Rangeland and grazing practices
Rangelands consist of the many arid and semiarid lands of grasses or a mixture of grasses and drought-resistant shnabs The cooversion of rangeland to grazing by domesticated animals has major impacts on biodiversity
To increase the productivity of rangelands, management techniques may specifically eliminate certain species of plants that are poisonous or not useful as food for the grazing animals, or specific grasses may be planted that are not native to the area in some cases. native animals are reduced if they are a threat to livestock because they are predators or because they may spread disease to the livestock.
As populations increase, desperate people attempt to graze too many animals on the land. overgrazed, many plants die and the loss of plant cover the soil to wind erosion, resulting in a loss of ferti which reduces the land'sability to support vegetation, The cutting of trees for firewood reduces soil fertility and results in conversion of the land to a more desertlike ecosystem. This process of converting arid and semiarid land to desert because of improper use by humans is called desertification.