Application of Vulnerability Assessment to a Grazed Rangeland: Toward an Integrated Conceptual Framework

Abstract

On the Ground • Rangeland vulnerability assessments have the potential to function as conceptual tools for policymakers and rangeland users to ensure the sustainable management of vulnerable rangelands. • This contribution reviews the different approaches to conceptualizing vulnerability assessments in order to introduce an initial framework for how to construct rangeland vulnerability assessments. • We present a conceptual framework for designing a rangeland vulnerability assessment that captures a suite of both socioeconomic and biophysical variables. • This framework also facilitates the incorporation of the local knowledge of rangeland experts and users for further refinement of a rangeland vulnerability assessment applied in a specific locale.