Resource Library
Any CA4SH partner can submit a resource to the Library, where we hope to increase visibility of diverse work related to improving soil health globally.
Please send a web link or a file to communications@coalitionforsoilhealth.org if you would like to submit a resource.
Global Rangeland Health Monitoring Framework
Despite growing interest in sustainable rangeland management and restoration, there is currently no widely accepted framework for monitoring ecological outcomes across rangeland systems. Existing approaches vary considerably in the indicators used, methods applied, and scales of assessment, making it difficult to compare results, aggregate data, or demonstrate progress consistently across landscapes and regions. These challenges are particularly apparent in rangelands, where high spatial and temporal variability in ecological conditions, climatic fluctuations, and diverse management systems can complicate the interpretation of ecological change. While rangeland resilience also includes important social, cultural and economic dimensions, a key gap currently lies in the measurement of biophysical changes across rangeland landscapes.
This framework responds to that need by defining a harmonised set of indicators of rangeland health and associated methodological principles that enable comparability across regions while allowing flexibility for adaptation to local contexts.
Status of Rangeland Monitoring: Review of Monitoring Frameworks
Rangelands cover more than half the planet’s land surface and sustain the livelihoods, either directly or indirectly, of billions of people. Yet, an estimated 40–50% of these systems show signs of degradation, manifesting as soil erosion, woody encroachment, and declining forage productivity, placing global food security, climate goals, and local livelihoods at risk. While several monitoring frameworks and tools to measure rangeland condition exist, most remain fragmented, narrow in scope, and difficult to compare across projects, sectors, or regions. A credible, global monitoring framework is needed to guide investment, anchor emerging livestock value-chain standards, and track progress toward international restoration targets.
This review synthesizes rangeland monitoring insights from four key source domains: (i) twelve widely used field-based frameworks, (ii) fourteen sustainability standards with mandated landscape monitoring components, (iii) five Earthobservation (EO) platforms that report on rangeland indicators; and (iv) two citizen science mobile applications. We integrate these findings with a review of 62 peer-reviewed studies, along with the insights and recommendations from a multi-stakeholder consultation workshop convened in Nairobi in October 2024.
Toward a global monitoring framework of soil and rangeland health: Building on 20 years of the LDSF
Healthy soil and land underpin food security, climate resilience, biodiversity and livelihoods, yet decisions about land use, especially in rangelands, are often made with limited or inconsistent data. This research highlights the scale of the problem by reviewing existing rangeland monitoring frameworks, standards and remote sensing platforms, revealing significant gaps and a lack of harmonization in how land health is measured and reported.