Pasture and range land

Pasture is said to be a piece of land use for the cultivation of forages that animals may graze upon. Pasture lands in the real sense are enclosed tracts of farm land, which are grazed by domesticated livestock, such as cattle, sheep, swine or horses. The vegetation cultivated may be grasses, legumes and other forbs, mixture of grasses and legumes and browse plant. Pasture is typically grazed throughout the summer period.

Pasture in a more examined sense, additionally includes range land, as well as other unenclosed pastoral system and land types used by wild animals for the purpose of grazing or browsing.

Range land

Range lands are said to be a naturally occurring pasture. It is not cultivated and may contain more than one species of forage, they are vast land naturally landscapes in the form of grasslands, wood lands, wet lands, shrub lands and deserts. Range land also consist of short grass prairies and tall grasses, they do not include farm land, closed canopy forest, barren desert and land covered by solid material (rock).

Range lands grow primarily native vegetation, so therefore they are different from pasture lands. They are managed principally with extensive practices such as the management of livestock grazing and prescribed fire rather than more of the intensive agricultural practice of irrigation, seeding and the use of fertilizers.