A coupled forage-grazer model predicts viability of livestock production and wildlife habitat at the regional scale

Informed management of livestock on rangelands underpins both the livelihoods of communities that depend on livestock for sustenance, and the conservation of wildlife that often depend on livestock-dominated landscapes for habitat. Understanding spatial patterns of rangeland productivity is therefor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2019-12, Vol.9 (1), p.19957-12, Article 19957
Main Authors: Kowal, Virginia A., Jones, Sharon M., Keesing, Felicia, Allan, Brian F., Schieltz, Jennifer M., Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/158/1144
631/158/2453
631/158/672
704/158/2458
Animals
Animals, Wild
Conservation of Natural Resources
Development strategies
Ecosystem
Ecosystem models
Grazing
Humanities and Social Sciences
Livestock
Livestock production
Management decisions
Models, Theoretical
multidisciplinary
Rangelands
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife habitats
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Summary:Informed management of livestock on rangelands underpins both the livelihoods of communities that depend on livestock for sustenance, and the conservation of wildlife that often depend on livestock-dominated landscapes for habitat. Understanding spatial patterns of rangeland productivity is therefore crucial to designing global development strategies that balance social and environmental benefits. Here we introduce a new rangeland production model that dynamically links the Century ecosystem model with a basic ruminant diet selection and physiology model. With lightweight input data requirements that can be met with global sources, the model estimates the viability of broad livestock management decisions, and suggests possible implications of these management decisions for grazing wildlife. Using minimal field data, the new rangeland production model enables the reliable estimation of cattle stocking density; this is an important predictor of the viability of livestock production and forage available for grazing wildlife.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-56470-3