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Management of rangelands is based on ecological principles that ensure sustained health and productivity of range ecosystems. Rangeland is a noncultivated land type on which the native vegetation includes grasses, sedges, broadleaf herbaceous plants, and shrubs. It is the dominant land type in the Great Plains, comprising about 50 percent of the total land area. Livestock grazing has been the primary rangeland use in the Great Plains since the beginning of European American settlement, and range management has always been closely linked to the livestock industry. The livestock industry started in the Southern Plains in the 1700s and in the early 1870s moved into the Northern and Central Plains. By the mid-1990s, Great Plains rangeland supported about 40 to 50 percent of the beef cattle of the United States and about 75 percent of Canada's. With proper range management for livestock production, the integrity of rangelands and the potential for other uses are not compromised. Great Plains rangelands are important for wildlife habitat, watershed protection, recreation, and preservation of genetic diversity. Management targeted toward such uses or values is critical on public lands, and ecotourism, wildlife viewing, and fee hunting are important sources of income for private landowners in many states.
Most rangelands in the Great Plains are
grasslands, although other range types, such
as savannas, shrub lands, woodlands, and wetlands,
are important regionally or locally.
Great Plains grasslands include tallgrass prairie,
mixed prairie, shortgrass prairie, and fescue
prairie. Distribution of grassland types
is largely related to gradients in annual precipitation
from east to west (ten to forty
inches) and, to a lesser extent, temperature
gradients from north to south (68ºF to 85ºF in
July). The tallgrass prairie once covered the
eastern quarter of the Great Plains and was
dominated by warm-season grasses, including
big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), little
bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and indiangrass
(Sorghastrum nutans). Today, most
of the tallgrass prairie is cultivated for rowcrop
production, except for the Flint Hills of
Kansas, where the shallow soils have restricted
cultivation. The mixed prairie occupies the
central third of the Great Plains and is dominated
by cool-season grasses in the north and
warm-season grasses in the south. The mixed
prairie is the most important range type for
livestock production in the United States, although
small grains are also grown on much
of the area. The shortgrass prairie extends
west from the mixed prairie to the Rocky
Mountains and is recognized by its low stature
and the dominance of two shortgrasses,
buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides) and blue
grama (Bouteloua gracilis). Plant and animal
production is limited by water availability.
The fescue prairie is on the northern boundary
of the mixed prairie in Canada and is extensively
cultivated for crop production.
Condition of rangelands is evaluated based on measures of ecosystem health and production (e.g., soil surface conditions and species composition). Range condition generally was low in the Great Plains by the early twentieth century because livestock mismanagement, cultivation and abandonment, and drought resulted in low plant cover, wind and water erosion, and proliferation of invasive and low quality plants. Aggressive management efforts by the private and public sectors have improved range condition significantly over the past sixty years. Only 6 percent of the rangeland in the Northern Great Plains is classified in poor condition, although 25 percent in the Southern Great Plains is in the poor category.
Tools used to maintain or improve range
condition include proper grazing management,
prescribed burning, herbicide application,
and reseeding. Proper stocking rate for
the various range sites is the key to successful
management of grazed rangelands. Development
of grazing systems involving rotation of
livestock through two or more pastures also
plays an important role in maintaining or improving
range condition. Rotational grazing
provides forage plants with critical rest periods
that allow for recovery after grazing. Fire,
a natural component of most range ecosystems,
is commonly used under prescribed
conditions to control invasive plant species,
such as junipers (Juniperus spp.) and introduced
bromegrasses (Bromus spp.). Herbicides
are an important alternative for control
of many broadleaf herbaceous plants and such
woody plants as honey mesquite (Prosopis
glandulosa) in the Southern Great Plains. Although
expensive, reseeding native species
may be an alternative for extremely depleted
sites; however, risk of failure increases under
drier conditions. Overall, range ecosystems
such as the Nebraska Sandhills demonstrate
that when management practices are properly
applied, range ecosystems can be used for production
purposes while sustaining ecological
integrity.
See Also PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT: Grasses.