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Journal of the Australian Rangeland Society
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The Rangeland Journal

The Rangeland Journal

The Rangeland Journal publishes original work on the biophysical, social, cultural, economic, and policy influences affecting rangeland use and management. Read more about the journalMore

Editor-in-Chief: Paul Novelly

Publishing Model: Hybrid. Open Access options available.

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Latest

These articles are the latest published in the journal. The Rangeland Journal has moved to a continuous publication model. More information is available on our Continuous Publication page.

Published online 30 May 2024

RJ21051Above-ground carbon in mulga-dominated rangelands, Murchison Bioregion, Western Australia

Adrian Williams, Peter Russell and David Blood
 

How much organic carbon is stored in Australia’s rangelands, and how would you measure it efficiently as part of an immense carbon-farming initiative? The on-ground surveys described in this paper collected detailed information that will help establish a remote-sensing methodology to assess carbon stored in mulga woodlands and the rate of carbon sequestration. On suitable sites, carbon farming could help sequester Western Australia’s greenhouse-gas emissions, rehabilitate country, and provide a new income stream for pastoral communities.

RJ21051 Abstract  | PDF (1.7 MB) - $35.00 
Published online 06 May 2024

RJ23046Measuring transaction costs of grassland eco-compensation policies: the case of the Compensation and Rewards Policy for Grassland Protection in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Bao Zhang, Scott Waldron, Colin Brown, Jing Zhang and Guanghua Qiao
 

Accounting for transaction costs in grasslands policies is particularly important, given the vast areas, dispersed location of herders and remoteness from local administrators could lead to high costs. This paper reports that transaction costs are still substantial, with the majority of costs being incurred in the category of policy enforcement. The paper highlights that more of the burden of the enforcement costs is being imposed on the lower administrative levels. The results showed the value in accounting for transaction costs in the design and assessment of eco-compensation schemes.

RJ23046 Abstract  | PDF (848 KB) - $35.00 
Published online 28 March 2024

RJ23049Climate change must be factored into savanna carbon- management projects to avoid maladaptation: the case of worsening air pollution in western Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia

David M. J. S. Bowman 0000-0001-8075-124X, Nicolas Borchers-Arriagada, Andrew Macintosh, Donald W. Butler, Grant J. Williamson and Fay H. Johnston
 

Since 2012, the Australian Government has provided carbon credits to landholders for burning tropical savannas in the early dry season when most fires have lower intensity and lower greenhouse-gas emissions than do late dry-season wildfires. Air pollution across the northern half of the Northern Territory has worsened following implementation of these projects, exacerbated by intense fires from drier fuels associated with climate change. To avoid maladaptation, savanna burning carbon abatement must be carefully designed and monitored.

RJ23049 Abstract  |  RJ23049 Full Text  | RJ23049PDF (2.8 MB)   Open Access Article

Published online 25 March 2024

RJ23042Conflict actors influence the dynamics of agropastoral policies to accommodate their preferences and expectations in Ghana

Lawrence Kwabena Brobbey 0000-0001-7677-2371, Frank Kwaku Agyei, Paul Osei-Tutu and Boateng Kyereh
 

Multiple governmentalities have been used to regulate agropastoral sector in Ghana. Agropastoral policies in Ghana have been dynamic in response to market interest. Past policies have focused on separating arable farmers from pastoralists spatially. Recent policies aim at promoting coexistence of arable farming and ranching. Conflict actors use narratives and actions to influence agropastoral policies.

RJ23042 Abstract  |  RJ23042 Full Text  | RJ23042PDF (1.5 MB)   Open Access Article

Published online 13 March 2024

RJ23040Arid erosion mapping: comparing LiDAR and structure from motion

Angus Retallack 0000-0002-1920-7728, Dillon Campbell, Graeme Finlayson, Ramesh Raja Segaran, Bertram Ostendorf, Molly Hennekam, Sami Rifai and Megan Lewis
 

Preserving and restoring arid landscapes requires accurate monitoring to assess the effectiveness of management actions and identify degraded areas. Degradation of land by humans has put more areas at risk of soil erosion; three-dimensional maps generated using overlapping drone photographs are capable of measuring arid gully erosion as precisely as a 3D laser scanner. This finding greatly increases the accessibility of essential erosion monitoring for land managers, representing a far lower cost and less complex method than laser scanning.

RJ23040 Abstract  |  RJ23040 Full Text  | RJ23040PDF (6.6 MB)   Open Access Article

Published online 19 February 2024

RJ23045Toward land restoration transitions: elevating regional voices and the provenance of co-benefits in Queensland rangelands

Nikki P. Dumbrell 0000-0001-8876-8257, Catherine J. Robinson, Katie D. Ricketts, Danilo Urzedo, Lisa Walker and Anthelia J. Bond
 

As Australia’s rangelands host increasing investment in land restoration for carbon abatement, opportunities and tensions are emerging where carbon abatement projects do and do not align with regional objectives. We outline an approach to understand regional contexts to support the negotiation of land restoration investments that provide co-benefits that align with community aspirations and transition pathways. We show that regional conditions shape the extent to which communities can take on and access valuable co-benefits associated with land restoration for carbon abatement.

RJ23045 Abstract  |  RJ23045 Full Text  | RJ23045PDF (1.8 MB)  | RJ23045Supplementary Material (427 KB)   Open Access Article

Published online 12 February 2024

RJ23029Carbon and ecosystem service markets in rangelands and grazing systems are a wicked problem: multi-stakeholder partnership or roundtable as a vehicle forward?

Rebecca Cotton 0009-0006-5449-8803 and Bradd Witt 0000-0002-5282-8227
 

Recently, many carbon and ecosystem service markets have been initiated in grazing lands and rangelands worldwide. This study, based on in depth interviews with 34 stakeholders, has provided insights into the opportunities and constraints related to environmental service market policy. We recommend an approach that incorporates the concepts of multi-stakeholder participation and roundtables, which have been advocated as a more effective way to manage wicked policy problems that span financial, regulatory, agricultural, and other systems.

RJ23029 Abstract  |  RJ23029 Full Text  | RJ23029PDF (880 KB)  | RJ23029Supplementary Material (993 KB)   Open Access Article

Published online 06 February 2024

RJ23047Adaptive multi-paddock grazing management reduces diet quality of yearling cattle in shortgrass steppe

Tamarah R. Jorns, J. Derek Scasta, Justin D. Derner 0000-0001-8076-0736, David J. Augustine, Lauren M. Porensky, Edward J. Raynor and
 

Adaptive, multi-paddock grazing may improve diet quality of livestock through managers moving livestock among paddocks, managing vegetation structure, and utilising differences among pastures to optimise diet quality. We compared diet quality of yearling steers by using this grazing system versus a non-rotational grazing system in semiarid, shortgrass steppe. We discovered that dietary crude protein was consistently 13–28% higher with non-rotational grazing. Differences were largest early in the grazing season and diet quality converged at the end of the grazing season. Managers applying adaptive multi-paddock grazing should be aware that lower diet quality can compromise livestock gains.

RJ23047 Abstract  |  RJ23047 Full Text  | RJ23047PDF (2.2 MB)   Open Access Article

Published online 02 January 2024

RJ23030Applying two remotely-sensed methods for monitoring grazing impacts in the Australian arid zone

Gary Bastin, Robyn Cowley, Margaret Friedel 0000-0002-8350-636X and Chris Materne
 

The rainfall experienced in Australia’s arid rangelands can be so unpredictable that remote-sensing methods depending on regular growing seasons to detect grazing impacts are ineffective. We tested two methods that assess ground cover in the wettest and driest years respectively, across a 32-year period, for detecting trends in impacts. Despite limitations created by spatial variability and small paddocks, the methods provide an objective means of assessing trends in management impacts independent of arid Australia’s erratic climate.

RJ23030 Abstract  |  RJ23030 Full Text  | RJ23030PDF (5.8 MB)   Open Access Article

Just Accepted

These articles have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. They are still in production and have not been edited, so may differ from the final published form.

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Collections

Rangeland Dynamics and State and Transition Models: an Enduring Conceptual and Practical Framework

To mark the anniversary of the seminal paper by Mark Westoby, Brian Walker and (the late) Imanuel Noy-Meir that introduced the state and transition concept to rangeland management, this Collection has been compiled from papers published in The Rangeland Journal which have drawn on their concepts. Brian Walker and Mark Westoby have generously provided an editorial article that reflects on their early thinking behind state and transition models and commentary on its evolution over the past 30 years.

Collection Editors
Andrew Ash and Ron Hacker

Last Updated: 18 May 2020

Grazing and Biodiversity – The Positive Side

The adverse effects of poorly managed grazing on biodiversity and ecosystem function are attested by much scientific literature. This weight of evidence, leading to a generally negative view of grazing as an ecological factor, tends to overshadow the evidence for beneficial effects of properly managed grazing. This Collection presents examples from around the world of the benefits of properly managed grazing for conservation of biodiversity.

Last Updated: 24 Oct 2018

Managing the World’s Rangelands: Future Strategies and Socio-economic Implications

This Collection provides examples from the world’s rangelands of the pressures opposing sustainable land use, potential policy responses appropriate to local socio-ecological systems, and technical developments that will underpin sustainable land use. This broad scope is a deliberate editorial response to the multifaceted challenge of securing sustainable use of the world’s rangelands. The Australian Rangeland Society, together with The Rangeland Journal’s editors and publishers, hope that this collection of articles will extend awareness of the scale and complexity of the challenge and stimulate ongoing contributions.

Last Updated: 10 Jun 2016

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CSIRO Publishing is very pleased to sponsor the following prizes that were awarded at the ARS Broome Conference, 2023. Read more

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