Ecological Sites: Can they be Managed to Promote Livestock Production9

摘要

Ecological sites are distinct areas of land with specific soil, topographic, and climate characteristics that differ from other kinds of land in terms of ability to produce a distinctive type, kind, and amount of vegetation. Ecological sites are one of the world's largest guiding frameworks for rangeland assessment, monitoring, and management.1 Since publication of the seminal paper on ecological sites, researchers and range managers have been working to better understand vegetation dynamics and plant successional pathways. Specifically, research efforts have included defining alternate stable states, emphasizing differences between pathways and transitions, identifying thresholds and quantifying rangeland health. developing applications for heterogeneous landscapes, determining influences of small mammal grazers, and quantifying temporal rates of vegetation change.