NEW CONCEPTS FOR ASSESSMENT OF RANGELAND CONDITION

Range condition score or classification does not tell us, in a general sense, much of what managers and the public want to know about rangel ands. Range condition is not a reliable indicator, across all rangelan ds, of biodiversity, erosion potential, nutrient cycling, value for wi ldlife species, or productivity. Succession, the basis for the current concept of range condition is not an adequate yardstick for evaluatio n of rangelands. The Society for Range Management (SRM) established th e Task Group on Unity in Concepts and Terminology which has developed new concepts for evaluation of the status of rangelands. These concept s are based on the premise that the most important and basic physical resource on each ecological site is the soil. If sufficient soil is lo st from an ecological site, the potential of the site is changed. The Task Group made three recommendations, which were adopted by the SRM: 1) evaluations of rangelands should be made from the basis of the same land unit classification, ecological site; 2) plant communities likel y to occur on a site should be evaluated for protection of that site a gainst accelerated erosion (Site Conservation Rating, [SCR]); and 3) s election of a Desired Plant Community (DPC) for an ecological site sho uld be made considering both SCR and management objectives for that si te.