Repositioning Rangeland Education for a Changing World

Rangelands in North America and abroad are important ecosystems because of the vast areas they cover and the essential products and ecological services they provide. A strong workforce of well-trained professionals is needed to manage these ecosystems; however, undergraduate rangeland education faces several major challenges pertaining to curriculum content and resources, teaching approaches and faculty preparedness, and student awareness and recruitment. A collaborative project, developed in 2010 by members of the Range Science Education Council (RSEC) and funded by a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant, addresses these challenges. The initial step is a needs assessment using focus groups with rangeland stakeholders and surveys with recent range student graduates to identify current and future issues and associated knowledge and skills on which to build a forward-looking rangeland education program. Assessment outcomes will provide a starting point for modernizing Society for Range Management accreditation and Office of Personnel Management hiring standards. Next, is the development of an interstate pool of curriculum resources that embrace new technology and a variety of instructional formats. An online clearinghouse of educational materials will include a catalog of online, intensive workshop-style, and traveling field courses, and open-source instructional materials, including Virtual Exploration of Rangeland Ecosystems modules developed by RSEC members. Ecosystem modules contain written and narrative instruction, video footage, GigaPan panoramic images, and management scenarios, which include interviews with progressive land managers. During 2011-2013, professional development workshops, webinars, symposia, and a mentorship program will provide opportunities to advance faculty teaching skills. Lastly, market research will be used to identify factors that influence educational choices of students and parents from traditional, non-traditional, and underrepresented groups. Market research will be coupled with the needs assessment to develop targeted recruitment and career materials. Project activities and products will be posted online (www.rangelandswest.org) and also disseminated through professional and popular publications and newsletters of universities, agencies, agricultural associations, professional organizations and NGOs

Synthesis Paper: Targeted Livestock Grazing: Prescription for Healthy Rangelands

Targeted livestock grazing is a proven tool for manipulating range land vegetation, and current knowledge about targeted livestock grazing is extensive and expanding rapidly. Targeted grazing prescriptions optimize the timing, frequency, intensity, and selectivity of grazing (or browsing) in combinations that purposely exert grazing/ browsing pressure on specific plant species or portions of the landscape. Targeted grazing differs from traditional grazing management in that the goal of targeted grazing is to apply defoliation or trampling to achieve specific vegetation management objectives,whereas the goal of traditional livestock grazing management is generally the production of livestock commodities. A shared aim of targeted livestock grazing and traditional grazing management is to sustain healthy soils, flora, fauna, and water resources that, in turn, can sustain natural ecological processes (e.g., nutrient cycle, water cycle, energy flow). Targeted grazing prescriptions integrate knowledge of plant ecology, livestock nutrition, and livestock foraging behavior. Livestock can be focused on target areas through fencing, herding, or supplement placement. Although practices can be developed to minimize the impact of toxins contained in target plants, the welfare of the animals used in targeted grazing must be a priority. Monitoring is needed to determine if targeted grazing is successful and to refine techniques to improve efficacy and efficiency. Examples of previous research studies and approaches are presented to highlight the ecological benefits that can be achieved when targeted grazing is applied properly. These cases include ways to suppress invasive plants and ways to enhance wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Future research should address the potential to select more adapted and effective livestock for targeted grazing and the associated animal welfare concerns with this practice. Targeted livestock grazing provides land managers a viable alternative to mechanical, chemical, and prescribed fire treatments to manipulate range land vegetation

Synthesis Paper: Targeted Livestock Grazing: Prescription for Healthy Rangelands

Targeted livestock grazing is a proven tool for manipulating rangeland vegetation, and current knowledge about targeted livestock grazing is extensive and expanding rapidly. Targeted grazing prescriptions optimize the timing, frequency, intensity, and selectivity of grazing (or browsing) in combinations that purposely exert grazing/browsing pressure on specific plant species or portions of the landscape. Targeted grazing differs from traditional grazing management in that the goal of targeted grazing is to apply defoliation or trampling to achieve specific vegetation management objectives, whereas the goal of traditional livestock grazing management is generally the production of livestock commodities. A shared aim of targeted livestock grazing and traditional grazing management is to sustain healthy soils, flora, fauna, and water resources that, in turn, can sustain natural ecological processes (e.g., nutrient cycle, water cycle, energy flow). Targeted grazing prescriptions integrate knowledge of plant ecology, livestock nutrition, and livestock foraging behavior. Livestock can be focused on target areas through fencing, herding, or supplement placement. Although practices can be developed to minimize the impact of toxins contained in target plants, the welfare of the animals used in targeted grazing must be a priority. Monitoring is needed to determine if targeted grazing is successful and to refine techniques to improve efficacy and efficiency. Examples of previous research studies and approaches are presented to highlight the ecological benefits that can be achieved when targeted grazing is applied properly. These cases include ways to suppress invasive plants and ways to enhance wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Future research should address the potential to select more adapted and effective livestock for targeted grazing and the associated animal welfare concerns with this practice. Targeted livestock grazing provides land managers a viable alternative to mechanical, chemical, and prescribed fire treatments to manipulate rangeland vegetation

Western Land Managers will Need all Available Tools for Adapting to Climate Change, Including Grazing: A Critique of Beschta et al.

In a previous article, Beschta et al. (Environ Manag 51(2):474–491, 2013) argue that grazing by large ungulates (both native and domestic) should be eliminated or greatly reduced on western public lands to reduce potential climate change impacts. The authors did not present a balanced synthesis of the scientific literature, and their publication is more of an opinion article. Their conclusions do not reflect the complexities associated with herbivore grazing. Because grazing is a complex ecological process, synthesis of the scientific literature can be a challenge. Legacy effects of uncontrolled grazing during the homestead era further complicate analysis of current grazing impacts. Interactions of climate change and grazing will depend on the specific situation. For example, increasing atmospheric CO₂ and temperatures may increase accumulation of fine fuels (primarily grasses) and thus increase wildfire risk. Prescribed grazing by livestock is one of the few management tools available for reducing fine fuel accumulation. While there are certainly points on the landscape where herbivore impacts can be identified, there are also vast grazed areas where impacts are minimal. Broad scale reduction of domestic and wild herbivores to help native plant communities cope with climate change will be unnecessary because over the past 20–50 years land managers have actively sought to bring populations of native and domestic herbivores in balance with the potential of vegetation and soils. To cope with a changing climate, land managers will need access to all available vegetation management tools, including grazing.Keywords: Grazing, Riparian areas, Public lands, Climate chang

Targeted Grazing - A Natural Approach to Vegetation Management

Book by Karen Launchbaugh et al. concerning Grazing, Rangeland Management, Livestock and other subject

Ecological Implications of Flavor Generalization by Sheep: Role of Flavor Intensity and Variation in Toxin Dose

Researchers studying diet selection of ungulate herbivores have generally considered plant palatability independent of animals\u27 dietary history. However, more recent studies demonstrate that experiences within the life of an animal strongly influence plant selection. We are beginning to understand how food preferences and aversions are formed through gastro-intestinal feedback. My research specifically examines factors that influence the formation of conditioned flavor aversions in the generalist herbivore, sheep. I first examined how variability of food toxicity affects the intake of those foods. I determined that sheep apparently have several mechanisms for regulating intake of toxic foods regardless of whether or not toxic variation can be detected through flavor changes. When changes in flavor correspond to changes in toxicity, animals adjusted intake based on an increase or decrease in toxin concentration. When toxic variation was not detectable through flavor, animals adopted a conservative strategy of eating an amount based on the maximum toxin dose they had experienced.\u27 I was also interested in how illness following the consumption of one food influences the selection of other foods. In diet selection, animals may generalize selection responses among foods with similar flavors. Generalization may be particularly important in the selection of novel foods, i.e., a new food may look, smell, or taste like a familiar food that is preferred or avoided. In several experiments on the generalization of flavor aversions I found that: 1) sheep generalize aversions from familiar to novel foods when both foods had a flavor in common; 2) the more sick an animal got after eating a food the greater the aversion formed to the food and the greater the generalization of that aversion to new foods; 3) the salience or intensity of flavor did not affect the strength of conditioned flavor aversions in sheep on the generalization of the aversion, but this may not always be the case; 4) flavor intensity strongly influenced the acceptance of a novel food. A novel food (wheat) with a strong flavor (3% added ground oregano) was more avoided than a novel food (wheat) with a mild flavor (1% oregano added)

Anti-Quality Factors in Rangeland and Pastureland Forages

Book by Karen Launchbaugh (ed.) concerning Pasture, Rangeland Management, Grazing and other subject

The Effect of Flavor Concentration and Toxin Dose on the Formation and Generalization of Flavor Aversions in Lambs

If an animal experiences gastrointestinal malaise after eating a novel feed, it develops a dislike for the feed called a conditioned flavor aversion (CFA). Understanding flavor aversions is important for diet-training procedures, understanding animal responses to poisonous plants, and preparing animals for new foraging environments. Our research objectives were to determine how variation in 1) flavor concentration (oregano) and 2) dose of gastrointestinal toxin (lithium chloride; LiCl) affected the establishment of CFA in lambs. In a series of experiments feeding lambs ground grains mixed with oregano, we examined how the formation of a CFA to one ground grain, with or without oregano, influenced the consumption of another oregano-flavored grain. We determined that 1) the higher the toxin dose, the stronger the CFA, the greater the generalization of the CFA to a similar feed, and the greater the avoidance of a novel feed; 2) lambs generalized aversions from familiar to novel feeds when both feeds had a flavor in common; and 3) the concentration or intensity of feed flavor apparently did not affect the acquisition or generalization of a CFA, but it did influence the acceptance of a novel feed. Our findings suggest that flavor aversions may be important in the acceptance of harvested or processed feeds

Understanding Landscape Use Patterns of Livestock as a Consequence of Foraging Behavior

Many grazing-management challenges stem from poor livestock distribution resulting in overuse of some areas and low utilization of others. Managing livestock-distribution patterns requires knowledge of pasture characteristics and animal behavior patterns. Behavioral patterns result from recognizable processes that include inherited attributes, individual and social learning systems, cue-consequence specificity, predispositions toward novel stimuli, and spatial memory. Through these behavioral mechanisms, animals form and revise preferences and aversions for specific locations in their foraging landscape. To accomplish habitat selection, domestic herbivores use sight and sound cues to seek and return to high-quality foraging locations. Nested within habitat selection are learned diet preferences and aversions by which ungulate herbivores associate taste with positive or negative postingestive feedback. The deliberate and careful modification of animal attributes and habitat characteristics could yield options for adaptive rangeland management. In this article, we describe the basic principles that underlie how animals make decisions about where to forage and how long to stay in a particular habitat. We also suggest management practices designed to modify animal behavior and alter habitat-use patterns. The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 2020Legacy DOIs that must be preserved: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v58i2_hower

The Evolving Role of Women as Rangeland Educators and Researchers in Colleges and Universities and in the Society for Range Management

On the Ground • In the last 30 years, women have increased in SRM membership percentage, which appears to have paralleled the number of women hired into academic positions and women entering the discipline. • Although the history of women as SRM members and rangeland educators is relatively short, the increase seems to reflect that of related disciplines. • Gender demographic changes have increased diversity within the SRM and many academic institutions, enhancing what each offers. • Disproportionately fewer women receiving recognition and advancing to leadership positions within SRM or higher ranks within academia may reflect opportunities for the range profession to address.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform March 202