Part 2: Basic Rangeland Ecology

Rangeland Vegetation

The rangeland biome is usually grassland, shrub land, or savannah, and predominately consists of the following vegetation, but it can also include desert tundra and some forest land.

• Grasses, or members of the Graminacea family. These plants have hollow, jointed stems, leaves that are fine and narrow with parallel veins, and fibrous roots that are good for holding soil.
  
  
• Sedges and rushes, which are grass-like plants that have solid, non-jointed stems.
  
  
• Forbs, which are broad-leafed herbaceous plants with leaves having net-venation.
  
  
• Shrubs having woody stems, broad leaves, and stems growing near the base of the plant (as opposed to trees with a defined trunk and branches further above the ground).

grass                                  forb                                  shrub

photos courtesy Mitch McClaran