Sheep grazing modifies ecosystem function through direct and indirect effects on plants. Quantifying direct effects is important for rangeland management and ecosystem conservation. We evaluated the short-term direct effects of sheep grazing on a Patagonian steppe during one growing season and observed that short-term direct effects mainly affected the most preferred species, which could be useful in the design of strategies for monitoring the condition of forage resource.

The north Australian beef industry is characterised by highly extensive paddocks and infrequent animal–human interaction. Few studies exist that specifically examine calving and calf loss in these environments. The studies that have been published, along with anecdotal evidence, suggests that calf mortality is high across this region. This systematic literature review reports on the existing scientific literature surrounding fetal and calf mortality in the north Australian beef industry, and provide guidance for future studies examining this issue.

Management of free-ranging horses is complex in Australia, New Zealand and the United States where horses are the results of colonial introductions and occupy harsh rangeland environments exerting a grazing disturbance that has generated ecological concerns. We used an inductive research approach to identify similarities and differences through conversations with >100 individuals from all three countries. Consistent and unique emergent themes suggest that the difficulty of horse management is attributed to social intricacies rather than biological or ecological knowledge gaps.

Wild sage (Salvia verbenaca) is an important invasive weed in rangelands and cropping areas. This work investigated the response of two varieties of S. verbenaca (var. verbenaca and var. vernalis) to a combination of different moisture and carbon dioxide levels. The findings are somewhat complex, but suggested that in anticipated climate change conditions future management of both these varieties, when found in combination with crop plants, will need to mainly focus on mitigating problems of increased weed size rather than on increased weed seed production.

Pikas are considered important in either driving or contributing to grassland degradation, and pika population density control is necessary when their population density exceeds a certain threshold. Our results suggest that pika activity influences vegetation and soil properties in the pika home ranges, but that pikas play an ecosystem engineering role and have no destructive effect on winter pasture when present at low densities. Therefore, there is no need to control pika population density in winter pasture.

Rangeland degradation due to overgrazing is a serious concern in the Qilian Mountains, which is an important livestock breeding region in China. The impact of stocking rate on the resilience and resistance of alpine typical steppes is currently unclear. In this research we investigated plant community structure and reproductive strategies of dominant desirable and undesirable grass species in response to different stocking rates to provide information to improve grassland management strategies.

The year 2019 marked the 30th anniversary of the publication of the seminal paper by Mark Westoby, Brian Walker and (the late) Imanuel Noy-Meir that introduced the state-and-transition concept to rangeland ecology. To mark the anniversary this virtual issue has been compiled from papers published in The Rangeland Journal that have drawn on that concept. Brian Walker and Mark Westoby have generously provided the introduction.