Applicability of Montreal Process Criterion 3 — maintenance of ecosystem health — to rangelands

SUMMARY

Criterion 3 — Maintenance of Ecosystem Health — encompasses three indicators: disturbance, air pollution, and biological components. Our objective is to assess how well Criterion 3, developed to monitor temperate and boreal forests, applies to rangelands. We review the applicability of the three indicators, their potential limitations for rangeland ecosystems, the data currently available to quantify these indicators on rangelands, and highlight research needs for monitoring health and vitality of rangeland ecosystems. All indicators are applicable to rangelands. Deficiencies identified for the implementation of these criteria on forests are also present in applying them to rangelands. For Indicator 15, quantifying the spatial extent of disturbances requires a description of the dynamics of each disturbance, a definition of range of historic variation at the ecosystem level, and a baseline inventory of the current disturbance situation at the national level. The national networks currently monitoring air pollutants provide good data for Indicator 16. For Indicator 17, the premise that ecological processes underpin the health and vitality of ecosystems and that monitoring biological components would give advance warning of ecosystem stress is emphasized by numerous scientists. For this indicator, a surrogate such as productivity may be the near-term way to quantify this concept.

Key words:

• disturbance
• grazing
• fire
• weeds
• air pollution
• diminished biological components