Proposed Indicators for Ecological Health

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Proposed Indicators for Ecological Health
Diversity of Rangelands

• Rod Heitschmidt, USDA Agricultural Research
  Service, Miles City, MT
• and
• Linda Joyce, USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO

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Objective

• Provide an overview of potential indicators for
  assessing the ecological health and diversity of
  the Nations rangeland ecosystems.

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Indicator 1 Extent of Rangeland

• Quantifies the total amount of rangeland by
  location.

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Indicator 2 Extent of Rangeland Area by
Community Type

• Measure of diversity of rangeland communities.

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Indicator 3 Fragmentation of Rangeland by Size,
Pattern, and Dispersion of Rangeland Community
Types

• Spatial measure of community diversity across
  landscapes.

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Indicator 4 Fragmentation of Rangeland by Size

• Spatial measure of parcel size diversity across
  landscapes.

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Indicator 5 Extent of Rangeland Area by
Management Practice

• Spatial measure of land-use diversity across
  landscapes.

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Indicator 6 Percentage Cover of Invasive and
Other Non-native Plant Species of Concern

• Measure of area occupied by species that cause or
  are likely to cause economic or environmental
  harm or harm to human health.

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Indicator 7 Percent Cover by Vegetation Class
(i.e., grass, grass-like, forbs, and shrubs)

• Measure of the structural diversity of rangeland
  communities.

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Indicator 8 Presence and Status of Threatened
and Endangered Species and Other Species of
Concern

• Identifies changes in populations of species of
  concern.

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Indicator 9 Rangeland Plant and Animal Species
that Occupy a Small Portion of Their Former
Geographic Range

• Potentially identifies sensitive indicator
  species that reflect past and on-going changes in
  the structure and function of rangelands.

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Indicator 10 Population Levels and Current
Geographical Range of Representative Species

• A measure of past and on-going changes in
  structure and function of rangelands.

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Indicator 11 Primary Productivity

• One measure of ecological health of rangelands.

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Indicator 12 Soil Carbon to Nitrogen Ratio

• Measure of the ecological health of rangelands as
  it relates to productivity capacity, nutrient
  cycling, etc.

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Indicator 13 Depth to Shallow Groundwater

• Measure of the hydrological health of rangelands
  as it affects vegetation.

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Indicator 14 Natural Lake Levels

• Important measure of the ecological health and
  stability of rangeland ecosystems.

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Indicator 15 Riparian Condition

• Important measure of the ecological health and
  stability of rangeland ecosystems.

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Indicator 16 Changes in Fire Regimes

• Changes in the frequency, intensity, seasonality,
  and extent of rangeland fires reflect on-going
  changes in the sustainability of current
  rangelands.

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The Challenge?

• To develop a meaningful, measurable set of
  indicators that is accepted by both our
  colleagues and the general public.