Grass, clover and herbs are the foundation of Swiss agriculture: Two-thirds of Switzerland's agricultural land is grassland, much of which is barely suitable for arable farming. Vast areas of ...

Grasslands go by many different names and are made up of two main types: tropical — also known as savannas — and temperate. The two types appear similar, but have different kinds of soil and are ...

Ecosystem responses to global change are often nonlinear. Ecological thresholds are tipping points beyond which small changes in environmental conditions can have disproportionate effects on ...

Although all ecosystems are affected by a changing climate, the impacts can take a while to appear. Changes in forest biodiversity, for example, are known to lag behind changes in a habitat's ...

Grassland degradation fundamentally reshapes how biodiversity supports ecosystem multifunctionality, shifting it from being plant-dominated to being mediated by soil microbes, according to a new study ...

Rupestrian grasslands form an ecosystem of extremes: covering a mere 0.8% of Brazil’s territory, they are home to 15% of the nation’s flora. Of the 5,700 plant species catalogued, 40% can only be ...

Too often, one ecosystem is overlooked in value and complexity in the workings of our planet. The images of a leveled forest or polluted waterway resonate much more strongly than the increasing ...

Extensively used grassland is host to a high degree of biodiversity, and performs an important climate protection function as a carbon sink and also serves for fodder and food production. However, ...

The restoration of grassland ecosystems may need more of a guided, hands-on approach over time, according to a new review of global conservation efforts. Grasslands' biodiversity and resilience to ...