Forest and rangeland owners value land for natural amenities and as financial investment

DeLasaux, M; Drill, Sabrina L.; Ferranto, Shasta; Getz, Christy; Huntsinger, Lynn; Kelly, Maggi; Nakamura, Gary; Stewart, William C.; Valachovic, Yana

doi:10.3733/ca.v065n04p184

Cited by 34 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In fact, the most used proactive practices (Table 2) emphasized maintaining flexibility and minimizing potential vulnerability to reduced forage availability. As found by others, background operation variables shaped the classes of strategies and practices available, affecting management capacity to adapt to and cope with changing conditions (e.g., [9,16,26,34,35,50,51]). Previous operation experience with drought was a significant primary predictor for most of the classes of drought strategies (Figure 2A-C).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Structural characteristics of the operation have been shown to be key determinants in agricultural decision-making [16,18,26,27,34,35]. These "farm-structure" variables shape the context for decision-making (e.g., ability to access economic resources and inputs) and, therefore, potentially impact individual adoption of innovations and adaptive capacity [16,26,36].…”

Section: Operation Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Adaptive Rangeland Decision-Making and Coping with Drought

Roche

2016

Sustainability

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Abstract:Grazinglands support the livelihoods of millions of people around the world, as well as supply critical ecosystem services. Communities reliant on rain-fed rangelands are potentially the most vulnerable to increasing climate variability given their dependence on highly climate-sensitive resources. Droughts, which are gradual natural hazards, pose substantial and recurrent economic and ecological stresses to these systems. This study examined management decision-making based on survey responses of 479 California ranchers to: (1) identify the types of drought strategies in-place across California's rangelands and the operation variables driving strategy selection; and (2) examine how individual drought adaptation is enhanced by decision-making factors. Four types of in-place drought strategies were identified and ordered along a gradient of increasing intensity (number) of practices used. Significant background variables driving strategy selection were operation experience with drought, type of livestock operation, grazing system, and land ownership types. Information resource networks, goal setting for sustainable natural resources, and management capacity all acted to enhance individual drought adaptation-defined here by active drought planning and the number of both reactive and proactive drought practices used. Overall, analyses revealed that flexibility in management is a key component of adapting to and coping with drought. Climate policy planning should take into account the diversity of strategies that have been developed by ranchers for multiple generations and within the context of their unique operations, as well as support these working landscapes via a range of adaptation and mitigation options to reduce vulnerability across all types of operations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Operation Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive Rangeland Decision-Making and Coping with Drought

Roche

2016

Sustainability

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“…Combining these two benefit streams is the basis for working landscapes and can be powerful motivation to keep ranchers in ranching. Ongoing research indicates that ranchers who are motivated by a combination of production and conservation goals are more active managers than other types of landowners (Ferranto et al 2011). …”

Section: Landowner-consumed Ecosystem Services At the Ranch Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem Services are Social–ecological Services in a Traditional Pastoral System: the Case of California’s Mediterranean Rangelands

Huntsinger¹,

Oviedo²

2014

E&S

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126

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ABSTRACT. When attempting to value ecosystem services and support their production, two critical aspects may be neglected. The term "ecosystem services" implies that they are a function of natural processes; yet, human interaction with the environment may be key to the production of many. This can contribute to a misconception that ecosystem service production depends on, or is enhanced by, the coercion or removal of human industry. Second, in programs designed to encourage ecosystem service production and maintenance, too often the inter-relationship of such services with social and ecological processes and drivers at multiple scales is ignored. Thinking of such services as "social-ecological services" can reinforce the importance of human culture, perspectives, and economies to the production of ecosystem services. Using a social-ecological systems perspective, we explore the integral role of human activity and decisions at pasture, ranch, and landscape scales. Just as it does for understanding ecosystems, a hierarchical, multiscaled framework facilitates exploring the complexity of social-ecological systems as producers of ecosystem services, to develop approaches for the conservation of such services. Using California's Mediterranean rangelands as a study area, we suggest that using a multiscaled approach that considers the importance of the differing drivers and processes at each scale and the interactions among scales, and that incorporates social-ecological systems concepts, may help avoid mistakes caused by narrow assumptions about "natural" systems, and a lack of understanding of the need for integrated, multiscaled conservation programs.

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“…Rangelands provide important ecosystem services, including water filtration, soil stability, and wildlife habitat, and encompass great biodiversity (Cingolani et al, 2005;Ferranto et al, 2011). These ecosystems serve as a substantial carbon sequestration pool, accounting for 20% of the world's soil carbon (Follett and Reed, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring the Impact of Grazing on Rangeland Conservation Easements Using MODIS Vegetation Indices

Tsalyuk

Kelly

Koy

et al. 2015

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Monitoring the effects of grazing on rangelands is crucial for ensuring sustainable rangeland ecosystem function and maintaining its conservation values. Residual dry matter (RDM), the dry grass biomass left on the ground at the end of the grazing season, is a commonly used proxy for rangeland condition in Mediterranean climates. Moderate levels of RDM are correlated with soil stability, forage production, wildlife habitat, and diversity of native plants. Therefore RDM is widely monitored on rangeland conservation properties. Current ground-based methods for RDM monitoring are expensive, are labor intensive, and provide information in the fall, after the effects of grazing have already occurred. In this paper we present a costeffective, rapid, and robust methodology to monitor and predict RDM using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data. We performed a time series analysis of three MODIS-based vegetation indices (VIs) measured over the period 2000-2012: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR). We examined the correlation between the four VIs and fall RDM measured at The Nature Conservancy's Simon Newman Ranch in central California. We found strong and significant correlations between maximum VI values in late spring and RDM in the fall. Among the VIs, LAI values had the most significant correlation with fall RDM. MODIS-based multivariate models predicted up to 63% of fall RDM. Importantly, maximum and sum VIs values were significantly higher in management units with RDM levels in compliance with RDM conservation easement terms compared with units out of compliance. On the basis of these results, we propose a management model that uses time series analysis of MODIS VIs to predict forage quantities, manage stocking rates, and monitor rangeland easement compliance. This model can be used to improve monitoring of rangeland conservation by providing information on range conditions throughout the year.

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Forest and rangeland owners value land for natural amenities and as financial investment

Cited by 34 publications

References 22 publications

Adaptive Rangeland Decision-Making and Coping with Drought

Adaptive Rangeland Decision-Making and Coping with Drought

Ecosystem Services are Social–ecological Services in a Traditional Pastoral System: the Case of California’s Mediterranean Rangelands

Monitoring the Impact of Grazing on Rangeland Conservation Easements Using MODIS Vegetation Indices

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Forest and rangeland owners value land for natural amenities and as financial investment

Cited by 34 publications

References 22 publications

Adaptive Rangeland Decision-Making and Coping with Drought

Adaptive Rangeland Decision-Making and Coping with Drought

Ecosystem Services are Social&#8211;ecological Services in a Traditional Pastoral System: the Case of California&#8217;s Mediterranean Rangelands

Monitoring the Impact of Grazing on Rangeland Conservation Easements Using MODIS Vegetation Indices

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Ecosystem Services are Social–ecological Services in a Traditional Pastoral System: the Case of California’s Mediterranean Rangelands