Conserving Working Rangelands: A Social–Ecological Case Study from Northeastern Colorado

Jasmine E. Bruno, Stephen J. Leisz, Jake S. Bobula and María E. Fernández-Giménez
Additional contact information
Jasmine E. Bruno: Department of Forest & Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1472, USA
Stephen J. Leisz: Department of Anthropology & Geography, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1472, USA
Jake S. Bobula: Imagery Team, Mapbox, Washington, DC 20005-1047, USA
María E. Fernández-Giménez: Department of Forest & Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1472, USA

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-27

Abstract: Land changes in rangeland systems cascade through interconnected social and ecological spheres, affecting both humans and the environment. This study applied a multi-method approach to examine the causes and consequences of change in two rangeland communities in northeastern (NE) Colorado. First, this study used a Random Forest supervised classifier to analyze 36 years of land-cover data and create a land-cover/use change classification model. Second, the research team analyzed transcripts of interviews with 32 ranchers, examining how ranchers’ adaptive strategies influence land-cover change trends. Lastly, the analysis integrated the quantitative and qualitative data, constructing a social–ecological rangeland change conceptual model. This study found that the cultivated area decreased in both study sites from 1984–2019, with 16.0% and 18.7% of each site transitioning out of the cultivated area. Moreover, 10.3% and 18.4% of each site, respectively, transitioned to herbaceous/grassland cover from 1984–2019. The qualitative analysis identified the role of conservation policies, such as open space programs, on land change. Also, despite the relatively small area that transitioned to developed cover—1.83% and 0.183% of each site—participants emphasized that the associated demographic and cultural shifts drive land-use change. This study highlights that while rangelands are undergoing social–ecological change, land-use decisions and land conservation programs can help mitigate the global trend of declining rangeland and grassland cover.

Keywords: land change; environmental change; agriculture; Landsat; qualitative research; Random Forest classifier (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/12/1399/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/12/1399/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:12:p:1399-:d:705225

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().