Context: A recent study highlights the need to use sustainable management to preserve and enhance soil carbon storage of grasslands.

Key hghlights of the study

• It shows that emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from grasslands increased by a factor of 2.5 since 1750 mainly due to increased emissions from livestock.
• Over the decade 2010-2020, grasslands intensively managed by humans have become a net source of greenhouse gas emissions.
• It has greenhouse gas emission levels similar to global croplands which represent a large source of greenhouse gases.
• The findings highlight the need to use sustainable management to preserve and enhance soil carbon storage in grasslands.

What are Grasslands?

• Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses, sedge, and rushes families.
• They consist of monocotyledons, plants with narrow leaves growing from the base, and are comparatively resistant to intensive grazing.
• They are temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrubland ecosystems and may be in hot or cold climates.
• Grassland usage predates agriculture and has been of vital importance in raising livestock for human consumption in the past and today for milk and meat.
• Some of the world's largest expanses of grassland are found in African savanna.

Examples of grasslands

• Prairie and Pacific Grasslands of North America, northwest Europe
• Pampas of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay
• Steppes of Europe and Asia.

Grassland Ecosystem

• This vegetation type harbours a high diversity of plant species that mostly occurs at fine spatial scales.
• Grassland species richness has strong and positive effects on primary production as a result of increasing niche complementarity with increasing diversity.
• They are among the most vulnerable ecosystems in the world because their diversity is threatened by human activity.

Uses of Grassland

• Agricultural uses: Livestock and forage production.
• Non-agricultural uses: Natural reserves, parks, domestic lawns, road verges, air fields, dam-faces, reclaimed industrial wasteland, athletic venues, and school-playing fields.

Types of Grasslands

There are two main kinds of grasslands

• Temperate grasslands: Eurasian steppes, North American prairies, and Argentine pampas.
• Tropical grasslands: Hot savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Australia.

Tropical Montane Grasslands (TMG)

• TMG are high elevation grasslands forming only 2% of all grasslands in the world.
• They are tropical, subtropical, and temperate.
• Plants of these habitats display features such as rosette structures, waxy surfaces, and abundant pilosity.
• They regulate the global carbon cycle and serve as a source of water to downstream communities.
• In India, TMG have been classified as wastelands in forest management plans since they are unlikely to generate revenue, contrary to the timber found in forests.

Shola grasslands

• Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys of higher montane regions of south India.
• They are found in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• 35 percent of the plants, 42 percent of the fish, 48 percent of the reptiles, and 75 percent of the amphibians that live in these rain forests are endemic species.
• Invasive Alien Species are the greatest threats to endemic flora and fauna.