Although debate continues about many aspects of climate change, most agree that the one constant regarding climate change effects on rangeland sustainability is ongoing and increased uncertainty. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are likely to continue rising, and it is anticipated that temperatures will be warmer and precipitation more variable, all of which can have profound effects on rangeland ecology. In order to assess the impact of these and other associated changes on rangeland ecosystems, and to develop coherent adaptive management strategies, standardized inventory and monitoring systems are needed to characterize soils, water, plants, animals, and productive capacities of landscapes. If social and economic outcomes and tradeoffs resulting from climate change are also to be assessed, data must be collected to identify and clarify those linkages. The connectivity among ecological, social and economic systems is embodied in rangeland ecosystems goods and services. If one seeks to comprehend and address the impacts of climate change through altered land management strategies and/or other mitigation mechanisms, it is imperative to understand these interrelationships. Ranchers and land managers in Colorado and Wyoming have begun to utilize periodic monitoring of environmental data to optimize their management practices in the face of variable weather. Such adaptive strategies provide insight into how we might approach the added uncertainty climate change brings to rangeland management. By incorporating monitoring into short and long term conservation, management, and business plans, land owners and managers can more readily identify and respond to change. Responses may include altered grazing season or rotation, reduction in stocking rate, creation of grass banks to provide additional forage, and operation diversification to spread risk across more enterprises.
Results/Conclusions
To enhance our understanding of these often complex environmental and ecological interactions, the Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable developed a framework to illustrate integration of interrelationships among social, ecological, and economic concepts. This framework also facilitates evaluation of data suitability across time. Such an analytical tool is useful for managers on the ground as well as for policy-makers attempting to promulgate regulations and other mechanisms to mitigate impacts of climate change. Furthermore, changes in availability, quality and quantities of rangeland ecosystem goods and services desired by the general public, whether food and fiber or recreation opportunities, will help bring climate change effects and tradeoffs into discussion among mainstream society.
