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Benefits and costs of implementing the specialized grazing systems on federal rangelands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) were studied. First only the direct benefits and costs were used to determine the internal rates of return on the Bureau of of Land Management investments in grazing systems. Secondly, the effects of theses systems on profits of private ranchers were determined. Finally the benefits and costs stream on the Bureau of Land Management and the changes in ranchers' profits were brought together to find out the net gain to society from investing the federal funds in specialized grazing systems. The internal rate of return on the Bureau of Land Management investments over an area of approximately 695,024 acres in Idaho, Nevada and Utah is 2.37 percent which is less than half the rate federal investments are expected to return (as measured by the federal government's cost of borrowing). More than half of the twenty four allotment plans have negative rates of return. Out of thirteen plans with negative rates of return only five had positive net returns and the rest have negative net returns. Specialized grazing systems have improved the aggregate profits of the private ranchers by $3.06 for each pound of livestock produced. Federal investment in specialized grazing systems may be justified if income distribution is considered a valid reason for such activities. If the stability and continuity of their operations is assured, ranchers may be able to pay increased grazing fees. In view of the fact that under public pressure the government has decided to withdraw rancher benefits in the form of grazing fees lower than market rates, income distribution appears to be poor grounds for justification of federal investment. Also, given the income benefits to ranch operations, ranchers themselves would undoubtedly want to invest in grazing systems on federal land. However, rancher investment is unlikely since the Bureau of Land Management is already discouraging private permanent improvements on public lands. From the point of view of the Bureau of Land Management as a proprietory agent, the real cost of obtaining an increase of a bundle of non-grazing benefits produced jointly with an animal unit month of increased forage production is $0.53. A grazing fee of $1.74 per animal unit month would be required for the Bureau of Land Management to break even on investments in grazing systems. This is in spirt of the fact that large federal investments in necessary range improvements already existed before the implementation of the specialized grazing systems. It appears the investments in grazing systems on unimproved ranges are not justifiable in terms of direct returns to the Bureau of Land Management. If the externality to the ranching segment of society is internalized, specialized grazing systems more than pay for themselves if future benefits are discounted at the public discount rate. Besides the positive change in public goods, society gains $3.42 for each additional animal unit month of grazing. Many questions are left unanswered such as quantifying and placing a dollar value on rangeland benefits claimed by the federal agencies.

The industrialized world is expanding its search for energy, minerals, timber and other resources into the Arctic and adjacent higher latitudes. Up to now, large-scale development projects in the Arctic and sub-Arctic have been few. We can, however, profit from experiences gained from several of these, including oil and gas exploration and development in Alaska and on Russia's Yamal Peninsula, the Norilsk metalurgical complex of Siberia, Alaska's Red Dog mine and others. Conclusions drawn from these experiences are that industrial impacts on Arctic grazing systems can be minimized if the following considerations guide their planning: 1) most of the large development projects that have been undertaken in the North have lacked adequate background information on the grazing systems that they might impact; 2) there needs to be recognition by industry and governments for the amount of time required to gather such information and provision made for this; 3) because types of impacts on northern grazing systems that may result from development projects vary depending on whether they involve mining, oil or gas, hydroelectric or other activities, each proposed project must be assessed independently; 4) cumulative effects of multiple projects, often sequentially developed, are seldom addressed by the responsible governments, thus planning for development of an individual project should be within the context of regional and long-range development planning; and 5) types and sources of contaminants entering northern ecosystems, threatening the health of northern residents, must also be a major focus of project assessment.

Grazing systems dynamics are driven by a complex combination of socio-economic, political and environmental contexts. Although the drivers and dynamics can be highly location-specific, we focus on describing global trends as well as trends by agro-ecological, socio-economic and political contexts. Global grasslands have expanded in area over the last decades. A decreasing trend has however been observed since the 21st century. Grazing systems' management has also intensified. While these dynamics can have socio-economic and environmental benefits, they have often led to unsustainable systems, exemplified by deforestation and land degradation. Opportunities for land expansion without damaging forests and natural ecosystems are increasingly limited around the world and future increases in grazing systems production will need to mainly come from increases in productivity per animal and per unit area. We highlight some priority research areas and issues for policy makers to consider to help the movement towards more sustainable systems.

[Background]: Q fever, a worldwide zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, is endemic in northern Spain where it has been reported as responsible for large series of human pneumonia cases and domestic ruminants' reproductive disorders. To investigate pathogen exposure among domestic ruminants in semi-extensive grazing systems in northern Spain, a serosurvey was carried out in 1,379 sheep (42 flocks), 626 beef cattle (46 herds) and 115 goats (11 herds). Serum antibodies were analysed by ELISA and positive samples were retested by Complement Fixation test (CFT) to detect recent infections. [Results]: ELISA anti-C. burnetii antibody prevalence was slightly higher in sheep (11.8 ± 2.0%) than in goats (8.7 ± 5.9%) and beef cattle (6.7 ± 2.0%). Herd prevalence was 74% for ovine, 45% for goat and 43% for bovine. Twenty-one percent of sheep flocks, 27% of goat and 14% of cattle herds had a C. burnetii seroprevalence ¿ 20%. Only 15 out of 214 ELISA-positive animals reacted positive by CFT. Age-associated seroprevalence differed between ruminant species with a general increasing pattern with age. No evidence of correlation between abortion history and seroprevalence rates was observed despite the known abortifacient nature of C. burnetii in domestic ruminants. [Conclusions]: Results reported herein showed that sheep had the highest contact rate with C. burnetii in the region but also that cattle and goats should not be neglected as part of the domestic cycle of C. burnetii. This work reports basic epidemiologic patterns of C. burnetii in semi-extensive grazed domestic ruminants which, together with the relevant role of C. burnetii as a zoonotic and abortifacient agent, makes these results to concern both Public and Animal Health Authorities. ; This work was supported by funding from INIA (FAU2006-00002-C04-01), FEDER, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Basque Government. F. Ruiz-Fons is supported by a research contract from the 'Instituto de Salud Carlos III' of the Spanish Ministry for Health. ; Peer Reviewed

Horse grazing systems may affect productivity and biodiversity of understory developed under Pinus radiata D. Don silvopastoral systems, while acting as a tool to reduce the risk of fire. This study compared continuous and rotational grazing systems effect upon biomass, fractions of stem, sprouts, leaves and woody parts of Ulex europaeus L. and alpha (Species Richness, Shannon-Wiener) and beta (Jaccard and Magurran) biodiversity for a period of four years in a P. radiata silvopastoral system. The experiment consisted of a randomized block design of two treatments (continuous and rotational grazing). Biomass, and species abundances were measured - biodiversity metrics were calculated based on these results for a two years of grazing and two years of post-grazing periods. Both continuous and rotational grazing systems were useful tools for reducing biomass and, therefore, fire risk. The rotational grazing system caused damage to the U. europaeus shrub, limiting its recovery once grazing was stopped. However, the more intensive grazing of U. europaeus plants under rotational had a positive effect on both alpha and beta biodiversity indexes due to the low capacity of food selection in the whole plot rather than continuous grazing systems. Biomass was not affected by the grazing system; however the rotational grazing system is more appropriate to reduce U. europaeus biomass and therefore forest fire risk at a long term and to enhance pasture biodiversity than the continuous grazing system ; This research was funded by the CICYT and by the Rural Development Galician Government (Xunta de Galicia) ; SI

Altres ajuts: Basque Government to E.G (IT1022-16), A.A (IT1365-19), and L.J.R.B. (IT944-16) ; Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M ; Pastoral systems face increasing pressure from competing global markets, food sector industrialization, and new policies such as Europe's post-2020 Common Agriculture Policy. This pressure threatens the use of extensive sheep-grazing systems in mountain areas of low productivity but high natural value. Using information gathered at a long-term research setting in a mountainous area of the Basque Country (northern Spain), we assessed the multiple benefits of extensive dairy sheep grazing systems from multiple perspectives using indicators pertaining to ecological, socio-economic, and food quality domains. In this way, we address the benefits that would be lost if sheep grazing abandonment persists in mountain regions. Our results show that the benefits of extensive dairy sheep grazing in the research area include the production of healthy and high-quality foods and multiple ecological benefits including biodiversity conservation. Extensive dairy sheep grazing also contributes to rural development by generating employment and income in marginal, low-productivity lands that can support few economic alternatives. In particular, we found that sheep farmers who produce high-value products, such as cheese, have enhanced their economic profitability and are less dependent on public subsidies. However, careful attention to sustainable practices, support for new generations of farmers, and streamlined supply chains are required. These would contribute to ensure socio-economic benefits for farmers, avoid the ecological costs associated with grazing abandonment, and enhance ecosystem services for the whole society.

Context Wild predators are a serious threat to livestock in Australia. Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) may be able to reduce or eliminate predation, but their effectiveness in Australian grazing systems has not been systematically evaluated. In particular, little is known about the effectiveness of LGDs in situations where they range freely over large areas in company with large numbers of livestock. Aims We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of LGDs as currently used in Australia and determine the factors influencing effectiveness, in particular in relation to scale of management. We also documented how LGDs are managed in Australia, evaluated their cost effectiveness, and identified factors that influence the number of dogs required in different property situations. Methods We conducted a telephone survey of 150 livestock producers with LGDs in Australia, including all livestock types and property situations, in all States. Ten producers were visited, of which one is detailed as a case study. Key results Effectiveness was apparently high: 65.7% of respondents reported that predation ceased after obtaining LGDs, and a further 30.2% reported a decrease of predation. When the number of stock per dog exceeds 100, LGDs might not be able to eliminate all predation. Dogs are often kept free-ranging on large properties where wild dogs are the main predator, but are usually restricted in their movements on smaller properties or with smaller predators. The cost of obtaining a LGD is returned within 1–3 years after the dog starts working. The number of dogs required for a property mainly depends on the number of livestock needing protection, and the main type of predator in the area. Conclusions Provided a sufficient number of LGDs are used, they can be as effective in protecting livestock from predators in Australia when ranging freely on large properties with large numbers of livestock as they are in small-scale farming systems. Implications LGDs can provide a cost-effective alternative to conventional predator control methods in Australia's extensive grazing enterprises, potentially reducing or eliminating the need for other forms of control. LGDs could play a major role in securing the viability of livestock businesses and reconciling people–predator conflict in Australia.

Three policy options for greenhouse gas abatement in the predominantly grazing systems of Western Australia are analysed. The two taxation policies (a tax on total emissions, and a tax on methane emissions only) are only effective at extreme tax rates ($85/t CO2 equivalents) where farming systems are no longer economically viable. The third policy option, emission restrictions, allows farms to remain profitable at approximately four times greater abatement levels than the taxation policies, and is found to be the most effective and efficient policy option studied. However, it is concluded that the introduction of any farm-level policy for greenhouse gas abatement would be politically unpopular and, in the absence of swift and innovative technological change, would cause the current farming systems to fail and be replaced by alternative land-uses.

Ruminants grazing systerms of northern Portugal are part of the whole farming systems. traditionally highly connected with other agricultural and/or forestry systems. At present the agrarian traditional systems are becoming more simple with less connectivity between its components leading to a poor genetic and ecological landscape.