ICARDA’s RIDE (Restoration Initiative on Dryland Ecosystems) team addresses land degradation in dryland ecosystems. A major expected outcome is the development and management of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) strategies and approaches at the watershed and community level, complementing ICARDA research on rangeland ecology and management. RIDE targets biophysical processes but focuses on drivers and potential solutions to degradation that consider socio-economic aspects and community-based solutions.
In addition, ICARDA possesses long years of experience in ecology-based rangeland monitoring and the development of innovations to manage and restore rangelands in pastoral, agropastoral, and silvopastoral systems in the drylands.
Related research on both topics includes:
Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) strategies and approaches at the watershed and community level
- Development of soil and water conservation interventions at the community and watershed level
- Community-based and watershed LDN approaches evaluated through) monitoring and modelling
- Decision support on sustainable water, land, and ecosystem management through scenario modelling, including trade-offs and synergies in resource use efficiency
- Quantification of multiple ecosystem services, e.g., prevention of sand and dust storms
- Contribution to the development of soil, water, and vegetation monitoring networks
- Linking LDN approaches and innovations with free-access platforms such as WOCAT and/or GeOC.
Rangeland monitoring and management
- Landscape ecology (spatial/temporal analysis at watershed scale)
- Characterizing and managing indigenous shrubs and trees suitable for rangeland restoration
- Sustainable grazing management practices
- Modern digital techniques and tools for resource mapping (use of drones and digital charting techniques for monitoring vegetation cover and diversity, use of GPS collars for monitoring livestock movement/activities, etc.)
- Modelling the impact of climate change on range vegetation, states, and transition models,
- Rangeland governance and policies
- Assessment of economic and environmental benefits provided by pastoral systems (biodiversity, soil and water conservation, carbon sequestration).