Viewpoint: concept design in range management science.

This paper is an analysis of general principles involved in designing concepts for range science. It discusses the diversity of conceptuality in range science, from dimensional units to variables to simple models to more complex decision-aiding models. It examines how considerations of abstraction, confounding, and generalization allow development of multi-objective concepts needed in a range management science of many variable, interactions, and models. Examples related to each principle are provided. The paper discusses the importance of avoiding internal confounding within concepts and the necessity that such confounding be avoided in order to allow clear analyses. Ad hoc indices are characterized as inadequate substitutes for explicit models of more complex concepts such as preference and diet selection. Design efforts emphasizing multiple objectives will produce concepts of general use in range management science.