Cut Forest to Conserve Biodiversity
A central European grassland management
Grassland, as you may guess by its name, is a land covered by grasses and herbs. Grasses arrived on Earth 40 millions years ago, long after the dinosaurs went extinct.
Thanks to agriculture and grazing animals, grasslands became very successful. Today, grasses cover about 40 % of terrestrial lands.
Grasslands are classified depending on the dominant grass species in the landscape. It exists more than one hundred types of grasslands, and I can tell you that it’s very boring to learn them. The species of grass able to grow somewhere depends on the natural conditions of the land such as climate, soil and slope. The land management done by human also influences the species dynamic, for example a heavily grazed land is covered by grass species which are quick to grow and to reproduce.
A well conserved grassland has kept its original species and doesn’t have much ruderal species. The latter are indices of disturbance and are usually found around human activities.
Grasslands have various functions. Mowed grass can be used as fodder for animals or as basic material to produce bio gas. The age and the type of grass change the fodder and bio gas material quality. It means that a bio gas producer or a farmer needs to know his grass well to cut it at the right time.
The dense root system of the grass make it perfect to avoid soil erosion and stock greenhouse gases.
Grasslands have a very specific biodiversity, for example in one square meter of the German Schwabian Alb you can find more than 50 species of herbs and grasses. Some insects and animals depend on grasslands open habitat. That is why, in central Europe conservation projects sometimes cut the forest down to keep the grassland. Thus, farmers are subsidized to bring sheep to graze on these grasslands so shrubs don’t have the time to grow. Without these human actions, all grassland would be replaced by forest, and the specific biodiversity of the grassland would be lost forever.
Grassland may look ordinary and boring. However if you have a close look at it, you will see its biodiversity and its importance. As agricultural methods changed and animals don’t graze as much as in the past, it’s important to find new ways to manage and use grasslands. Bio gas and bio-materials may be a good solution.
