Restoring Rangelands with an Overabundance of Shrubs

This scenario describes the problem of restoring rangelands that were once open and grassy (figure 9.1 ) but have lost their groundcover and have become dense with unpalatable shrubs (figure 9.2 ). These dramatic changes are usually the result of many years of heavy grazing by livestock and, in numerous cases, by feral animals, such as rabbits, goats, camels, horses, and donkeys. Because of low groundcover, these disturbed rangelands are now eroding. They include former grasslands and grassy shrublands, such as the chenopod shrublands in southern Australia and the sagebrush shrublands in the western United States. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.