Challenges, solutions and research priorities for sustainable rangelands

Australia’s rangeland communities, industries, and environment are under increasing pressures from anthropogenic activities and global changes more broadly. We conducted a horizon scan to identify and prioritise key challenges facing Australian rangelands and their communities, and outline possible avenues to address these challenges, with a particular focus on research priorities. We surveyed participants of the Australian Rangeland Society 20th Biennial Conference, held in Canberra in September 2019, before the conference and in interactive workshops during the conference, in order to identify key challenges, potential solutions, and research priorities. The feedback was broadly grouped into six themes associated with supporting local communities, managing natural capital, climate variability and change, traditional knowledge, governance, and research and development. Each theme had several sub-themes and potential solutions to ensure positive, long-term outcomes for the rangelands. The survey responses made it clear that supporting ‘resilient and sustainable rangelands that provide cultural, societal, environmental and economic outcomes simultaneously’ is of great value to stakeholders. The synthesis of survey responses combined with expert knowledge highlighted that sustaining local communities in the long term will require that the inherent social, cultural and natural capital of rangelands are managed sustainably, particularly in light of current and projected variability in climate. Establishment of guidelines and approaches to address these challenges will benefit from: (i) an increased recognition of the value and contributions of traditional knowledge and practices; (ii) development of better governance that is guided by and benefits local stakeholders; and (iii) more funding to conduct and implement strong research and development activities, with research focused on addressing critical knowledge gaps as identified by the local stakeholders. This requires strong governance with legislation and policies that work for the rangelands. We provide a framework that indicates the key knowledge gaps and how innovations may be implemented and scaled out, up and deep to achieve the resilience of Australia’s rangelands. The same principles could be adapted to address challenges in rangelands on other continents, with similar beneficial outcomes

Land restoration for achieving SDG 15 : protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Land restoration, together with avoidance and reduction of land degradation, provides both a clear pathway to achieve land degradation neutrality (target 15.3), while providing opportunities to support achievement of the other Sustainable Development Goals. A focus on sustainable management and restoration of the land base is the central tenet of a better and sustainable future, where poverty is reduced, food and water are secured, biodiversity is safeguarded, and sustainable livelihoods are promoted (UNCCD 2017). This chapter recognizes that land restoration is essential for achieving SDG 15 and provides a complementary perspective on benefits for the other SDGs to the one presented in chapter 2

Automated mapping of burned areas in semi-arid ecosystems using modis time-series imagery

Understanding spatial and temporal patterns of burned areas at regional scales, provides a long-term perspective of fire processes and its effects on ecosystems and vegetation recovery patterns, and it is a key factor to design prevention and post-fire restoration plans and strategies. Standard satellite burned area and active fire products derived from the 500-m MODIS and SPOT are avail - able to this end. However, prior research caution on the use of these global-scale products for regional and sub-regional applica - tions. Consequently, we propose a novel algorithm for automated identification and mapping of burned areas at regional scale in semi-arid shrublands. The algorithm uses a set of the Normalized Burned Ratio Index products derived from MODIS time series; using a two-phased cycle, it firstly detects potentially burned pixels while keeping a low commission error (false detection of burned areas), and subsequently labels them as seed patches. Region growing image segmentation algorithms are applied to the seed patches in the second-phase, to define the perimeter of fire affected areas while decreasing omission errors (missing real burned areas). Independently-derived Landsat ETM+ burned-area reference data was used for validation purposes. The correlation between the size of burnt areas detected by the global fire products and independently-derived Landsat reference data ranged from R2 = 0.01 - 0.28, while our algorithm performed showed a stronger correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.96). Our findings confirm prior research calling for caution when using the global fire products locally or regionally

Ecological restoration exacerbates the agriculture-induced water crisis in North China Region

The North China Region (NCR), a typical grain base and highly populated area in China, is a well-recognized global groundwater funnel. Severe water shortage has been threatening and limiting sustainable development in the region over the past decades. Previous studies have reported the depleted water resources in the NCR and attributed the major driver to intensified agricultural water use, hardly considering the effects of the large-scale implementation of ecological restoration (ER) programs. As terrestrial water storage (TWS) is a critical indicator for measuring and evaluating regional water resources, understanding its spatial and temporal dynamics and responses to ER programs is significant for sustainable water management in the NCR. Here, we examine the interannual variations and trends of TWS in the NCR during 2002–2016 by using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data and the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform. We find the significantly (p < 0.01) decreasing TWS (-8.9 mm/yr) and identify a hotspot with the most rapid depletion (-12.7±0.45 mm/yr) in the western NCR, where interannual variations and spatial patterns of TWS depletion are consistent with those of ER-induced greening. Attribution analyses of TWS depletion by considering precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff suggest increasing evapotranspiration induced by afforestation as the major driver for TWS depletion in the ER regions. Our study highlights ER is posing a new threat to water security in the NCR, and taking ecological water usage into account would be necessary for the synergy of food, water, and ecological securities and regional sustainable development

Scientific Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality: A Report of the Science-Policy Interface

At the 12th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Parties were invited to formulate voluntary targets to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN). This “Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality” is intended to provide a scientifically-sound basis for understanding and implementing LDN, and to inform the development of practical guidance for pursuing LDN and monitoring achievement of LDN for those UNCCD Parties that choose to pursue a LDN target. The LDN conceptual framework focuses on the goal of LDN and the supporting processes required to deliver this goal, including biophysical and socio-economic aspects, and their interactions