Methodologies for understanding rangeland ecology

Rangeland ecosystems are dynamic due to a diversity of social, economic, political and environmental drivers that affect its health. These drivers interact with the biotic and abiotic components of rangelands at multiple temporal and spatial scales affecting changes in the structure and functional processes of the ecosystems. To fully understand this change, ecological monitoring becomes imperative to inform rangeland management and policy development. Numerous field-based and geospatial data have been used all over to world to study the ecology of rangelands and its drivers of change. In this chapter, we introduce some of the methods that have been used extensively by rangeland scientists that include the use of transects and plots to study the structural components of rangelands and the landscape function analysis that allow for insights into the functionality of landscapes. In addition, to the fine scaled methodology, the chapter also outlines the role of remote sensing and repeat photography to understand landscape scale processes over various temporal scales. However, given the complex nature of rangelands, it is recommended that a combination of methods is used to gain more detailed understanding of rangelands that would allow for better decision-making and evidence-based policy making.