Skip to main content

Restoring Rangelands with an Overabundance of Shrubs

  • Chapter
  • 1627 Accesses

Part of the book series: The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration ((SPER))

Abstract

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Friedel, M. H., J. E. Kinloch, and W. J. Muller. 1996. The potential of somemechanical treatments for rehabilitating arid rangelands. 1. Within-site effects and economic returns. Rangelands Journal18:150–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landsberg, J., C. D. James, S. R. Morton, W. Muller, and J. Stol. 2003. Abundance and composition of plant species along grazing gradients in Australian rangelands. Journal of Applied Ecology40:1008–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig, J. A., and D. J. Tongway. 1996. Rehabilitation of semi-arid landscapes in Australia. 2. Restoring vegetation patches. Restoration Ecology4:398–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig, J. A., D. J. Tongway, D. A. Freudenberger, J. C. Noble, and K. C. Hodgkinson, eds. 1997. Landscape ecology, function and management: Principles from Australia’s rangelands.Melbourne, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. (Out of print: available as pdf files online at http://members.iinet.net.au/~lfa_procedures/)

  • Milton, S. J., W. R. J. Dean, and D. M. Richardson. 2003. Economic incentives for restoring natural capital: Trends in southern African Rangelands. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment1:247–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noble, J. C. 1997. The delicate and noxious scrub: CSIRO studies on native tree and shrub proliferation in the semi-arid woodlands of eastern Australia. Canberra, Australia: CSIROSustainable Ecosystems.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noble, J. C., A. C. Grice, M. J. Dobbie, W. J. Muller, and J. T. Wood 2001. Integrated shrub management in semi-arid woodlands of eastern Australia: Effects of chemical defoliants applied after an initial disturbance. Rangeland Journal23:224–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, J. F., and D. M. Stafford Smith, eds. 2002. Global desertification: Do humans cause deserts?DahlemWorkshop Report 88. Berlin, Germany: Dahlem University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tongway, D. J., and J. A. Ludwig. 1996. Rehabilitation of semi-arid landscapes in Australia. 1. Restoring productive soil patches. Restoration Ecology4:388–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tongway, D. J., and J. A. Ludwig. 1997. The nature of landscape dysfunction in rangelands. In Landscape ecology, function and management: Principles from Australia’s rangelands, ed. J. A. Ludwig, D. J. Tongway, D. A. Freudenberger, J. C. Noble, and K. C. Hodgkinson, 49–61. Melbourne, Australia: CSIRO Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tongway, D. J., and J. A. Ludwig. 2001. Theories on the origins, maintenance, dynamics and functioning of banded landscapes. In Banded vegetation patterning in arid and semiarid environments: Ecological processes and consequences for management, ed. D. J. Tongway, C. Valentin, and J. Segheri, 20–31. New York: Springer Science.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Tongway, D. J., and J. A. Ludwig. 2002b. Desertification, reversing. In Encyclopedia of soil science, ed. R. Lal, 343–45. New York: Marcel Dekker.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tongway, D. J., A. D. Sparrow, andM. H. Friedel. 2003. Degradation and recovery processes in arid grazing lands of central Australia. Part 1: Soil and land resources. Journal of Arid Environments56:301–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whisenant, S. G. 1990. Repairing damaged wildlands: A process-orientated, landscape-scale approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiedemann, H. T., and P. J. Kelly, 2001. Turpentine (Eremophilla sturtii) control by mechanical uprooting. Rangeland Journal23:173–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David J. Tongway .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 David J. Tongway and John A. Ludwig

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Tongway, D.J., Ludwig, J.A. (2011). Restoring Rangelands with an Overabundance of Shrubs. In: Restoring Disturbed Landscapes. The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-007-1_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships