grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, or shinibs, 2) natiiral herb ivory was an 

 important influence in its precivilization state, 5) it is more suitable for 

 management by ecological principles than for management by agronomic prin- 

 ciples. Rangelands include natural grasslands, savannas, shrublands, most 

 deserts, tundra, alpine communities, coastal marshes, and wet meadows." 

 Such lands occupy 40-45^ of the earth's land sirrface as contrasted with ^(yfo 

 in tilled cropland and 28-50^ in forest. 



Although a small percentage of these rangelands could economically be 

 converted to cropland, nearly all of it is too dry, steep, shallow, sandy, 

 wet, cold, or saline for cultivated crops or for timber production, I in- 

 clude cultured or tame pastures under cultivated crops, suitable for crop- 

 land (land that can withstand and repay agronomic practices). 



In every western state and in countries throughout the world the cul- 

 tivator has pushed out onto rangelands where trial and error proved the land 

 could not sustain use as cropland. Formerly cultivated, eroded, abandoned 

 fields are everywhere in the range country and are a standard featiore of 

 aerial photos of ranches. When these are checked on the ground, they are 

 ordinarily lower and less dependable producers of forage than adjacent land 

 never cultivated. Though now dominated by volunteer native plants, you will 

 learn that most were once seeded to the favorite domesticated pasture or hay 

 species of the time of abandonment. 



There is too little acceptance of the principle that we must decide 

 upon one of the three primary uses of agricultural land — based on climate 

 and soil — before we consider land treatments. State-wide informational 

 literature on crops and pasture development can still be found with no re- 

 ference to precipitation zone and soil group. The agricultural colleges 

 remain largely commodity oriented instead of land oriented. The state ag- 

 ricultural colleges from North Dakota to Texas are all located in the eastern 

 and high precipitation zone of the states. They were originally, and are 

 still largely, staffed by graduates from still more easterly and more humid 

 locations. The result has been minimal understanding of treatments appro- 

 priate for rangeland. Instead, familiar cropland and forestry practices 

 such as tree planting, were promoted statewide. Agronomists, on their oc- 

 casional trips to the more arid western parts of these states have often done more 



15 



