Guest Lecture - Rangeland Management Systems

Question 1

What are rangelands?

Answer 1

• Land that is not suited for continuous cultivation
• Receives limited management inputs

Question 2

What are limitations to cultivation

Answer 2

Too dry, too wet, too hilly, too cold

Question 3

What influences unique vegetation in rangelands?

Answer 3

climate, topography, soils, and disturbance

Question 4

Cropland vs rangeland

Answer 4

Cropland:
- intensive management and small land-base
- maximizes production at stable levels
- high energy subsidizes to stabilize
- short-term financial planning
- high ecological costs

Rangeland:
- extensive management and large land-base
- optimizes production at mean levels
- low energy subsidies
- long-term biological planning
- low ecological costs

Question 5

What are some rangeland outputs?

Answer 5

1. Forage availability - traditional rangeland use
2. Sustainable population size - wildlife management
3. Biodiversity - species richness and habitat diversity
4. Other land uses - recreation, timber, and watershed protection

Question 6

Define energy flow

Answer 6

Ability of a plant community to convert sunlight into biomass

Question 7

Define nutrient cycling

Answer 7

Efficiency of nutrient uptake, assimilation and return

Question 8

Define hydrologic function

Answer 8

Efficiency of water capture, retention by soil and subsequent uptake by plants

Question 9

What is the Intermediate disturbance hypothesis?

Answer 9

Herbivory often increases species biodiversity

Question 10

What are the consequences of excess herbivory?

Answer 10

Loss of structural diversity, changes in plant species composition, and declining plant production