Gorse (Ulex europaeus L.) is a leguminous shrub native to western Europe, voluntarily introduced into Uruguay for ornamental purposes. It is considered among the 100 most problematic invasive species in the world. In Uruguay, it seriously affects both livestock and forestry systems. We evaluated different weed management techniques on a cattle farm invaded by U. europaeus, in the region of Lavalleja. In spring 2020, three treatments were applied—cutting only (C); cutting and grazing (CG); and cutting, applying herbicide, and grazing (CHG)—to 18 plots ranging from 25 m2 to 50 m2. Following treatment, U. europaeus regrowth and the height and the perimeter of five plants per plot, as well as seedling recruitment, were assessed over 16 mo. The livestock were cattle (Bos sp.) and sheep (Ovis sp.). The CHG treatment was the most effective in inhibiting the regrowth of U. europaeus, while grazed plants grew less in height compared with those excluded from grazing (CG = 62.3 cm ± 1.9, C = 84.8 cm ± 2.0, P < 0.05). However, by the end of the study, seedling recruitment was lower in the C treatment (C = 0.3 ± 0.3, CG = 3.1 ± 1.8, CHG = 8.6 ± 4.6 seedlings m−2, P < 0.05), where increased height of herbaceous vegetation may have reduced the success of the emergence and establishment of regenerants. These results encourage further long-term study of this invasive species’ response, as well as an evaluation of the potential impacts of these control measures on non-target species.

While invasive plants can modify community and ecosystem attributes, there is little information on their impact across different trophic levels. Here, we examined the effects of Chilean rhubarb [Gunnera tinctoria Molina (Mirb.), Gunneraceae] on the soil detrital food chain, the major pathway for energy flow in terrestrial ecosystems and the recycling of nutrients. Measurements of soil physiochemical properties and the natural abundances of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotopes, along with assessments of microbial and earthworm populations were used to verify whether G. tinctoria drives the soil food web and how C is transferred from decomposing litter to worm populations. Based on the C isotope compositions of plant material and detritivorous worms (i.e., earthworms and enchytraeid worms), all worms contribute to G. tinctoria litter decomposition, irrespective of their feeding preference. The increased role of larger earthworm populations in litter decomposition was also associated with changes in the soil microbial community, with some bacterial genera being absent from invaded areas. Of particular interest was a 3-fold increase in Nitrospira spp. in invaded areas, likely due to an increase in earthworm-related ammonia production, with this being rapidly converted to nitrate. Given the poor representation of other ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing soil bacteria, many of the Nitrospira spp. present in invaded soils may perform complete ammonia oxidation (i.e., COMAMMOX). Our results indicate a greater role for native earthworms in decomposition processes in areas invaded by G. tinctoria, resulting in modifications in the other soil biota and an increase in soil nitrate.

The grasslands of Central Anatolia in Türkiye, including the steppes and forest-steppes, are often mischaracterized as degraded ecosystems due to long-standing human activities, particularly agriculture and domestic grazing. However, palaeoecological evidence and recent research suggest that these grasslands are ancient, biodiversity-rich systems that have persisted through various climatic changes and disturbance regimes. This manuscript challenges the conventional view that Central Anatolian grasslands are secondary and degraded, arguing instead that they represent old-growth ecosystems that coexisted with forests as alternative biome states throughout history. We emphasize the need to re-evaluate current land management practices, particularly afforestation efforts, which may undermine the resilience of these ecosystems to climate change. By recognizing the ecological value of these old-growth grasslands and adopting a comprehensive conservation strategy, the conservation and restoration of these vital ecosystems can be improved, ensuring their resilience and biodiversity in the face of future environmental challenges.

The little-known Bristled Grassbird Chaetornis striata is thought to be declining due to the loss of grassland habitats throughout its range, and is currently classified as globally ‘Vulnerable’. In order to investigate the current status and possible causes of the presumed decline, we assessed population density of Bristled Grassbird in Padma and Jamuna river systems of Bangladesh. The study was conducted during the breeding seasons of the Bristled Grassbird in April and May in 2016–2019, using distance sampling and habitat suitability modelling. We also examined habitat preferences and responses to environmental changes based on vegetation structure and habitat modifications at point count locations. We detected a total of 39 birds with a mean group size of 1.44 individuals. We estimated 4.52 (95% CI: 2.65–7.73) individuals per km2 with an encounter rate of 1.48 detections per point count station and 341.15 birds within the study area. Our habitat suitability model projected a total of 167.41 km2 of suitable habitat and a total of 756.7 birds in floodplain grasslands of Padma and Jamuna river systems. The Bristled Grassbird was positively associated with grass height and grass density with 92.31% of 39 detections at Saccharum spontaneum dominated grasslands. We did not find a significant effect on Bristled Grassbird detections with increasing human activities, although the detection rate decreased linearly with increasing agricultural intervention and grass harvesting. These findings indicate that the Bristled Grassbird is more widely distributed throughout Bangladesh, and may be less vulnerable to grassland modifications, than previously thought.

We present an assessment of the Southern Paraguayan Grasslands using Important Bird Areas (IBAs) located in a grassland landscape mosaic. Eleven IBAs in southern Paraguay were evaluated 10 years after their designation, using the BirdLife International method to assess the state, pressure, and response of these areas, during 2017 and 2018. Overall, the Pressure from ecosystem modifications led by fire, and fire suppression, agricultural expansion, and intensification due to farming and grazing have been identified as the major threats to IBAs. Regarding the State, 64% of the IBAs presented Very poor habitat quality to support grassland bird communities. The level of conservation Response was mostly negligible when considering conservation designation, management planning and conservation actions for the trigger species. Our results provide useful information to partners to reconsider these areas as IBAs as most of them no longer fulfill international requirements, we also highlight the importance of strengthening national policies to adequately protect natural grasslands.

Decisions made by grassland owners are crucial for the conservation of extensive grasslands (EGs); however, the predispositions determining how adults decide to act in certain situations are developed during childhood. Children are future decision-makers and potential grassland owners; therefore, the factors that form and affect their attitudes towards EG conservation need to be examined. Positive attitudes could be developed during environmental education, and this study aimed to understand the influence of elementary school children’s interest in and knowledge of grasslands, sources of learning about grasslands and experience working with grasslands on their attitudes towards preserving EGs. Principal component analysis and structural equation modelling results showed that interest in grasslands directly influenced attitudes towards preserving EGs, while experience and learning also indirectly influenced these attitudes. Children’s interest should be stimulated through gathering experience with grasslands and education in order to resolve any potential misconceptions about EG management.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) in mountain grasslands is important to quantify their relevance in the global carbon budget. However, complex interactions between environmental variables and vegetation on NEE remain unclear; and there is a lack of empirical data, especially from the high elevations and the Mediterranean region. A chamber-based survey of CO2 exchange measurements was carried out in two climatically contrasted grasslands (montane v. subalpine) of the Pyrenees; assessing the relative contribution of phenology and environmental variables on CO2 exchange at the seasonal scale, and the influence of plant functional type dominance (grasses, forbs and legumes) on the NEE light response. Results show that phenology plays a crucial role as a CO2 exchange driver, suggesting a differential behaviour of the vegetation community depending on the environment. The subalpine grassland had a more delayed phenology compared to the montane, being more temperature than water constrained. However, temperature increased net CO2 uptake at a higher rate in the subalpine than in the montane grassland. During the peak biomass, productivity (+74%) and net CO2 uptake (NEE +48%) were higher in the subalpine grassland than in the montane grassland. The delayed phenology at the subalpine grassland reduced vegetation's sensitivity to summer dryness, and CO2 exchange fluxes were less constrained by low soil water content. The NEE light response suggested that legume dominated plots had higher net CO2 uptake per unit of biomass than grasses. Detailed information on phenology and vegetation composition is essential to understand elevation and climatic differences in CO2 exchange.

In 1782 acting Shaanxi Governor Bi Yuan 畢沅 (1730–97) submitted an exemplary memorial to the throne that concisely outlined the provincial administrative view of the proper order of relations between people, cultivars, livestock, climate, and water in northwestern China. He began with ostensibly human relations. His premise was that imperial official identity was ultimately formed through its connection to the food security of the general populace: “The root purpose of appointing officials is to prioritize the devotion of effort to civil affairs, and its main end is to put food sufficiency first.” Bi Yuan, like most of his contemporaries, unquestionably valued agriculture as the general and “main source” of food. By virtue of his posting to a China-proper province whose northern reaches lay along an ecotone with the Mongolian steppe, however, Bi Yuan was also distinctively aware of pastoralism as what he called the “second” source. While he made it clear that agriculture was certainly preferable, he was equally plain that human agency's range of choice was quite constrained in large parts of his jurisdiction, primarily by scarce water and cold climate. “Places in the northern provincial prefectures of Yan'an 延安 and Yulin 榆林, like Suide 綏德 and Fuzhou 鄜州, have land full of sand and gravel. Each is a high, cold frontier area where rainfall and ponds are scarce and inhibited, so that at harvest there is concern about shortfall.”

A high-resolution pollen record of the Atlantic rain forest (ARF) biome from the coastal Serra do Tabuleiro mountains of southern Brazil documents an 11,960 yr history of vegetation and climate change. A marked expansion of Weinmannia into the grassland vegetation marks the latter part of the Younger Dryas, reflecting warm and relatively wet conditions. Between 11,490 and 9110 cal yr BP, grasslands became dominant again, indicating a long cold and dry phase, probably in response to the stronger influence of cold South Atlantic seawater and to Antarctic cold fronts. Between 9110 and 2640 cal yr BP, four distinct phases with strong or moderate expansions of different ARF biome taxa were recorded, reflecting warmer and relatively dry conditions with changes in rainfall and length of the annual dry season. After 2640 cal yr BP, the modern ARF biome became established with high amounts of ferns, reflecting somewhat cooler and wetter conditions with a reduced annual dry season. In particular, after 1000 cal yr BP tree ferns increased, reflecting wetter conditions with no dry season.

Implementing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) programme has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gases whilst also helping to maintain biodiversity. However, a proposed landscape governance approach to the REDD+ programme, encompassing all land-use activities, could alter these desirable outcomes. Under the proposed approach, governments and private entities could encourage types of land use that have the potential to threaten biodiversity and disrupt ecosystems. Yet a landscape governance approach could also stimulate governments to develop land-use management policies to facilitate adaptation to climate change. I organized focus group discussions with members of conservation groups, REDD+ scholars, and members of the REDD+ agroforestry research community at the Association of American Geographers 2016 Annual Meeting, to identify potential conservation challenges and opportunities associated with carbon-farming in grasslands and plantations under the proposed landscape governance approach to REDD+. I evaluate and synthesize this information, making recommendations for strategies to maximize the conservation opportunities and minimize the challenges. Understanding the challenges and opportunities will enable policy makers and other stakeholders to improve the presentation of their arguments in their efforts to shape the course of the REDD+ programme in the post-Paris Agreement era.

Several studies have been carried out to evaluate the main drivers behind biological invasions and their ecological consequences. Nevertheless, it is still extremely difficult to acquire a full understanding of the invasion process due to its high level of complexity. The problems that complicate invasion studies are low detection during the early stages of invasion, and the high survey cost of working over large, inaccessible, and rugged areas. The studies that develop efficient tools to reduce costs and time will help to control or mitigate the invaders' damaging effects. Hieracium pilosella is an aggressive invader of grasslands worldwide. The aim of this work was to conduct a regional assessment for the suitability of H. pilosella invasion in the Fuegian Steppe by combining field surveys, spatial modeling, and geographic information system tools. We recorded the invader cover in 167 sample sites and we determined the relationship between environmental variables and the probability of invasion. This was carried out by the selection of alternative generalized linear models. The best model indicates that disturbance and plant community were the main drivers to predict invasion suitability on a regional scale. Therefore, these two variables were used as main inputs to construct a regional invasion suitability map, which identifies the most critical areas for prevention, control, and further monitoring. This approach corresponds to a tool that permits us to evaluate the suitability of invasion even over large and inaccessible areas. The results especially warn about soil disturbance associated with usual management practices in Fuegian rangelands.

Using biological control agents to restore native habitats degraded by exotic plants should decrease the abundance of the invaders but should also result in a return toward preinvasion levels of native diversity. However, there are few long-term studies documenting changes in native biological diversity with the decline of an invader. We introduced a biocontrol flea beetle into three Montana grassland sites dominated by leafy spurge and monitored changes in leafy spurge abundance and frequency of associated vascular plants in 48 permanent microplots, in a 530 or 1,960 m2 macroplot immediately before and 14 yr after the release. Density and mass of leafy spurge declined 60 and 69%, respectively, over the 14 yr of the study across the three sites. Total species richness increased by 1.2 species/microplot (21%) between 1994 and 2008 across all three sites, but the increase differed among sites. Mean richness of exotic species was virtually unchanged across the three sites over the course of the study. Graminoid species richness was virtually unchanged across the three sites over the course of the study; most of the increase in diversity was due to the increase in forb richness at all three sites. Release of the biocontrol insects and a subsequent large reduction of leafy spurge were associated with an increase in native diversity after 14 yr, although causality cannot be confidently inferred from these associations because there were no controls. The increase in native diversity was small relative to the decline in leafy spurge abundance, suggesting that significant increases of native alpha diversity in semiarid grasslands may require many decades. Our results also suggest that the response to a decline of an invading species may depend on site quality and history.

Preliminary phytolith analysis of ephemeral lake fill sediment at Long Pocket, near Toomba, northeast Queensland, Australia, indicates that a C4-dominated grassland with a minor woody component has been present in the region since ca. 8000 cal yr B.P. Based on the modern distribution of C4 and C3 native grasses in Australia, this suggests that mean summer temperatures of at least 14°C (ca. 10°C cooler than present) were maintained since the early Holocene. This interpretation is comparable with previous studies, which together imply that the establishment of C4-dominated grasses in central and northeast Australia occurred between the last glacial maximum (most likely after ca. 16,000 14C yr B.P.) and ca. 7200 14C yr B.P. (ca. 8000 cal yr B.P.). Taxonomic composition of the grassland appears relatively consistent since the early Holocene at Long Pocket and includes phytoliths comparable with those from modern Arundinoideae, Panicoideae, and Chloridoideae. Rare non-grass phytoliths are also present. A gradual decrease in abundance of saddle phytolith forms (attributed to Chloridoideae grasses) from the base of the record at ca. 6500–7000 cal yr B.P. suggests decreasing aridity throughout the Holocene. This trend could reflect a locally drawn out effect of the end of the postglacial arid period due to the well-drained basalt flow catchment maintaining a local arid habitat for the Chloridoideae grasses.