Rangeland Mashups and Wikicology?: Implementing Collaborative Internet Technologies for Rangeland Management

Abstract

On the Ground • The same collaborative Internet technologies that fundamentally changed how businesses communicate, create products and services, and ultimately succeed have the potential to contribute greatly to meeting knowledge challenges of rangeland management. • Web 2.0 tools, like wikis, crowd-sourcing, and content aggregation (i.e., mashups), are currently used in natural resource science and have the potential to increase our understanding of rangeland ecosystems and improve management decision making in the future. • Taking advantage of this explosion of information will require a change in focus from discrete and isolated projects to comprehensive knowledge systems that can be tapped (and supplemented as necessary) to respond to new management issues as they arise.