Which practice is a cultural control method that reduces pest habitats and promotes resilience in rangelands?

• A. Prescribed fire.
• B. Overgrazing.
• C. Replacing native species with exotic species.
• D. Ignoring weed pressure.

Answer: (A)

Cultural controls in rangeland pest management focus on shaping the environment to suppress pests and build resilience. Prescribed fire is a planned, controlled burn used to manage plant communities and the litter layer. By reducing excess vegetation, litter, and invasive grasses, fire lowers the habitat and seed reservoirs that pests rely on, helps remove overwintering sites, and promotes native perennial grasses that outcompete pests. The resulting plant mosaic improves forage and makes the system more resilient to drought, pests, and invasive species. Replacing natives with exotic species tends to reduce resilience and can create new pest problems; overgrazing degrades cover and soil, increasing weed establishment; ignoring weed pressure allows pests to proliferate. So prescribed fire best achieves reducing pest habitats while boosting system resilience.