ARS | Publication request: Use of Major Land Resource Areas As a Hierarchical Classification System for Rangeland Health Technology on Grazing Lands 1234

Submitted to: Multiple Objective Decision Support Systems for Land, Water, and Environment
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 3, 1999
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Arizona are working together to improve management of grazing lands through the development of innovative Rangeland Health technology. The need for an improved scientific understanding of soil erosion processes and the impacts sof conservation and erosion control measures is apparent. Two historical databases that can provide valuable information for this new technology development are the National Soils Database and the National Ecological Site Descriptions for Rangeland which the NRCS has been developing and using for rangeland resource inventories and land management planning since the 1940's. These databases have become the basic components of the USDA's MLRA hierarchical natural resource classification system. This system provides a basis for making decisions about national and regional agricultural concerns, helps identify needs for research and resource inventories, provides a broad base for extrapolating the results of research within national boundaries, and serves as a framework for organizing and operating resource conservation programs.