Pastureland

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-020372",
  "term": "Pastureland",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. Land cover/use category of land managed primarily for the production of introduced forage plants for livestock grazing. Pastureland cover may consist of a single species in a pure stand, a grass mixture, or a grass-legume mixture. Management usually consists of cultural treatments: fertilization, weed control, reseeding or renovation, and control of grazing. For the NRI, includes land that has a vegetative cover of grasses, legumes, and/or forbs, regardless of whether or not it is being grazed by livestock.\n\n2. Land used primarily for the production of domesticated forage plants for livestock (in contrast to rangeland, where vegetation is naturally occurring and is dominated by grasses and perhaps shrubs). Rotation pasture or cropland under winter cover crops is not included in this definition. The 1992 national resources inventory recorded 126 million acres of pastureland, 9 percent of all nonfederal rural lands.\n\n3. Land managed for the production of select indigenous or introduced forage plants for livestock grazing or hay production, and to prevent succession to other plant types. [40 CFR 80.1401 (CFR 2013)]",
  "see_also": [
    "Pasture"
  ],
  "references": [
    "USDA National Resources Inventory Glossary",
    "EPA Guidance for Federal Land Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Glossary at http://www.epa.gov/owow_keep/NPS/chesbay502/pdf/chesbay_glossary.pdf",
    "40 CFR 80.2 (CFR 2024)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/pastureland/"
}