Applicability of Montreal Process Criterion 5 - maintenance of rangeland contribution to global carbon cycles

Within the Montreal Process, Criterion 5 - Maintenance of Forest Contributi on to the Global Carbon Cycle - encompasses: Indicator 20, biomass and carb on pools; Indicator 27, carbon fluxes from these pools; and Indicator 28, c ontribution of forest products. I have reviewed the applicability of each i ndicator to rangelands, the potential limitations of these indicators for r angelands ecosystems, the data available to quantify these indicators and h ave identified research needs. Indicator 26, and 27 are applicable to range land ecosystems. Estimation of the total ecosystem biomass and carbon pools from rangelands is currently feasible, albeit precision is limited by data availability. Simulation models quantify fluxes from rangeland ecosystems, however, belowground dynamics, particularly under changing management, are not well known. For Indicator 28, rangeland products do not constitute a l arge potential for carbon sequestration.