Range Ecology Research

Overview
Current Focus Areas
Research Highlights
Extension and Consultations
Recent Publications
Specific Range Topic Areas
What’s New
Ministry Contacts

Overview

Range or rangelands are areas that are unsuited to cultivation and provide a source of forage for free-range native and domestic animals. They also provide resources such as wood products, water, and wildlife. British Columbia has abundant lands with high range value. The Ministry of Forests and Range administers all Crown range, accounting for about 85% of the area used for domestic animal grazing in the province. Over most of this area, native grasses and forbs are the primary source of feed.

Rangelands support a variety of uses and are often managed for multiple uses at any one time, including livestock grazing, wildlife browsing/grazing, timber production, and outdoor recreation.

The Range Ecology program provides research support and consultation to the Ministry in the areas of forest and range practices and in range ecology. Our objectives are to develop knowledge and methods that will assist in the effective, sustainable management of Crown range resources, integrate range management activities with other resource uses, and ensure that standards and guidelines for range practices remain current and effective.

Range researchers conduct applied research, problem analyses, and state-of-the-art reviews that provide the scientific foundation for many Ministry initiatives, including the Future Forest Ecosystems Initiative, Forests for Tomorrow, the Forest and Range Practices Act Forest Resource Evaluation Program (FRPA/FREP), and range policy. Range research also contributes to addressing current issues such as climate change, mountain pine beetle outbreak, riparian area management, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and water quality.

Current Focus Areas

Expanding our understanding of the impacts of climate change on range ecosystems, including soil carbon sequestration, natural disturbance ecology, and the threat of invasive plants to biodiversity.
Scientifically evaluating and refining current indicators and monitoring methods used by range managers for determining range health. This research determines whether current range health assessment methods are sensitive to the state of the range ecosystem and how range ecosystems respond to range and forestry practices. It also links monitoring methods to quantitative measures of plant and soil properties such as water infiltration, soil bulk density, and above-ground biomass. [More]
Studying changes to understorey succession and ecological processes following ecosystem restoration of fire-maintained, ingrown, dry forest stands. This research evaluates short- and medium-term responses of plant communities, fuel load, and forage production, to different management regimes, such as thinning and prescribed burning. [More]
Studying the use of biosolids for amending soils and accelerating successional processes for the restoration of degraded native grasslands. [More]

Research Highlights

Developing a research project to examine the effects of grazing on soil carbon sequestration and storage in rough-fescue grasslands. Information derived from this study will be applied to the climate change modelling process.
Developing a framework for assessing the risk of climate change on ecosystems threatened by invasive plants. The potential distribution of invasive plants, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), will be predicted for different climate change scenarios.
Examining the role of herbivory, ground disturbance, climate change, and overstorey trees in affecting conifer establishment in dry forest ecosystems and along the forest–grassland ecotone. This project will have important implications for ecosystem restoration, range and wildlife conflicts, and fuel management.
Planning a workshop on range health indicators and monitoring methods, to extend research results to key players, including ranchers and grassland conservation organizations.
Completed research on the effects of cattle grazing on native and non-native plant species composition, soil compaction, and tree growth on rehabilitated forest landings in the central interior of British Columbia. [more]
Assessing the health of grazed fescue grasslands in an experiment designed to develop systems for quickly evaluating grassland vigour in the field, identify management thresholds, and also contribute to the Range Branch's Range Reference Program.
Testing livestock management techniques for controlling cattle movement on rangelands to replace the natural barriers that thick stands of lodgepole pine once formed. The livestock controls are aimed at drawing cattle away from sensitive wet meadows and preventing the animals of different ranches from mingling.
Preparing a literature review and problem analysis, and identifying research needs for carbon storage in rangelands, to address the implications for carbon sequestration of grazing, range management practices, and tree planting on grasslands.
Preparing Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification field guides for ranchers, ecologists, and land managers on the province's grasslands, incorporating the newly established site-series level classification of Cariboo rangeland ecosystems.

Extension and Consultations

Range ecology researchers ensure that the results and recommendations from their research reach their clients through extension activities and consultation. They develop workshops on topics such as techniques for using biosolids for grassland restoration, the impacts of range management activities on water quality, ecological restoration and fire ecology, and range health.

Range program clients include Ministry range specialists, ranchers, and the Grassland Conservation Council. Range ecology researchers contribute technical advice and support to provincial-level policies and initiatives such as the Future Forest Ecosystems Initiative, and the Forage and Associated Plant Communities Resource Value of the Forest and Range Practices Act Forest Resource Evaluation Program.

Researchers continue to maintain the respect of their scientific peers by ensuring that experimental approaches and scientific findings meet the high standards and rigour required by peer-reviewed technical reports and scientific journals. Researchers participate in a variety of scientific gatherings, such as the annual conference of the Canadian Society of Soil Science, the Northwest Biosolids Management conference, the 59^th Annual conference of the Society for Range Management, and the Ecological Restoration in Southeastern B.C.: Grasslands to Mountaintops conference.

Range ecology researchers participate on several formal committees including:

Future Forest Ecosystems Initiative, Advisor to the Technical Committee –Leading the co-ordination of research knowledge to develop a sound scientific foundation for understanding climate change and ecosystem resilience.
Forest and Range Practices Act Forest Resource Evaluation Program (FRPA/FREP), Forage and Associated Plant Communities Value Team – Range scientists have been fundamental to the development and testing of high-quality, science-based indicators and protocols.
Committee on Watershed Stewardship, Technical Advisor– A multi-agency committee to encourage and facilitate communication and extension activities regarding environmentally sustainable agricultural use of watersheds, particularly riparian areas, within the southern interior of British Columbia. The committee includes provincial and federal agencies, as well as non-profit organizations such as the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association and Ducks Unlimited.
British Columbia Rural and Remote Health Research Network — Range scientists provide technical advice to study the connections between cattle, water quality, and water-borne diseases in British Columbia.

Recent Publications

Newman, R., H. Page, and J. Parminter. 2007. Understory succession following ecosystem restoration treatments in ingrown dry forests. Poster at the Ecological Restoration in Southeastern B.C: Grasslands to Mountaintops conference. Sponsored by the B.C. Chapter, Society for Ecological Restoration, and the Columbia Mountains Institute, Cranbrook, B.C. Oct.12-13, 2007. [pdf]

Krzic, M., R. Newman, and K. Broersma. 2006. Forest grazing on lodgepole pine cutblocks. Proc. 59th Annu. Conf. of the Society for Range Management, Vancouver, B.C. Feb. 13-17, 2006.

Krzic, M., R.F. Newman, C. Trethewey, C.E. Bulmer, and B. Chapman. 2006. Impacts of cattle grazing on vegetation and soil properties on rehabilitated landings in the central interior of British Columbia. J. Soil Water Conserv. 61:137–144.

For a complete list of range publications click here.