Routledge Handbook of Grasslands

Contents

1.      Grasslands at the crossroads: integrating science, culture, and sustainability

          Jonathan A. Newman, David J. Gibson and Heather A. Hager

PART I   Deep roots, dynamic futures: understanding the science of grasslands

2.  Rise of the grasslands: evolution, fire and mammalian giants

              Mahesh Sankaran, Mayank Kohli and William J. Bond

3.  Grasslands at scale: mapping extent, diversity, and the price of neglect

David J. Gibson and Saroj Thapa

4.  Soil symphony: how grassland nutrients flow, store carbon, and enhance ecosystem services

              Ellen Fry, Johannes Heinze, Nadia Maaroufi and Jonathan De Long

5.  Predicting pasture prospects: climate scenarios and carbon futures for global grasslands

Chengcheng Gang, Meng-en Fan, Huan-huan Liu and Yue Liu

PART II. Living complexity: grassland function, biodiversity, and renewal

6.  Physiological and anatomical traits of grass species: diversification facilitates persistence in grassy ecosystems

Jesse B. Nippert and Brent R. Helliker

7.  Adaptive alleles on the prairie: genomic insights for a warming world

Jack Sytsma, Matthew Galliart, David J. Gibson, Eli Hartung, Brian Maricle and Loretta Johnson

8.  Filters, pools, and fire: decoding how grassland communities form

Jodi N. Price

9. Endophytes unveiled: microbial keys to grassland resilience and productivity

Jonathan A. Newman and Heather A. Hager

10. From fragments to function: habitat quality, size, and connectivity for grassland invertebrates

Thomas Fartmann, Tim R. New and Michael J. Samways

11. Giants of the grass: how large herbivores sculpt savannas and prairies

Mayank Kohli and Mahesh Sankaran

12.  Ecosystems on the edge: unraveling compositional, structural, and functional loss in grasslands

Anaclara Guido and Felícia M. Fischer

13. Hooves on a gradient: livestock, moisture and ecosystem changes

Felipe Lezama, Pedro Pañella, Andrea Tomassino and José M. Paruelo

14. Adapt or perish: trait-based tales from turbulent grasslands

Kyle W. Tomlinson and Sally Archibald

15. Switching states: how climate change flips the grass-woody balance

William J. Bond and Nicola Stevens

16. Cross-border colonists: How naturalised species reshape prairies, Pampas, and

savannas

Wayne Dawson, Dana Blumenthal, Jan Čuda, Richard P. Duncan, Danielle Frohlich, Martin Hejda, Yanjie Liu, Ana Novoa, Ayub M.O. Oduor, Jan Pergl, Pavel Pipek, Vânia R Pivello, Petr Pyšek, David M. Richardson, Kateřina Štajerová, SynHab contributors, and Alessandra Kortz

17. Beyond fences: balancing food, fire, and biodiversity in grassland conservation

Gerhard E. Overbeck

18.  Grassland restoration: understanding the past to change the future

Fernando A.O. Silveira, Natália Medeiros, Paul Gibson-Roy and Elise Buisson

19. Rewilding the range: trophic restoration for resilient grasslands

Robert Buitenwerf

PART III. Working landscapes: innovation and tradition in grassland stewardship

20. Pasture perfect: designing grasses for yield, quality, and carbon capture

John R. Caradus, Alan V. Stewart, E. Charles Brummer and Carlos A. Acuña

21. Cultivating resilience: grassland agronomy in a changing climate

Jonathan A. Newman

22. Conflict and coexistence: untangling the socio-ecology of human–wildlife interactions in rangelands

              Kaitlyn M. Gaynor and Gopal Khanal

23. Ancestral stewardship: indigenous knowledge shaping Africa's grasslands

Jenesio I. Kinyamario, Dennis O. Otieno and James I. Kanya

24. Meet me in the meadow: how spatial ecology drives natural pest regulation

              Vincent Bretagnolle, Thomas Perrot, Ambroise Leroy and Sabrina Gaba

25. Rangeland vital signs: evaluating health and productivity

Jonathan A. Newman

26. From drones to digital twins: high-tech eyes on grassland change

              Irini Soubry, Xiaolei Yu, Thiago Frank and Xulin Guo

PART IV. Social-ecological ties: grassland services, justice, and governance

27. Hectares and hidden wealth: valuing provisioning, cultural, and regulating services

Lingling Hou, Huifang Liu, Nannan Kang and Na Liu

28. Pastures in parallel: how management and nature co-create grassland value

            Brianne A. Altmann, Antje Risius and Elsa Varela

29. Fields of uncertainty: charting climate-smart futures for global grasslands

              Rebecca Cunningham

30. Breaking the grassland glass ceiling: women ranchers and sustainable development

              Gabriela Litre, Alessendra Matte, Virginia Courdin and Claudio Marques Ribeiro

31. From fields to frameworks: crafting effective grassland policies

              Johannes Wegmann, Katrin Agethen and Nina Graßnick

Part V. Landscapes of meaning: cultural and creative perspectives on grasslands

32. Beyond grazing: pastoralism's role in culture, economy, and ecology

              Abolfazl Sharifían, Hossein Barani and Pablo Manzano

33. “I felt that the grass was the country”: a literary history of grasslands

              Molly P. Rozum

34. Prairie perspectives: eco-revelatory art and grassland narratives

Katie Kingery-Page and Erin Wiersma

35. Sacred spaces: exploring the cultural and spiritual heart of grasslands

              Bas Verschuuren

Conclusion

36. Saving our shared heritage: priorities for grassland conservation and management

              David J. Gibson, Jonathan A. Newman and Heather A. Hager

Biography

Heather A. Hager is an ecologist and natural sciences research facilitator at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, and an award-winning textile artist.

David J. Gibson is a plant ecologist and Emeritus in the School of Biological Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA. He is the author of Grasses and Grassland Ecology (2009) and co-editor of Grasslands and Climate Change (2019).

Jonathan A. Newman is a temperate grassland ecologist and Vice President: Research at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. He is co-author of Defending Biodiversity (2017) and co-editor of Grasslands and Climate Change (2019).