A process for selecting indicators for monitoring conditions of rangeland health

This paper reports on a process for selecting a suite of indicators that, in combination, can be useful in assessing the ecological conditions of rangelands. Conceptual models that depict the structural and functional properties of ecological processes were used to show the linkages between ecological components and their importance in assessing the status and trends of ecological resources on a regional scale. Selection criteria were developed so that relationships could be assessed at different spatial scales using ground and aerial measurements. Parameters including responsiveness and sensitivity to change, quality assurance and control, temporal and spatial variability, cost-effectiveness and statistical design played an important role in determining how indicators were selected. A total of ten indicator categories were selected by a committee of scientists for evaluation in the program. A subset that included soil properties, vegetation composition and abundance, and spectral properties was selected for evaluation in a pilot test conducted in 1992 in the Colorado Plateau region of the southwestern United States. This work is part of a major effort being undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its collaborators to assess the condition of rangelands (primarily comprised of arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid ecosystems) along with seven other ecosystem groups (forests, agricultural lands, wetlands, surface waters, landscapes, estuaries and Great Lakes) as part of a national Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). The indicator selection process reported upon was developed to support EMAP's goal of providing long-term, policy-relevant research focusing on evaluating the ecological condition (or health) of regional and national resources.