Overview

Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) has developed tools to assess the health of various rangeland plants and ecosystems. This allows us to evaluate the overall condition of a range site.

What is rangeland health?

The term refers to the ability of rangeland to perform key ecological functions. The functions of a healthy range include:

  • maintenance of soil/site stability
  • net primary production
  • capture and beneficial release of water
  • nutrient and energy cycling
  • functional diversity of plant species

Rangeland health assessments

AEP uses these assessments based on identifiable indicators to evaluate the health of forests, grassland and tame pastures. This information allows the department to determine the ecological health of public rangelands.

These tools are also available for use by:

  • ranchers
  • students
  • researchers
  • resource managers

Workbook and worksheets

Range Plant Community guides

Assessing rangeland health requires knowledge of the kind and type of rangeland being assessed. Before using the tools below, you will require assistance from range plant community guides. To find a listing of the guides, see:

Workbook

Field worksheets and score sheets

Forest

Grassland

Tame pasture