Leslie Roche

I am an Assistant Cooperative Extension specialist in Rangeland Science and Management in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. My research and extension program is at the intersection of agricultural, environmental, and social aspects of ranching and livestock production on California’s rangelands and pasturelands. I completed my Ph.D. in ecology at UC Davis and was a USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences before joining the faculty in 2015.

Rangelands are biologically diverse working landscapes that include complex ecosystems ranging from arid shrublands to mesic grasslands and woodlands. These working landscapes provide multiple ecosystem goods and services, including food and fiber production, water-resource protection, and biodiversity. California’s rangelands are at the nexus of wildland, agricultural, and urban landscapes and, as a result, are at the frontier of increasing social pressures to define sustainable land management.

I work with a variety of stakeholders to integrate management expertise and applied research to address key challenges on grazing lands, including managing for multiple agricultural and ecological outcomes, as well as coping with and adapting to drought.