Rehabilitation of degraded grasslands and improving farmer incomes are important issues for China’s grasslands. In this review grassland conditions in China and the relationship between forage production and animal performance for three important national grassland regions are described. From the review of the literature, the aim is to establish better practices for the sustainable management of grassland resources in China.

The polyploid Cenchrus ciliaris (buffelgrass) is endangered in its native habitat e.g. drylands in Tunisia – but in contrast it has invaded extensive areas in Australia, Mexico and South America, constituting a threat to natural and managed ecosystems. This review emphasises the polyploid evolution of C. ciliaris, involving molecular and genomic variation, which has been overlooked although it may be a crucial factor for its persistence in native as well as invaded regions.

Farming or re-domestication of feral goats poses serious questions for the ecological sustainability of the semiarid and arid rangelands of southern Australia. The biology and grazing habits of goats relevant to their sustainable management in livestock enterprises are reviewed. Their capacity to maintain high reproductive rates under low seasonal rainfall conditions could result in forage demand rapidly exceeding forage supply unless strategies are established to ensure continuity of sale of goats.

Selection plant species for rangeland restoration should consider livestock preferences, which are not known for sheep in Jordan because most of their diet is comprised of supplemental grain. Supplemented sheep clearly preferred herbaceous vegetation over shrubs, which suggests that rangeland restoration efforts in Jordan should focus on mixes of grasses, forbs and shrubs rather than planting only shrubs. Time-limited daily grazing periods may extend use of restored rangeland, because supplemented sheep became satiated and stopped grazing after 2 h.

A diverse range of Cullen spp. was grown and assessed for seed and forage production. Seed yield ranged was 0−1423 kg ha^–1 and forage yield 50−1248 g dry weight plant^–1. Seed yield was positively correlated with pods per inflorescence and forage yield, and these traits recorded moderate to high heritability. The results may be used to overcome seed production as a barrier to commercialisation of these potential new, drought-tolerant species.

Indigenous Australians are gaining management control over significant areas of remote Australia and so understanding and improving the knowledge that underpins Indigenous natural resource management action is crucial. The paper uses a novel concept, Working Knowledge, to describe a cross-cultural knowledge recovery project about an ecologically valuable pastoral lease in Cape York, Queensland. The study shows the importance of combining diverse forms of knowledge and the value of indigenous residence and ownership to the maintenance of healthy ecological landscapes.

This paper summarises the results of a 10-year study that investigated the role of improved grazing land management (GLM) on hill-slope and catchment water quality. This study has shown that GLM will potentially reduce impacts on downstream ecosystems; however, more than 10 years will be required to restore healthy eco-hydrological function to these previously degraded rangelands. Even longer timescales will be needed to meet current targets for water quality.

The increasing number of Dorper sheep enterprises in the semiarid rangelands of southern Australia raises questions for ecological sustainability. This paper reviews the biology and grazing habits of Dorper sheep, and identifies key features relevant to their management. Less selective grazing than Merinos may reduce pressure on some plant species but a capacity to harvest sufficient nutrients over a smaller area and their superior ability to maintain reproductive capacity under poor seasonal conditions could potentially promote resource degradation.

Land users need comprehensible and reliable methods to evaluate the condition of their rangelands for the sustainable management of natural resources, particularly in savannas prone to bush thickening. Various methods for quantifying trees and shrubs in savannas exist, and we compared two promising ones and found both suitable but for different conditions of savanna vegetation. The results provide practical guidelines for easy and effective assessments allowing for improved decision-making.