An Integrated Field Protocol for Multi-taxon Biodiversity Surveys in African Rangeland Ecosystems

Rangelands directly support both human livelihoods and wildlife, yet they are increasingly threatened by degradation, urban and agricultural expansion, and a changing climate. Healthy rangelands sequester carbon in soils, helping to mitigate climate change, and are therefore becoming priority targets for conservation. Here, we outline a methodology for monitoring the health of African rangeland biodiversity, from planning through implementation and analysis. Our primary objective is to describe a suite of protocols for collecting robust, replicable data across multiple interconnected taxa, while accounting for the high heterogeneity of these landscapes. Together, these data provide an integrated assessment of rangeland health across multiple trophic levels, from vegetation and invertebrates to birds and mammals, and incorporate indicators of anthropogenic disturbance. © 2026 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Support Protocol 1: Sampling site setup Basic Protocol 1: Grasshopper collection, processing, and preservation Basic Protocol 2: Habitat and site characteristics assessment Basic Protocol 3: Ground and plant cover assessment Basic Protocol 4: Vegetation composition and structure assessment Basic Protocol 5: Dung beetle collection, processing, and preservation Basic Protocol 6: Camera and ARU deployment, retrieval, and data management Basic Protocol 7: Vehicle-based mammal and raptor transects Basic Protocol 8: Bird point counts Support Protocol 2: Incidental observations.