Rangeland Health: New Methods to Classify, Inventory, and Monitor Rangelands

摘要

Public and private rangeland ecosystems serve the nation as productive resourcesfor wildlife, recreational use, and livestock grazing and as watersheds. As the debate over the health and management of U.S. rangelands has intensified, scientists have begun to question both the utility of current methods used to classify and inventory rangelands and all data available used to determine whether rangelands are being degraded. A further complication is that experts, using the same methods and data, have come to differing conclusions regarding the health of rangelands. The report examines the scientific basis of current methods used by three federal agencies--the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service and Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management--to inventory, classify, and monitor rangelands.