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Factors Affecting Public Preferences for Grassland Landscape Heterogeneity in the Great Plains

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Abstract

Agricultural intensification has fragmented rangelands in the Great Plains, which has contributed to uniform and homogeneous landscapes and decreased biodiversity. Alternative land management practices involving fire-grazing interactions can help maintain biodiversity without affecting livestock productivity. A survey was designed to understand the factors that influence preferences among the general population towards grassland landscape heterogeneity. Given the ordinal nature of survey responses, requisite data were analyzed using a generalized ordinal logit model. Results suggested that respondents who valued open space and those who recognized a need for a varying mix of uniform grasses and grasslands preferred landscape heterogeneity. Female respondents were about two times as likely to prefer heterogeneous landscapes compared to male respondents. In contrast, population groups that preferred wildlife habitat did not desire heterogeneous landscapes. Results suggest the need for extension and outreach activities to educate certain segments of the general population regarding benefits of alternative management practices that support landscape heterogeneity in the Great Plains.

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Notes

  1. The original survey is available from corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by USDA–AFRI Managed Ecosystems grant #2010- 85101-20457 and by the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Omkar Joshi, David M. Engle, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf & R. Dwayne Elmore

  2. Department of Political Science, Legal Studies, and Sociology, East Central University, Ada, OK 74820, USA

    Terrie A. Becerra

Authors
  1. Omkar Joshi
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  2. Terrie A. Becerra
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  3. David M. Engle
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  4. Samuel D. Fuhlendorf
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  5. R. Dwayne Elmore
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Correspondence to Omkar Joshi.

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Joshi, O., Becerra, T.A., Engle, D.M. et al. Factors Affecting Public Preferences for Grassland Landscape Heterogeneity in the Great Plains. Environmental Management 60, 922–930 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0921-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0921-5

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