Integrating Knowledge of Scientists and Ranchers Offers a More Complete Landscape

Newswise — Knowledge gained from scientific data and from firsthand experience are two different things. When combined, however, these two sources can offer a more complete picture than either one alone. Researchers applied this concept to the creation of state-and-transition models—studies of vegetation dynamics within ecological sites—using the expertise of conservation land managers and the local knowledge of ranchers.

An article in the current issue of the journal Rangeland Ecology & Management reports on an experimental series of workshops that helped to evaluate state-and-transition models. Land managers and ranchers participated, integrating their different perspectives and knowledge.

Two types of models were formed based on data collected from the Elkhead watershed of northwestern Colorado. The first model, based on local knowledge, was developed through interviews with 32 ranchers and land agency employees in this area. The second model was based on ecological field data and multivariate model construction methods.

Workshops were held with both land managers and ranchers to gain their feedback and discussion on these models. The goal was to integrate local and scientific knowledge into a collective knowledge source regarding vegetation change over time. This project shows that these two sources of information can complement one another. These enhanced state-and-transition models could help bridge the gap among stakeholders interested in land use and conservation issues.

The authors note that the “challenge is to learn how to integrate management experience and scientific research to create models that are credible and useful to agency managers, landowners, and scientists.” With the Natural Resources Conservation Service currently working on establishing state-and-transition models for most ecological sites in the United States, it is essential to find the best way to develop these models and to make them useful to all interested stakeholders. The workshops used in this research provide one such example.

Full text of the article, “Using Participatory Workshops to Integrate State-and-Transition Models Created With Local Knowledge and Ecological Data,” Rangeland Ecology & Management, Vol. 64, No. 2, March 2011, is available at http://www.srmjournals.org/doi/full/10.2111/REM-D-10-00047.1

About Rangeland Ecology & ManagementRangeland Ecology & Management is a peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Range Management that is published six times a year. The journal provides a forum for the presentation and discussion of research information, concepts, and philosophies pertaining to the function, management, and sustainable use of global rangeland resources. The journal is available online at www.srmjournals.org. To learn more about the society, please visit: http://www.rangelands.org/.