Rangeland refers to a large, mostly unimproved section of land that is predominantly used for livestock grazing. This is land on which the natural vegetation is dominated by native grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and shrubs. Rangeland also consists of areas seeded to native or adapted introduced species that are managed like native vegetation. Rangelands include natural grasslands, savannas, shrublands, many deserts, tundra, alpine communities, coastal marshes, and wet meadows. Rangeland is generally arid, semi-arid, sub-humid or otherwise unsuitable for farming. Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... Grazing is the regular consumption of part of one organism without killing it by another organism. ... An Inner Mongolian Grassland. ... Savanna is a grassland dotted with trees, and occurs in several types of biomes. ... Shrubland is a habitat type dominated by woody shrubs. ... A dune in the Egyptian desert Desert in California In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation - less than 250 mm per year. ... In physical geography, tundra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. ... For the climate of the mountains named the Alps, see climate) for a region above the tree-line. ... Freshwater marsh in Florida In geography, a marsh is a type of wetland, featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water. ... A dune in the Egyptian desert In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation. ... Semi-arid generally describes regions that receive low annual rainfall (25 to 50 cm /10 to 20 in) and generally have scrub or grass vegetation. ... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ...

In the United States, around 399 million acres of rangeland are privately owned. The Bureau of Land Management manages about 167 million acres of publicly owned rangeland, with the United States Forest Service managing aproximately 95 million acres more. Ranchers may lease portions of this public rangeland and pay a fee based on the number and type of livestock and the period for which they are on the land. Many western states have open range laws. In these states, all land, both public and private, is designated as open range unless it is within city limits. In open range, it becomes the responsibility of the land owner to keep unwanted livestock off their land and the livestock owner is not liable for any damage caused by the livestock. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers Americas public lands, totaling 262 million acres (1,060,000 km²) or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. ... The USDA Forest Service, a United States government agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, is under the leadership of the United States Secretary of Agriculture. ... Ranching is the raising of cattle or sheep on rangeland, although one might also speak of ranching with regard to less common livestock such as elk, bison or emu. ...

In Australia, pastoral leases may be held over crown land and beef cattle or sheep grazed on large holdings called Sheep stations or Cattle stations. Pastoral Leases are agreements under the Commonwealth of Australia that allow for the use of Crown land by farmers, etc. ... In the United Kingdom and its predecessors, Crown land is designated land belonging to the Crown, the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it. ... Beef is meat obtained from a bovine. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Species See text A Sheep is a mammal, one of several woolly ruminant quadrupeds in the genus Ovis. ... Australian term for a large farm or Australian ranch, usually in the outback, whose main activity is the raising of sheep, for their wool and meat. ... Cattle station is an Australian term for a large farm (Australian ranch), usually in the outback, whose main activity is the raising of cattle. ...

See also

• pasture