Rangelands, Drylands & Pastoralism

Protected areas (PAs) cover 12� % of terrestrial sub-Saharan Africa. However, given the inherent inadequacies of these PAs to cater for all species in conjunction with the effects of climate change and human pressures on PAs, the future of biodiversity depends heavily on the 88� % of land that is unprotected.

Vertical vegetation structure in rangeland ecosystems can be a valuable indicator for monitoring rangeland health or progress toward management objectives because of its importance for assessing riparian areas, post-fire recovery, wind erosion, and wildlife habitat.

In the western United States, livestock grazing often co-exists with recreation, cultural resource management and biodiversity protection on federal and state protected rangelands as well as on many local government open space areas.

Pasture rest is a possible strategy for improving land condition in the extensive grazing lands of northern Australia. If pastures currently in poor condition could be improved, then overall animal productivity and the sustainability of grazing could be increased.

The classification of land usage in mountain grassland bovine areas is important for the management of forage production and grazing in grass-based livestock systems. The present paper proposes a novel, hierarchical neural network-based approach towards the classification of land usage in these areas. A survey of 72 farms was conducted in the Massif Central (France).

The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China have been degraded by long-term grazing. A series of ecological restoration strategies have been implemented to improve grassland service. However, little is known about the effect of these ecological restoration practices on soil carbon and nitrogen storage.

Complete issue of Agriculture for Development 22.
Articles:
Pachauri R. Climate change and agriculture in the Fifth Assessment Report.
Beddington J, Warham E. Climate change and sustainable agricultural technologies.
Campbell B. Climate change, agriculture and food security: from local action to global agreements.