Range management from grassland ecology

Abstract

The frequency of activity in institutional research in grassland ecology has had a bimodal temporal distribution. The first peak occurred about 1940 and was derived from the cadre of ecologists that emanated from the Department of Botany at the University of Nebraska. Range management as a profession partially distinct from grassland ecology, evolved from the Nebraskan network. The first era lasted about 30 years. The inception of the Grassland Biome component of the International Biological Program (IBP) marked the inception of the second era of intense activity by grassland ecologists, the duration of which was about 10 years, peaking in the mid-1970’s. The program produced prodigious detail on grassland ecology, but no new paradigms for the practices of range management. The existence and character of grassland is determined on the basis of prevailing climate, age and human intervention. Community composition, seasonal, trophic and nutrient dynamics, edaphic traits and adaptive fitness are a few of the many ecological concepts that are applied in range management practices. Knowledge of ecological traits of grassland can be used in harmony with knowledge of external forces such as marketability to formulate management plans that might include when, where, with what, how many and how often to graze livestock. From the domain of grassland ecology, the practices of describing range sites and evaluating range condition were brought forth from the concepts of community classification and ecological succession, respectively. Governmental agencies generously utilize these applications, although change and academic controversy are enmeshed. The ecosystem concept, although not directly derived from grassland ecology, is widely vocalized in range management, primarily as a heuristic device rather than one of practicability. The hierarchy is a different approach that recently has been advocated by some ecologists. The relatively recently derived sphere of research in the population biology of plants holds promise for applications in range management, such as revegetation and pest control. Contemporary research in natural plant/herbivore relationships in grasslands has revealed detail on the interdependence of these 2 conspicuous trophic levels, and has provided abundant theorizations for experimentation with domestic animals on rangeland.