ARS | Publication request: Rangelands and climate change: A synthesis and challenges

Submitted to: Rangelands
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 30, 2008
Publication Date: June 30, 2008
Citation: Brown, J.R., Thorpe, J. 2008. Rangelands and climate change: A synthesis and challenges. Rangelands. 30(3):52-53.

Interpretive Summary: Managing rangelands sustainably in the face of a changing climate and a changing environment is a substantial challenge for scientists, ranchers, technical assistance staff and policy makers. The rapidly changing conditions will require everyone connected to rangeland management to work together to develop 1) better models to predict how changes in climate will affect important aspects of rangeland function, 2) improved systems for monitoring land condition at pasture, ranch, watershed, landscape and regional scales and 3) new and more flexible operating systems.

Technical Abstract: Climate change, along with other aspects of global change, represents a great challenge to rangeland management in the coming century. Coping with this challenge requires collaboration among scientists, managers and policy makers to develop new tools and management systems. This collaboration should focus on meeting the need for 1) improved prediction of changes in climate and the subsequent effects on rangeland ecosystems at relevant spatial scales, 2) integrated monitoring systems and 3) the necessity of managers to respond with unprecedented speed and flexibility to changes in their operating environment.