AoR 82: A Synthesis of Ranch-Level Sustainability Indicators for Land Managers, Part 1

The Art of Range

This episode has the authors of a recent article in the journal Rangeland Ecology & Management tell the story behind their work: Clare Kazanski & Marissa Ahlering (The Nature Conservancy), Patrick Lendrum (World Wildlife Fund), and Sheri Spiegal (Jornada Experimental Range). Sheri was recently honored with the USDA ARS Early Career Scientist of the Year Award. The organizations represented by these and other contributing authors are all involved in evaluating environmental and social success in ranching. Quoting from the article: "There is a need for greater clarity on which indicators are most effective for assessing and monitoring sustainable management and continuous improvement of ranching operations. Our objective was to synthesize existing guidance on monitoring and assessing ranch-scale sustainability in the United States and to identify core ecological, social, and economic indicators that could identify well-managed ranching, support adaptive management, and demonstrate producers’ sustainability and continuous improvement to retailers and consumers. We evaluated 21 range and pastureland assessments from nongovernmental organizations, agencies, and academics that totaled 180 indicators. From this, we selected 20 commonly used “core” indicators (12 ecological and 8 socioeconomic)" that can be used to measure ranch sustainability. Article link, REM issue 79, open access: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550742421001020 https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/provide-food-and-water-sustainably/food-and-water-stories/sustainable-grazing-lands/ Sustainable Southwest Beef Project--Tools for Ranch and Rangeland Resilience. https://southwestbeef.org/ Long-Term Agroecosystem Research program. https://www.ars.usda.gov/natural-resources-and-sustainable-agricultural-systems/water-availability-and-watershed-management/docs/long-term-agroecosystem-research-ltar-network/ TRANSCRIPT at the episode webpage: https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-82-synthesis-ranch-level-sustainability-indicators-land-managers-part-1