Our online research and extension hubs provide science-based information, tools, and solutions for sustainable grazing land management.
Decision Making
Worldwide, rangelands are our most expansive and diverse land resources and provide a multitude of ecosystem goods and services to humanity. Ranchers and land managers hold unique expertise on the factors determining success of goal setting, decision-making, and adaptive management strategies within these complex social-ecological systems.
Climate Resilient Rangelands
Building climate-resilient rangeland communities and ecosystems. Drought is the rule rather than the exception in California and has been a significant shaping force on the State's rangelands. Climate change and weather extremes threaten rangelands, which are largely rainfall-dependent and arguably the most vulnerable systems to drought.
Water Quality
Much of California’s surface drinking water and irrigation supplies are either derived from rangeland runoff, or are stored in reservoirs situated within the State’s 40 million acres of rangeland watershed.
Drought
Rangeland livestock producers were among the first agricultural communities affected by California's worst drought in 500 years. Through surveys and interviews, we have worked with the ranching community to identify key strategies for coping with and adapting to drought.
Weeds and Pests
Using a stakeholder driven approach to developing actionable research to rangeland weed and pest management decision making. We held a series of workshops across California to share information on recent developments in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) rangeland research and survey participants to learn about local experiences and perceptions of rangeland weed control practices.
Ranch Water Quality Planning Instructor's Guide and Lesson Plan
This guide is for extension professionals, watershed organization staff or volunteers, and the livestock ranching community. The goal is to provide an objective, adaptive framework and blueprint for organizing short course–type education programs that enable ranchers to complete RWQPs.
Irrigated Pasture
Enhancing irrigated grasslands and watersheds through understanding sustainable irrigated pasture management strategies critical to farming and ranching economic viability, environmental quality, and supply of ecosystem goods and services.
Livestock Predator Interactions
Predators and grazing livestock rely upon rangeland habitats throughout California (and much of the world), and so livestock-predator conflicts are perhaps inevitable. The Livestock-Predator Information Hub provides research-based information for rangeland livestock producers and wildlife managers on mitigating and managing potential conflicts.
Public Lands
Nearly half of the grazing land in California is held in the public trust. We work with a variety of natural resource agencies to study and promote both environmental sustainability and agricultural production on the diverse ecosystems that comprise California's public rangelands.
Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Planning Tool
This application is a nitrogen and irrigation management planning tool for irrigated pastures and an educational tool for assisting California growers in completing a Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Plan.
Sheep Handbook
The American sheep industry has seen a steady decline in national sheep numbers dropping from a record 56 million sheep in 1942 to 5.23 million in 2017. A dramatic increase in production efficiency is critical to the future success and sustainability of the sheep industry. Technologies like electronic identification (EID) tags and genomic testing have been profitably adopted by other livestock industries.
Rangeland Research and Education Archive
The UC Rangelands Research & Education Archive provides access to rangeland and pasture information, including more than 700 archived publications and reports.
Remote Sensing Rangelands
We fly drones and use satellite data to create rangeland management magic. This hub is currently under construction.