Economic, Social, and Ecological Issues of Rangeland Fragmentation that Affect Rangeland Sustainability and Rural Communities
Grant
Overview
abstract
Fragmentation of the landscape has led to significant legal and policy conflicts. Private property rights versus wildlife protections and incentives for land disposal and economic growth versus fire management are just two examples of this phenomenon. The challenges facing the development of sustainable systems, including ecological, economic and social aspects, must first focus on determining the relationships between these distinct yet interrelated disciplines. The use of a conceptual framework can provide the basis for determining the processes within and between the systems while also acting to reveal the relationships across processes and systems. The overarching goal of the revised project is to determine whether rangeland fragmentation is causing ecological, economic, and social impacts and the extent of the related individual and
cumulative impacts.