Multifunctionality of grassland soils: opportunities and challenges
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Dátum
2026
Názov časopisu
ISSN časopisu
Názov zväzku
Vydavateľ
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute : Basel
ISBN
ISSN
2073-4395
Abstrakt
Grasslands are very diverse and their global distribution is determined by the climate, mainly the temperature and precipitation. FAO [1] reported that in 2023, meadows and pastures globally covered 3200 million ha. They are found on all continents except Antarctica, on a wide range of soil types. Temperate grasslands include Eurasian steppes, North American prairies, the pampas lowlands of South America, and Patagonian steppe. Tropical and subtropical savannas occur in Africa and Australia, in the north of South America, in the south of Northern America, and in South Asia and Southeast Asia. These natural grass biomes are under permanent anthropogenic pressure around the world. They are often replaced by intensive agricultural systems [2] and are used as arable land. One of the reasons or this is their high-quality soil, which develops during soil-forming processes thanks to the accumulation of high-quality organic material provided by dead grass bodies. Grasses are generally rich in structural (sugar and starches) and non-structural (cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, etc.) carbohydrates and contain less protein, minerals, vitamins, and fats in comparison to legumes [3]. They are an excellent prerequisite for high-quality organic matter composition such as that found in the most productive soils on Earth, Chernozems, which only develop in forest–steppe zones [4]. However, grasslands around the world are found on different types of soils, of varying quality, also due to dynamic land use changes. The increased demand for food and fodder results in intensive land utilization. Forests are often being converted into grasslands and pastures, causing significant modifications in soil properties, as reflected in the performance of ecosystem functions and services.
Besides productive functions, grassland soils contribute to a wide range of functions and ecosystem services, including regulating, supporting, and cultural services. They act as carbon sinks [5], contribute to water retention and regulation [6], maintain biogeochemical cycles [7], and are also of major relevance to biodiversity [8].
Despite their importance, grasslands are experiencing widespread and accelerating degradation due to global environmental changes [9], and the percentage of protection for this biome is lower than for all other biomes [10].
Scientists and experts in the field of grasslands are making efforts to increase awareness of the values they offer to humanity, provide new knowledge and improve grasslands’ management. They point out their variability, aiming to improve understanding of nutrient cycles and their productivity with the help of sustainable management. They highlight the role of grasslands in dealing with climate change and other environmental risks. Increasing attention is also dedicated to new, less explored areas, such as the role of grassland soils’ microbiome and its contribution to the provision of ecosystem services.
Popis
In: Agronomy. Basel : Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2026. ISSN 2073-4395. Vol. 16, no. 17 (2026), pp. 1-6.
Kľúčové slová
využívanie pôdy, trávne porasty, grasslands
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Citácia
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CC BY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. International
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess