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Rangeland Analysis Platform - vegetation cover 2007

Rangeland Analysis Platform vegetation cover 2007 These data represent rangeland cover estimates determined by Jones et al. (2018) and as accessible on the Rangeland Analysis Platform (https://rangelands.app). Values are percent aerial cover of the following rangeland functional groups: Band 1 - annual forbs and grasses Band 2 - bare ground Band 3 - litter Band 4 - perennial forbs and grasses Band 5 - shrubs Band 6 - trees No Data value = 255 Although these data were produced across a broad region, they are primarily intended for rangeland ecosystems. Cover estimates may not be suitable in other ecosystems, e.g., forests, agricultural lands. Data are in WGS84 Geographic Coordinate System (EPSG:4326); spatial resolution is approximately 30m. Please attribute these data to: Jones, M. O., B. W. Allred, D. E. Naugle, J. D. Maestas, P. Donnelly, L. J. Metz, J. Karl, R. Smith, B. Bestelmeyer, C. Boyd, J. D. Kerby, and J. D. McIver. 2018. Innovation in rangeland monitoring: annual, 30 m, plant functional type percent cover maps for U.S. rangelands, 1984-2017. Ecosphere 9:e02430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2430

Rangeland Analysis Platform - vegetation cover 2005

Rangeland Analysis Platform vegetation cover 2005 These data represent rangeland cover estimates determined by Jones et al. (2018) and as accessible on the Rangeland Analysis Platform (https://rangelands.app). Values are percent aerial cover of the following rangeland functional groups: Band 1 - annual forbs and grasses Band 2 - bare ground Band 3 - litter Band 4 - perennial forbs and grasses Band 5 - shrubs Band 6 - trees No Data value = 255 Although these data were produced across a broad region, they are primarily intended for rangeland ecosystems. Cover estimates may not be suitable in other ecosystems, e.g., forests, agricultural lands. Data are in WGS84 Geographic Coordinate System (EPSG:4326); spatial resolution is approximately 30m. Please attribute these data to: Jones, M. O., B. W. Allred, D. E. Naugle, J. D. Maestas, P. Donnelly, L. J. Metz, J. Karl, R. Smith, B. Bestelmeyer, C. Boyd, J. D. Kerby, and J. D. McIver. 2018. Innovation in rangeland monitoring: annual, 30 m, plant functional type percent cover maps for U.S. rangelands, 1984-2017. Ecosphere 9:e02430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2430

Rangeland Analysis Platform - vegetation cover 2004

Rangeland Analysis Platform vegetation cover 2004 These data represent rangeland cover estimates determined by Jones et al. (2018) and as accessible on the Rangeland Analysis Platform (https://rangelands.app). Values are percent aerial cover of the following rangeland functional groups: Band 1 - annual forbs and grasses Band 2 - bare ground Band 3 - litter Band 4 - perennial forbs and grasses Band 5 - shrubs Band 6 - trees No Data value = 255 Although these data were produced across a broad region, they are primarily intended for rangeland ecosystems. Cover estimates may not be suitable in other ecosystems, e.g., forests, agricultural lands. Data are in WGS84 Geographic Coordinate System (EPSG:4326); spatial resolution is approximately 30m. Please attribute these data to: Jones, M. O., B. W. Allred, D. E. Naugle, J. D. Maestas, P. Donnelly, L. J. Metz, J. Karl, R. Smith, B. Bestelmeyer, C. Boyd, J. D. Kerby, and J. D. McIver. 2018. Innovation in rangeland monitoring: annual, 30 m, plant functional type percent cover maps for U.S. rangelands, 1984-2017. Ecosphere 9:e02430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2430

Rangeland Analysis Platform - vegetation cover 2014

Rangeland Analysis Platform vegetation cover 2014 These data represent rangeland cover estimates determined by Jones et al. (2018) and as accessible on the Rangeland Analysis Platform (https://rangelands.app). Values are percent aerial cover of the following rangeland functional groups: Band 1 - annual forbs and grasses Band 2 - bare ground Band 3 - litter Band 4 - perennial forbs and grasses Band 5 - shrubs Band 6 - trees No Data value = 255 Although these data were produced across a broad region, they are primarily intended for rangeland ecosystems. Cover estimates may not be suitable in other ecosystems, e.g., forests, agricultural lands. Data are in WGS84 Geographic Coordinate System (EPSG:4326); spatial resolution is approximately 30m. Please attribute these data to: Jones, M. O., B. W. Allred, D. E. Naugle, J. D. Maestas, P. Donnelly, L. J. Metz, J. Karl, R. Smith, B. Bestelmeyer, C. Boyd, J. D. Kerby, and J. D. McIver. 2018. Innovation in rangeland monitoring: annual, 30 m, plant functional type percent cover maps for U.S. rangelands, 1984-2017. Ecosphere 9:e02430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2430

Rangeland Analysis Platform - vegetation cover 2015

Rangeland Analysis Platform vegetation cover 2015 These data represent rangeland cover estimates determined by Jones et al. (2018) and as accessible on the Rangeland Analysis Platform (https://rangelands.app). Values are percent aerial cover of the following rangeland functional groups: Band 1 - annual forbs and grasses Band 2 - bare ground Band 3 - litter Band 4 - perennial forbs and grasses Band 5 - shrubs Band 6 - trees No Data value = 255 Although these data were produced across a broad region, they are primarily intended for rangeland ecosystems. Cover estimates may not be suitable in other ecosystems, e.g., forests, agricultural lands. Data are in WGS84 Geographic Coordinate System (EPSG:4326); spatial resolution is approximately 30m. Please attribute these data to: Jones, M. O., B. W. Allred, D. E. Naugle, J. D. Maestas, P. Donnelly, L. J. Metz, J. Karl, R. Smith, B. Bestelmeyer, C. Boyd, J. D. Kerby, and J. D. McIver. 2018. Innovation in rangeland monitoring: annual, 30 m, plant functional type percent cover maps for U.S. rangelands, 1984-2017. Ecosphere 9:e02430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2430

opencc-zeroJun 2020View details →

Data from: Aridity exacerbates grazing-induced rangeland degradation: a population approach for dominant grasses

1. The current human-induced intensification of grazing pressure and the increase of aridity as a result of climate alterations are unprecedented and have been identified as the main drivers that cause desertification in rangelands worldwide. In these ecosystems, human well-being mostly depends on plant species that provide forage for domestic herbivores. However, scarce evidence exists about the interaction between regional aridity level and human-induced disturbances as determinants of forage plant populations' structure and dynamics. 2. We studied the effects of domestic grazing intensification on the population structure of dominant native grasses, in three rangeland sites located across a regional aridity gradient: a semi-desert (high-aridity site), a shrub-grass steppe (intermediate-aridity site) and a grass steppe (low-aridity site). We also studied the effect of two-year grazing exclusion on plant growth of a key native forage grass species common to the three sites. 3. Grazing decreased total grass density and increased the frequency of small plants in all sites, particularly for forage species. However, the size of the grazing intensification effect was the greatest in the high-aridity site, where intensive grazing produced a ten-fold reduction of grass density. Moreover, plant recovery (growth) after grazing exclusion was lower as aridity increased. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our study provides evidence of a negative synergistic effect of grazing pressure and aridity that may lead to the collapse of grass populations. Long-term grazing intensification degrades the population structure of grasses, particularly in high-aridity sites, where the forage provision is substantially reduced. These results refute the hypothesis that plant-traits of dominant species adapted to high-aridity allow them to resist herbivory. Besides, high-aridity delays plant recovery after defoliation (low resilience). The management of both the grazing pressure and the length of grazing-rest according to the ecological-site aridity are key aspects for maintaining the forage provision of rangelands. Monitoring plant populations' structure through time and space strengthens inferences about responses of forage species to ongoing changes in disturbance and stress regimes. This knowledge is complementary to regional and worldwide monitoring endeavors based on land cover, and it contributes to the robust design of sustainable management of global rangelands.

opencc-zeroSep 2020View details →

Grazing and climate change have site-dependent interactive effects on vegetation in Asian montane rangelands

1. Climate over Asian montane rangelands is changing faster than the global average, posing serious threats to the future of the region's livestock-based economies and cultures. Effects of climate change on rangeland vegetation likely depend on grazing by herbivores but the potential responses of vegetation to such changes in climate and grazing regimes remains unclear. 2. We examined vegetation responses to experimentally simulated climate change (warming, drought and increased rainfall) and grazing (clipping vegetation) between 2015-2018 at two mountain rangeland sites: Spiti valley, in the Indian Trans-Himalaya and Tost, in the Gobi-Altai Mountains in Mongolia. 3. Clipping and climate change manipulations interactively reduced vegetation cover and biomass but did not affect species richness. Treatment effects and their interactions varied between sites. In ungrazed plots, vegetation cover and biomass declined sharply in response to warming (18-35%) and drought (20-50%) at the two sites, and, surprisingly also declined slightly in response to increased rainfall (20%) at Tost. While the effects of climate treatments were largely similar in the grazed and ungrazed plots in Tost, they were larger in the ungrazed plots in Spiti. The decline in vegetation cover was driven by a decline in the cover of both forbs and grasses. 4. In combination, grazing and warming (Tost) or drought (Spiti) had sub-additive effects, i.e., the decrease in vegetation cover in response to grazing and warming/drought was less than the sum of their independent effects but greater than the effect of either manipulation alone. Of the two, warming had a greater effect than drought at the more arid site (Tost), while drought had a larger effect at the more mesic site (Spiti). Synthesis and applications. Our findings show that future changes in climate, including just over 1oC of warming, could undermine the sustainability of pastoral economies and the persistence of wildlife across Asian montane rangelands. Further, grazing by herbivores will play an important role in mediating rangeland responses to climate change; thus, pasture management in concert with local pastoralists will be crucial in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change on rangelands, pastoral livelihoods and wildlife populations.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Applying a dryland degradation framework for rangelands: the case of Mongolia

Livestock-caused rangeland degradation remains a major policy concern globally and the subject of widespread scientific study. This concern persists in part because it is difficult to isolate the effects of livestock from climate and other factors that influence ecosystem conditions. Further, degradation studies seldom use multiple plant and soil indicators linked to a clear definition of and ecologically-grounded framework for degradation assessment that distinguishes different levels of degradation. Here, we integrate two globally applicable rangeland degradation frameworks and apply them to a broad-scale empirical dataset for the country of Mongolia. We compare our assessment results with two other recent national rangeland degradation assessments in Mongolia to gauge consistency of findings across assessments and evaluate the utility of our framework. We measured livestock-use impacts across Mongolia's major ecological zones: mountain and forest steppe, eastern steppe, steppe, and desert steppe. At 143 sites in 36 counties, we measured livestock-use and degradation indicators at increasing distances from livestock corrals in winter-grazed pastures. At each site, we measured multiple indicators linked to our degradation framework, including plant cover, standing biomass, palatability, species richness, forage quality, vegetation gaps and soil surface characteristics. Livestock use had no effect on soils, plant species richness or standing crop biomass in any ecological zone, but subtly affected plant cover and palatable plant abundance. Livestock effects were strongest in the steppe zone, moderate in the desert steppe and limited in the mountain/forest and eastern steppes. Our results aligned closely with those of two other recent country-wide assessments, suggesting that our framework may have widespread application. All three assessments found that very severe and irreversible degradation is rare in Mongolia (1-18% of land area), with most rangelands only slightly (33-53%) or moderately (25-40%) degraded. We conclude that very severe livestock-induced rangeland degradation is overstated in Mongolia. However, targeted rangeland restoration coupled with monitoring, adaptive management and stronger rangeland governance are needed to prevent further degradation where heavy grazing could cause irreversible change. Given the broad applicability of our degradation framework for Mongolia, we suggest it be tested for application in other temperate grasslands throughout Central Asia and North America.

opencc-zeroApr 2020View details →

Domestic and wild native herbivores combined are still overgrazing Patagonia rangelands: A response to Marino et al. (2019)

1. Oliva et al. (2019) based upon primary productivity estimates concluded that, after long periods of overgrazing, Patagonia´s domestic stocks adjusted to regional-scale herbivore carrying capacity at the end of last century. Guanaco populations, a native camelid, increased thereafter driving combined grazing pressures once again over carrying capacity in some areas. 2. Marino, Rodriguez and Schroeder (2019) argued that domestic grazing is not really at equilibrium because domestic stocks are concentrated in areas that remain overgrazed. They support the idea that guanacos auto-regulate their density by resource-defence territoriality and are weak competitors with domestic herbivores, occupying marginal areas. In their view Oliva et al. (2019) put guanacos in the role of scapegoats, leaving domestic stocks unchecked. 3. Equilibrium at regional scale does not preclude over and under-grazing at smaller (local) scales. By separating areas with and without domestic stocks Marino et al. (2019) estimated 28% and 73% overgrazing in the provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz, respectively. We recalculated these estimates and found overgrazing of 28% and 47% for Chubut and Santa Cruz, respectively. But when combined with guanaco densities overgrazing increases to 48 and 108% for Chubut and Santa Cruz, respectively. 4. We question the hypothesised lack of competitive value and effective self-regulating mechanisms in guanacos. A data set of 13 sheep farms show densities of 12-61 (mean 27) guanacos.km-2 with a combined grazing pressure above carrying capacity. Populations in a protected area in Chubut reached 42 guanacos.km-2, crashed during drought with 60% mortality, and increased thereafter to 70 guanacos.km-2, but even at peak numbers recruitment population rates remained extremely high. 5. Synthesis and applications. Marino et al 2019 are right to question the apparent equilibrium of domestic stocks with carrying capacity, as they are concentrated in part of the territory that may be still overgrazed. But ground assessments show that guanaco populations can reach densities well over carrying capacity with or without sheep. This only stresses our conclusion that joint management of the native-domestic herbivore system is urgently needed. Farm management plans may transform an apparent competitor into a valuable natural complementary resource to sheep raising

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Plant demographic and functional responses to management intensification: a long-term study in a Mediterranean rangeland

1. Understanding how functional traits, which are key for plant functioning, relate to demographic parameters of populations is central to tackle pending issues in plant ecology such as the forecast of the fate of populations and communities in a changing world, the quantification of community assembly processes or the improvement of species distribution models. We addressed this question in the case of species from a Mediterranean rangeland of southern France. 2. Changes in species abundance in response to management intensification (fertilization and increased grazing pressure) were followed over a 28-year period. Probabilities of presence, and elasticities of the changes in the probability of space occupancy to colonization and survival, which are analogues of demographic parameters, were calculated for 53 species from the time series of abundance data using a space occupancy model. Nine quantitative traits pertaining to resource use, plant morphology, regeneration and phenology were measured on these species and related to demographic parameters. 3. The long-term dynamics of species in response to management intensification was associated with major changes in functional traits and strategies. Changes in the probability of occurrence – analogous to population growth rate - were correlated with traits describing the fast-slow continuum of leaf functioning. The elasticity of population growth rate to colonization was significantly related to reproductive plant height and seed mass, and to a lower extent, to leaf carbon isotopic ratio. 4. Synthesis. The functional response of species to management intensification corresponds to a shift along the second axis of a recently identified global spectrum of plant form and function, which maps, to some extent, onto the fast-slow continuum of life-history strategies. By contrast, the elasticity of colonization relates to the global spectrum axis capturing the size of organs. Seed mass contributes to this axis and is assumed to relate to one of the important traits structuring the reproductive strategy axis of life histories as well, namely net reproductive rate. While this mapping between functional and life-history traits is appealing, further tests in contrasting types of communities are required to assess its degree of generality.

opencc-zeroMar 2020View details →

Data from: Assessing spatial patterns of soil erosion in a high‐latitude rangeland

High‐latitude areas are experiencing rapid change: we therefore need a better understanding of the processes controlling soil erosion in these environments. We used a spatiotemporal approach to investigate soil erosion in Svalbarðstunga, Iceland (66° N, 15° W), a degraded rangeland. We used three complementary datasets: 1) high‐resolution UAV imagery collected from 12 sites (total area ~0.75 km2); 2) historical imagery of the same sites; and 3) a simple, spatially‐explicit cellular automata model. Sites were located along a gradient of increasing altitude and distance from the sea, and varied in erosion severity (5–47% eroded). We found that there was no simple relationship between location along the environmental gradient and the spatial characteristics of erosion. Patch‐size frequency distributions lacked a characteristic scale of variation, but followed a power‐law distribution on five of the 12 sites. Present total eroded area is poorly related to current, site‐scale levels of environmental stress, but the number of small erosion patches did reflect site‐level stress. Small (< 25 m2) erosion patches clustered near large patches. The model results suggested that the large‐scale patterns observed likely arise from strong, local interactions, which mean that erosion spreads from degraded areas. Our findings suggest that contemporary erosion patterns reflect historical stresses, as well as current environmental conditions. The importance of abiotic processes to the growth of large erosion patches and their relative insensitivity to current environmental conditions makes it likely that the total eroded area will continue to increase, despite a warming climate and reducing levels of grazing pressure.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Cross-scale analysis reveals interacting predictors of annual and perennial cover in Northern Great Basin rangelands

Exotic annual grass invasion is a widespread threat to the integrity of sagebrush ecosystems in Western North America. Although many predictors of annual grass prevalence and native perennial vegetation have been identified, there remains substantial uncertainty about how regional-scale and local-scale predictors interact to determine vegetation heterogeneity, and how associations between vegetation and cattle grazing vary with environmental context. Here, we conducted a regionally extensive, one-season field survey across burned and unburned, grazed, public lands in Oregon and Idaho, with plots stratified by aspect and distance to water within pastures to capture variation in environmental context and grazing intensity. We analyzed regional and local-scale patterns of annual grass, perennial grass, and shrub cover, and examined to what extent plot-level variation was contingent on pasture-level predictions of site favorability. Annual grasses were widespread at burned and unburned sites alike, contrary to assumptions of annual grasses depending on fire, and more common at lower elevations and higher temperatures regionally, as well as on warmer slopes locally. Pasture-level grazing pressure interacted with temperature such that annual grass cover was associated positively with grazing pressure at higher temperatures but associated negatively with grazing pressure at lower temperatures. This suggests that pasture-level temperature and grazing relationships with annual grass abundance are complex and context-dependent, though the causality of this relationship deserves further examination. At the plot-level within pastures, annual grass cover did not vary with grazing metrics, but perennial cover did; perennial grasses, for example, had lower cover closer to water sources, but higher cover at higher dung counts within a pasture, suggesting contrasting interpretations of these two grazing proxies. Importantly for predictions of ecosystem response to temperature change, we found that pasture-level and plot-level favorability interacted: perennial grasses had higher plot-level cover on cooler slopes, and this difference across topography was starkest in pastures that were less favorable for perennial grasses regionally. Understanding the mechanisms behind cross-scale interactions and contingent responses of vegetation to grazing in these increasingly invaded ecosystems will be critical to land management in a changing world.

opencc-zeroJun 2022View details →

Associated data for: Disease and weather induce rapid shifts in a rangeland ecosystem mediated by a keystone species (Cynomys ludovicianus)

Habitat loss and changing climate have direct impacts on native species but can also interact with disease pathogens to influence wildlife communities. In the North American Great Plains, black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are a keystone species that create important grassland habitat for numerous species and serve as prey for predators, but lethal control driven by agricultural conflict has severely reduced their abundance. Novel disease dynamics caused by epizootic plague (Yersinia pestis) within prairie dog colonies have further reduced prairie dog abundances, in turn destabilizing associated wildlife communities. We capitalized on a natural experiment — collecting data on prairie dog distributions, vegetation structure, avian abundance, and mesocarnivore and ungulate occupancy before (2015–2017) and after (2018–2019) a plague event in northeastern Wyoming, USA. Plague decimated black-tailed prairie dog populations in what was then the largest extant colony complex, reducing colony cover in the focal area from over 10,000 ha to less than 50 ha. We documented dramatic declines in mesocarnivore occupancy and raptor abundance post-plague, with probability of occupancy or abundance approaching zero in species that rely on prairie dogs for a high proportion of their diet (e.g., ferruginous hawk [Buteo regalis], American badger [Taxidea taxus], and swift fox [Vulpes velox]). Following the plague outbreak, abnormally high precipitation in 2018 hastened vegetation recovery from prairie dog disturbance on colonies where constant herbivory had formerly maintained shortgrass structure necessary for certain colony-associates. As a result, we observed large shifts in avian communities on former prairie dog colonies, including near-disappearance of mountain plovers (Charadrius montanus) and increases in mid-grass associated songbirds (e.g., lark bunting [Calamospiza melanocorys]). Our research highlights how precipitation can interact with disease-induced loss of a keystone species to induce drastic and rapid shifts in wildlife communities. Although grassland taxa co-evolved with high spatiotemporal variation, fragmentation of remaining North American rangelands paired with higher-than-historical variability in climate and disease dynamics are likely to destabilize these systems in the future.

opencc-zeroJun 2022View details →

Forage provision is more affected by droughts in arid and semi-arid than in mesic rangelands

1. Droughts are projected to increase in magnitude, frequency and duration in the near future. In rangelands, the provision of valuable ecosystem services such as forage supply for livestock productivity is intimately linked to rainfall patterns, which makes it particularly vulnerable to droughts. Nonetheless, rangelands can differ in their sensitivity to droughts as shown by strong differences in the impacts of inter-annual precipitation changes on vegetation productivity in different sites. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity to droughts of nine rangelands located across a broad aridity gradient in Argentina, South America. 2. We experimentally imposed comparable droughts under field conditions by reducing a fixed proportion of each incoming precipitation event within-year during three consecutive years and tracked changes in total aboveground and forage productivity. 3. We found that arid and semi-arid rangelands were more severely impaired in their forage provision by drought than mesic rangelands, i. e. that sensitivity to drought declined as aridity decreased. Forage productivity decreased on average by ca. 50%, in arid and semi-arid rangelands, whereas mesic sites did not exhibit significant changes between drought and control treatments. The negative impact in forage productivity of arid and semi-arid rangelands was mainly driven by the productivity reduction of few key plant species at each site. In seven of the nine rangelands, we found detrimental effects of drought on forage productivity during the first experimental-drought year, and in five of them the impact was further accentuated until the end of the experiment, which indicates how serious can these events be. 4. Synthesis and applications: Our main findings indicate that the drought-induced impacts on forage provision are higher as aridity increases. This pattern highlights the urgent need to implement strategies to mitigate the detrimental consequences of drought, particularly in arid and semiarid rangelands, where forage provision is strongly associated with human well-being. Management approaches focused on key forage species, such as reducing the grazing pressure during drought periods according to these species' productivity dynamics, can attenuate impacts on vulnerable ecosystems, preserving the rangelands' integrity while maintaining high long-term productivity levels.

opencc-zeroJul 2022View details →

Mitigating ecosystem service tradeoffs in rangelands by using grazing duration and timing to manage water quality

1. Mitigating ecosystem service (ES) tradeoffs is a key management goal in locations where stakeholders value different and potentially conflicting ecosystem services (ESs). However, studies are not often designed to examine how local management actions address ES tradeoffs, and therefore do not provide options that can alleviate conflict. 2. In semi-arid rangelands, we examined the potential for managers to mitigate tradeoffs between livestock production and water quality. To move away from solutions that offer cattle removal as a singular management strategy, we examined how cattle presence, plus two elements of rotational grazing - the length of time cattle spend on rangeland (i.e., duration), and the season grazed (i.e., timing), affected stream Escherichia coli (E. coli concentrations). We also modeled how grazing duration and timing affected the ability to meet regulatory benchmarks for water quality throughout a grazing season. 3. Grazing duration controlled the length of time E. coli concentrations were high in streams. In short- and medium-duration systems, E. coli concentrations were high for shorter periods of time than in long-duration systems, resulting in fewer violations of national and state water quality standards. 4. Stream E. coli concentrations showed a consistent seasonal pattern, starting low in spring, peaking in summer, and declining towards fall. Thus, grazing during spring or fall, rather than in summer, reduced the number of days that E. coli levels exceeded water quality standards. 5. Our results suggest that reducing the grazing duration and shifting its timing are complementary strategies that can mitigate the tradeoffs between livestock grazing and water quality without fencing-off riparian areas or removing cattle from pastures with streams. 6. Synthesis and applications. In this study, we found grazing duration and timing can be used as tools to mitigate ES tradeoffs between cattle production and water quality in rangeland streams. Shorter grazing durations reduced the number of days E. coli levels were above regulatory limits, as did grazing that occurred either early or late in the season. These results support the idea that rotational grazing can be an effective strategy to manage water quality in semi-arid rangelands. They also highlight the need for more grazing studies that incorporate gradients of duration and timing into study designs.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2022View details →

Long-term proliferation of large annual thistles in dry Mediterranean rangelands

Data set 1: 2005-2018, climate, treatments, total plot biomass, Carthamus glaucus cover & biomas, Scolymus maculatus cover & biomass Data set 2: 2019, treatments, Carthamus glaucus biomas, Scolymus maculatus biomass

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Animal use of fence crossings in Southwestern Rangelands

Net-wire fencing built to confine livestock is common on rangelands in the Southwestern USA, yet the impacts of livestock fencing on wildlife are largely unknown. Many wildlife species cross beneath fences at defined crossing locations because they prefer to crawl underneath rather than jump over fences. Animals occasionally become entangled jumping or climbing over fences, leading to injury or death. More commonly, repeated crossings under net-wire fencing by large animals lead to fence damage, though the damage is often tolerated by landowners until the openings affect the ability to enclose livestock. The usage, placement, characteristics, and passage rates of fence crossings beneath net-wire fencing are poorly understood. We monitored 20 randomly selected fence crossings on net-wire livestock fencing across two study sites on rangelands in South Texas, USA, from April 2018–March 2019. We assessed characteristics of fence-crossing locations (openings beneath the fence created by animals to aid in crossing) and quantified crossing rates and probability of crossing by all species of animals via trail cameras. We documented 10,889 attempted crossing events, with 58% (n = 6,271) successful. Overall, 15 species of medium- and large-size mammals and turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) contributed to crossing events. Crossing locations received 3–4 crossing attempts per day on average, but the number of attempts and probability of successful crossing varied by location and fence condition. Probability of crossing attempts was most consistently influenced by opening size of the crossing and season; as crossing size (opening) increased, the probability of successful crossing significantly increased for all species. Peaks in crossing activity corresponded with species' daily and seasonal movements and activity. Density and size of fence-crossing locations were dependent on fence maintenance and not associated with vegetation communities or habitat variables. However, crossing locations were often re-established in the same locations after fence repairs. This is one of the few studies to monitor how all animal species present interacted with net-wire livestock fencing in rangelands. Our results will help land managers understand the impact of net-wire livestock fencing on animal movement.

opencc-zeroJul 2024View details →

Data from: Spatio-temporal dynamics in syntopy are driven by variability in rangeland conditions

Sympatry is the most common form of niche differentiation and can exist as broad sympatry (shared geographical region) or direct sympatry (i.e., syntopy (shared resource patch)). Syntopy may be highly dynamic, particularly in environments that experience stochastic events that increase variability in abiotic conditions and vegetation. We examined how estimates of syntopy varied across space and time in a rangeland system within the Southern Great Plains, USA over a three-year period (2013-2015). We modeled annual estimates of syntopy between three functionally similar (ground-foraging Galliformes) species (northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), scaled quail (Callipepla squamata), and lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). Niche similarity representing increased syntopy was greatest during years with increased drought conditions (2013-2014). Niche differentiation was greatest in 2015 in which rangelands experienced the greatest amount of precipitation. Syntopy estimates were driven by variability in vegetation cover estimates, representing changes in rangeland conditions related to abiotic conditions. Our results suggest that syntopy can be highly dynamic across space and time and can be driven by variability in abiotic conditions (i.e., precipitation). Furthermore, these results suggest that habitat is in a state of non-equilibrium. Finally, we highlight that climate refuges that promote demographic resiliency through intraspecific changes in resource use are fundamental drivers of spatio-temporal patterns in community dynamics, particularly across similar functional species.

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2024View details →

Pre-analysis and figure data for Lomax et al. (2024), Untangling the environmental drivers of gross primary productivity in African rangelands

Data required to reproduce main analyses and main text figures for the following publication: Lomax, G. A., Powell, T. W. R., Lenton, T. M., Economou, T., and Cunliffe, A. M. (in press), Untangling the environmental drivers of gross primary productivity in African rangelands.   File details: <ol> <li>df_annual.csv - the full 19-year dataset of model variables for reproducing the main analysis (for Figures 2-3).</li> <li>df_multi_annual.csv - a smaller dataset of multi-annual mean and variability variables for reproducing the analysis behind Figure 4.</li> <li>Fig1_data.tif - raster dataset containing the four variables shown in Figure 1.</li> <li>Fig2_data.csv - model results for the main analysis underlying Figure 2.</li> <li>Fig3_data.csv - model results for the binned analysis underlying Figure 3.</li> <li>Fig4_data.csv - model results for the multi-annual analysis underlying Figure 4.</li> </ol>