Introduction
Approximately 80% of land in the western United States is classified as rangeland and much of these lands also fall into “arid” or “semi-arid” classifications. Accordingly, range management and water resource management go hand-in-hand. Water conservation can directly and positively impact range condition. Watersheds provide a natural template upon which to explore basic hydrologic function and the connections between terrestrial and riparian landscape features.
Rangeland management can be enhanced through an understanding of watershed function and its relationship to rangeland condition at the scale of a watershed down to the scale of a ranch. The focus of this learning module will be to provide a tool for educating landowners and managers on rangeland watersheds and their function, how management actions influence water availability in the landscape, and how landowners can contribute to watershed protection. Users who complete this module should then have tools to improve water management in their range operations.
Module Overview
- What is a watershed? In this introductory unit, you will learn how watersheds are defined and delineated and how watersheds are classified using hydrologic unit codes (HUCs).
- Rangeland hydrology This unit covers watershed functions, the hydrologic cycle, types of erosion, and relevant soil characteristics.
- Management actions and water availability This unit describes how management actions can impact the availability of water on the landscape. The effects of vegetation type and amount of cover, the impacts of grazing, and desertification are covered.
- Improving water management This unit covers actions that land managers can take to ensure sustainable, long-term use of rangelands. Both preventative and restorative actions are described.
- For more information Module references and further resources are provided.
About this module
Watershed Function and Water Conservation for Range Management is a web resource whose creation was funded by the National Learning Center for Private Forest and Range Landowners at the University of Tennessee. The Center is a project of the United States Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Extension, and Education Service.
Program Developers from the University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences:
Theresa Crimmins – Research Specialist, Senior; Arid Lands Information Center
Carla Casler - Associate Director, Arid Lands Information Center
We are also very grateful for contributions by Denise Garcia, Taryn Kong, and Chris Pruden.