Effect of Rancher’s Management Philosophy, Grazing Practices, and Personal Characteristics on Sustainability Indices for North Central Texas Rangeland Page: 1
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background
The present state of health of U.S. rangelands is a matter of sharp debate, even for
government agencies working with rangeland assessments. Valuable products are associated
with these grasslands, including forage for domestic and wild animals, species habitat, water
storage and filtration, carbon sequestration, recreation, open space, and a way of life for
rangeland-dependent rural communities. These products are aligned with economic, ecological.
and social parameters (Maczko et al., 2004).
Lands designated as "grazing land" encompass 25.9% of all land in the U.S. (Lubowiski
et al., 2006). These grazing lands are a result of the anthropocentric shift of free-range wild
herbivores to a system which is sometimes characterized by overgrazing and loss of ecological
function caused by domesticated livestock. The relationship between the ecosystem and
livestock grazing is often the primary reason for the concern about rangeland health (Belsky et
al., 1999; Centeri et al., 2009). The concern over animal impact on the environment is one of the
major reasons for the debate concerning rangeland. The opposite belief is that grazing by
ungulates was instrumental in the evolutionary history of grassland ecosystems (Michunas et al.,
1988; Knapp et al., 1999) and grazing of indigenous rangeland is one of the most sustainable
forms of agriculture known (Frank and McNaughton, 2002; Heitschmidt et al., 2004).
The interaction of livestock with the environment is very complex. Different scientists
looking at the same data have come to different conclusions. Additional problems are incurred
when reconciling grazing land management results from experimental studies, with commonly
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Becker, Wayne. Effect of Rancher’s Management Philosophy, Grazing Practices, and Personal Characteristics on Sustainability Indices for North Central Texas Rangeland, dissertation, December 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc103289/m1/12/?rotate=90: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .