Understanding Vegetation Succession with State and Transition Models

Abstract

Effective natural resource management involves balancing benefits derived from utilizing the environment against potential environmental degradation. Rangeland managers need to not only recognize change in plant communities, but also need to identify possible causes of vegetation trends. Vegetation evaluation procedures must be able to measure and interpret both reversible and nonreversible vegetation dynamics. Both patterns occur, and neither pattern alone represents the entire spectrum of vegetation dynamics on all rangelands (Briske et al. 2005).