Knowra Rangeland Rangeland Rangeland is land managed primarily for extensive grazing by livestock or wildlife. It is typically covered by native or naturalized grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation rather than planted pasture.
Grazing management : The planning of livestock grazing to meet production goals while sustaining vegetation, soils, and water. It determines when, where, and how intensely animals use rangeland.
Pastoralism : A livelihood system centered on raising livestock, often through seasonal movement across grazing lands. Mobile herding uses extensive rangelands where forage varies across space and time.
Pasture : Land planted or maintained with forage plants for grazing or hay production. Unlike much rangeland, pasture is commonly improved through planting and intensive management.
Overgrazing : Grazing pressure severe enough to impair vegetation recovery or ecosystem function. It can reduce forage, expose soil, and undermine the long-term productivity of rangeland.
Forage : Plant material eaten by grazing animals, including grasses, herbs, leaves, and shrubs. Forage is the resource that connects rangeland vegetation to animal production.
Carrying capacity : The population an environment can support over time without unacceptable resource decline. Stocking decisions must account for the forage rangeland can sustain.
Wildlife management : The practice of maintaining or changing wildlife populations and habitats toward defined goals. Rangeland management can support wildlife alongside livestock production.
Grassland : An ecosystem dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants, with few trees. Grassland is a vegetation-based ecosystem type; rangeland is defined by its use and management.
Land degradation : A decline in the biological or economic productivity of land caused by human activity or natural processes. Rangeland degradation is one form of a broader decline in land condition.
Rangeland ecology : The study of ecological patterns and processes in lands used mainly for extensive grazing. It provides the scientific framework for understanding rangeland ecosystems.
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