influence under certain conditions and depending on the intensity can support nature
conservation and biodiversity sustainability. Furthermore, usage means trade,
exchange of money and therefore upvaluation of the system compared with a habitat
that is not used, and, thus, has no economic value for the people.
We discuss the question how intense human influence should be for grassland
conservation by focusing on the first and main goal of the Convention on Biological
Diversity, i.e. survival of all biota on Earth and stopping the loss of biodiversity.
Therefore, if human activities support this goal anthropo-zoogenic influence may be
wellcome. In the case of many grassland habitats moderate human influence might
promote both the protection and survival of biodiversity and economic aspects that
can be translated in payments, i.e. human values.
The examples show that the policy at national or supranational scales most
probably will decide about the fate of grasslands outside and inside of national
parks and other nature reserves.
Keywords Goods and services · Species richness · Grassland types · Threats ·
Opportunities · Cerrado · Kazakh steppe · European pastures and meadows
1 Introduction
Grasslands are the largest biome on Earth. They originally covered c. 40% of the
terrestrial land (except Antarctica and Greenland). The savannas of Africa (14.5
million km
2 ) and Asian steppes (8.9 million km
2 ) contain the formerly largest total
area (cf. Table 2).
C. 19% of the world’s grassland are found in arid zones, 28% in semi-arid zones,
23% in humid, and 20% in cold zones (White et al. 2000; Gibson 2009).
Grassland habitats can be found almost everywhere. Even where a broad zone of
forest is dominating grassland may occur as succession stage between pioneer
vegetation and woody vegetation or as an extrazonal habitat on locations too extreme
to allow tree growth. Thus, grasslands occur from the Tropics to the Arctic, from
lowlands to alpine zones, and at all continents except Antarctica.
Today, grasslands that still exist are more or less heavily influenced by hunting,
mowing, grazing, anthropogenic fires, suppression of natural fires, by people
collecting herbs, fruits, fungi or something else (Figs. 1 and 2). Thus, almost all
grasslands today can be characterized as semi-natural grasslands with a modified
species-composition. Not only species composition and structure, the food webs
have also changed during historical times.
Grassland ecosystems are conditioned by a combination of certain climatic
factors, for example mean monthly temperatures between (<À50) À20 and
30 (>40)
C and precipitation totals between (100) 200 and 2000 (2500) mm per
year (cf. Schimper 1898; Walter 1990; Gibson 2009). However, these values are also
characteristic for many forest and other habitat types across the world.
330
C. Hobohm et al.
conservation and biodiversity sustainability. Furthermore, usage means trade,
exchange of money and therefore upvaluation of the system compared with a habitat
that is not used, and, thus, has no economic value for the people.
We discuss the question how intense human influence should be for grassland
conservation by focusing on the first and main goal of the Convention on Biological
Diversity, i.e. survival of all biota on Earth and stopping the loss of biodiversity.
Therefore, if human activities support this goal anthropo-zoogenic influence may be
wellcome. In the case of many grassland habitats moderate human influence might
promote both the protection and survival of biodiversity and economic aspects that
can be translated in payments, i.e. human values.
The examples show that the policy at national or supranational scales most
probably will decide about the fate of grasslands outside and inside of national
parks and other nature reserves.
Keywords Goods and services · Species richness · Grassland types · Threats ·
Opportunities · Cerrado · Kazakh steppe · European pastures and meadows
1 Introduction
Grasslands are the largest biome on Earth. They originally covered c. 40% of the
terrestrial land (except Antarctica and Greenland). The savannas of Africa (14.5
million km
2 ) and Asian steppes (8.9 million km
2 ) contain the formerly largest total
area (cf. Table 2).
C. 19% of the world’s grassland are found in arid zones, 28% in semi-arid zones,
23% in humid, and 20% in cold zones (White et al. 2000; Gibson 2009).
Grassland habitats can be found almost everywhere. Even where a broad zone of
forest is dominating grassland may occur as succession stage between pioneer
vegetation and woody vegetation or as an extrazonal habitat on locations too extreme
to allow tree growth. Thus, grasslands occur from the Tropics to the Arctic, from
lowlands to alpine zones, and at all continents except Antarctica.
Today, grasslands that still exist are more or less heavily influenced by hunting,
mowing, grazing, anthropogenic fires, suppression of natural fires, by people
collecting herbs, fruits, fungi or something else (Figs. 1 and 2). Thus, almost all
grasslands today can be characterized as semi-natural grasslands with a modified
species-composition. Not only species composition and structure, the food webs
have also changed during historical times.
Grassland ecosystems are conditioned by a combination of certain climatic
factors, for example mean monthly temperatures between (<À50) À20 and
30 (>40)
C and precipitation totals between (100) 200 and 2000 (2500) mm per
year (cf. Schimper 1898; Walter 1990; Gibson 2009). However, these values are also
characteristic for many forest and other habitat types across the world.
330
C. Hobohm et al.