Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
SIVAS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENTIFIC AND INNOVATION RESEARCH - IV, Sivas, Türkiye, 30 - 31 Mayıs 2025, ss.23-24, (Özet Bildiri)
Rangelands are ecosystems that cover 31.2% of the world's terrestrial area and 37.8% of Turkey's agricultural lands, playing a vital role for rural communities. These semi-natural areas provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including food, fiber, water, recreation, and minerals, as well as essential roughage for livestock, making them crucial for livelihoods worldwide, particularly in developing countries. However, competition in land use, extreme climate events, socioeconomic changes, and excessive or improper grazing have led to rangelands degradation in many regions. Studies indicate that overgrazing reduces soil aggregate stability by 30-50% and significantly increases erosion risk. The effects of climate change, particularly drought and rising temperatures, accelerate degradation by reducing vegetation regeneration capacity. Woody plant invasion decreases forage productivity by up to 60%, leading to both ecological and economic losses. This review concludes that on-site measurements—such as soil aggregate stability, bare soil ratio, and vegetation composition—along with remote sensing technologies (NDVI, MODIS), are critical for understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of degradation. Among the proposed strategies for sustainable rangeland management, controlled grazing systems, woody plant control, and early warning systems stand out. Community-based management models, integrating local knowledge and scientific data, yield more effective results. Additionally, new policies are recommended to revise rangeland rights and grazing regulations. Given our dependence on rangelands, the degradation of these resources is believed to have large-scale impacts. This paper examines the primary causes of rangeland degradation, discusses indicators for identifying degradation, and evaluates methods for assessing the degree of degradation in rangeland ecosystems. Furthermore, options and considerations for restoring degraded rangelands are presented, along with forward-looking approaches for monitoring and evaluating rangeland degradation.