Range Ecology

A journal I kept during Range Ecology
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Master The Seven Keys To Effective Communication

 April 25, 2010

Part 1:  What will the seven keys to communication include? How can I change how I communicate to be more effective? How can I recognize what others are communicating to me?

Part 2:  This article covers some basics of being a good listener and communication. It discusses important life skills such as knowing when to and not to speak and working with a client to build a basic and good relationship. I think one of the most important ideas talked about in this article is that 70% of our communication is non-verbal. Body language and facial expressions can affect the message we are trying to convey. We read the smallest degrees of muscle change in other people’s faces and interpret them as a message about how they are feeling, and how they feel about us. Another aspect I’ve learned has taught me to stop formulating answers in my head while another person is talking. I’m very guilty of this, and will try and limit it from now on.

The Fifth Discipline

April 28, 2010

Part 1: How can I become a more effective worker in a company? Do I have a “learning disability”?

Part 2: I have learned that extraordinary organizations are ones that engage people’s commitment and capacity to learn at all levels in the organization, will recognize that the only truly sustainable competitive advantage is the rate at which organizations learn, and that nothing compares to the exhilaration that comes from working within learning organizations. The Disciplines of the learning organization are:

•          Systems Thinking

•          Personal Mastery

•          Mental Models

•          Shared Vision

•          Team Learning

The Fifth Discipline

May 03, 2010

Part 1: Why does behavior grow worse before better? In what ways is slower actually faster? How does dividing an elephant relate to our topic?

Part 2: I really related with a lot of the topic in this chapter, especially the portion on the harder you push, the harder the system pushes back. This was one of the basic concepts of animal handling, and I think it can be true of anything. As survivors our instinct is to resist pressure, for our own good, and while it can make situations worse, in the long run it used to work out. But in today’s age, working in a business together we can’t be pushing back against want needs to be done. It’s counterintuitive. 

A Shift of Mind

May 10, 2010

Part 1: What is a feedback loop? How can systems thinking improve our work? Why does working with the now almost never help the future?

Part 2: Senge defends his position in this chapter about his broader viewpoint on systems thinking, and explains how in systems thinking it is an axiom that every influence is both cause and effect. Almost nothing is ever influenced in just one direction. The complex systems we have today need to shift to thinking about the long-term result in order to ensure a working business for many years. The main focus is seeing interrelationships rather than linear cause-effect chains, and seeing processes of change (patterns) rather than snapshots (isolated events).

Holistic Management

Chapters 2-7

May 19, 2010

Part 1: What is the “power of paradigms?” Why is the “whole” not the “sum of its parts”? What is the connection between predator and prey? How can I use the holistic management model to my advantage?

Part 2: In these chapters Savory talks about the importance of holistic perspective in any management. This is because of the holistic viewpoint’s tendency to focus on wholes, and not individual parts. He then expands on types of environments and the importance of handling each accordingly, and that no environment has a single method for maintaining it. Some of the more different environments he covers are brittle and non-brittle. Like the Abe Lincoln photo it is made clear why we must see things as a whole, and not just as parts.

Rangeland Physical Characteristics

June 02, 2010

Part 1: What is the most fertile type of land? How does wind affect plant yield? What is aspect?

Part 2: In this chapter we cover many different attributes to the type of land you can be working with. From what produces better results for certain management types, to how to handle different soils, this chapter eventually links up all the topics discussed to describe the entire land type. I learned a lot from this chapter, such as water retention in soil and the affect of the sun on sloped landscapes. 

Range Plant Physiology

June 07, 2010

Part 1: How does root placement affect a plant? What are carbohydrate reserves? What are C₃ and C₄ plants?

Part 2: In this chapter it is discussed on how the removal of a large number of plants destroys their capability to photosynthesize and will eventually destroy the plant. However is left alone the excessive amount of plant tissue will yield the same results. This leads to the need to manage the land without allowing overgrowth of plants or plant tissue. Vegetation residue on the soil also plays a key roll in protecting the plan crown and soil.