral communities, we conducted field surveys at Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang and distributed questionnaires in 12 provinces including most of the grassland areas of China. On the basis of fieldwork and national survey data, we found that different types of operations have different impacts on livelihood and ecosystem in pastoral area. Pastoralists involved in tourism can increase the income of pastoral households during the summer tourism season, but that pastoralism still provides the main guarantee of a sustainable livelihood. However, along with the development of tourism, business enterprises from outside the pastoral area may replace local herders in tourism operations. As a result, a large area of rangeland may be lost to local herders, who only receive money if they rent their pastures or serve as laborers; unfortunately, many residents lack the training to perform better-paid roles. In addition, we found that pure tourism that replaces pastoralism does not necessarily protect the rangeland, as it brings a variety of environmental impacts and disrupts traditional use that the rangeland may be adapted to. On the basis of our findings, we recommend that tourism managed by local operators who also engage in pastoralism should become the main direction for economic development. © 2015 Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2015-01-01T00:00:00Z