George SteffanosAncient pueblo ruins and the San Francisco Mountains, Wupatki National Monument, northwest Arizona. April 1984.
#hiking #photography #landscapephotography #nature #Arizona #ruins #mountains #Southwest #grasslands
DragofixGrasslands are vanishing nearly four times faster than forests, global study finds https://phys.org/news/2026-02-grasslands-faster-forests-global.html
Grasslands are vanishing nearly four times faster than forests, global study finds
Along with forests, grasslands and wetlands are also being converted to cropland and pasture at an increasing rate around the world—often for livestock farming and the export of agricultural products. An international team of researchers, including Martin Persson from Chalmers, has now analyzed for the first time where, for what purpose, and how quickly natural non-forest ecosystems are being converted into agricultural land on a global scale. The results show that these ecologically highly valuable areas are converted at a rate almost four times faster than forests.
Primo Natura"Grasslands are vanishing nearly four times faster than forests, global study finds"
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-grasslands-faster-forests-global.html
Grasslands are vanishing nearly four times faster than forests, global study finds
Along with forests, grasslands and wetlands are also being converted to cropland and pasture at an increasing rate around the world—often for livestock farming and the export of agricultural products. An international team of researchers, including Martin Persson from Chalmers, has now analyzed for the first time where, for what purpose, and how quickly natural non-forest ecosystems are being converted into agricultural land on a global scale. The results show that these ecologically highly valuable areas are converted at a rate almost four times faster than forests.
Lukas VFN 🇪🇺Dense, dark #forests in Europe are a modern phenomenon
https://phys.org/news/2026-03-dense-dark-forests-europe-modern.html paper: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111749
"Europe's landscapes over the past more than 20 million years have predominantly been a mosaic: a mixture of #grasslands, scrub and #woodlands of varying density. A light-filled, flower-rich open #woodland shaped by grazing #animals as a decisive ecological force—not a dark closed-canopy #forest."
Peter Riley#Warralilly - near Geelong - eight hectares of restored species of wallaby grass, spear grass and the weeping grass Microlaena stipoides.
BellingenNSWRestoring native grasslands
"In western Victoria's volcanic plains there's 0.5 per cent [of native grasslands] left...The picture across much of southern Australia is almost as bleak. Since European settlement, intensive grazing, agricultural practices and urbanisation have all conspired to obliterate native grasslands.Though now protected by environmental laws, conservationists say remnant grasslands are still being destroyed."
"Natives are usually far less flammable than exotic species."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-28/native-grasslands-victoria-endangered-restoration-seed-demand/106391114
#grass #grasslands #endangered #ecosystems #NativeFlora #lawns #fossilfuels
Image:A remnant native grassland at Altona in Melbourne’s west survives beside industrial warehouses. (ABC Landline: Tim Lee)
Paul Houle🔆 Intense sunlight reduces plant diversity and biomass across global grasslands, study finds
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-intense-sunlight-diversity-biomass-global.html
Intense sunlight reduces plant diversity and biomass across global grasslands, study finds
The sun is the basis for photosynthesis, but not all plants thrive in strong sunlight. Strong sunlight constrains plant diversity and plant biomass in the world's grasslands, a new study shows. Temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric nitrogen deposition have less impact on plant diversity. These results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a research team led by Marie Spohn from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Sharing bits of Canada 'eh🇨🇦Grasslands: Return of the Black-Footed Ferret
Grasslands National Park is a rare success story in species recovery. It's the only place in Canada where Black-footed Ferrets, thought extinct in the wild, have been reintroduced. These nocturnal hunters depend on prairie dog colonies for survival. The recovery is bringing a vital piece of the prairie ecosystem back from the brink. #Canada #Grasslands #Saskatchewan #Conservation 🇨🇦
Journal of Plant Ecology#EnvironmentalFiltering contributed more to the #β_diversity of plants, bacterial and fungal communities than #DispersalLimitation. #Aridity emerged as a key driver of β-diversity for above- and belowground communities in semi-arid #Grasslands.
TKSST • seethis.tv 🌈🪐✨💁🏻♀️ ICYMI: 🐄🇬🇧 The first hour of a Highland calf's life is a busy one, moving from uncoordinated and wet to standing and nursing.
This footage from Dale Farm in the Peak District shows how prey #animals are often precocial, meaning they can move soon after birth to evade #predators in open #grasslands.
#babies #biology #cows #england #uk #nature #science #wildlife #tksst #video
