Publication Date
1993
Description
Grasslnnds present many advantages for examining issues related to sustainability. Grasslands include planted pastures as well as a variety of natural rangelands in situations ranging from semi-arid to subhumid. Diversity is also reflected in the spectrum of grassland users and uses, for example, nomadic pastoralism, extensive ranches, intensive pastures, wildlife tourism, game hunting. And in terms of sustainability of resource management, grasslands encompass a wide range of contrasting situations and conflicts in resource use. Heavy grazing pressure associated with increasing human populations in certain tropical savannas, the implications of rural depopulation to traditional pasture management in alpine regions, and the effects of world trading patterns and financial subsidies on grassland use and profitability, all affect grassland sustainability. This paper introduces a selection of issues related to grasslands as sustainable ecosystems. Context is provided by the three contemporary "mega-environmental" topics of sustainable development, global change and biological diversity. Conceptual frameworks and management techniques have both been the subject of considerable rethinking in recent years, as illustrnted through new understanding on the funclional ecology of savanna rangelands. Fresh insights have been obtained on the processes and perceptions underpinning sustainability, in such fields as carrying capacity and herbivore load, effects of episodic events on the stability of systems and landscapes, and recognition that complexity and diversity in production systems have tended to be underperceived and consequently undervalued in both agricullural and social sciences. Insights such as these can help shape approaches to grassland development consistent with the three policy goals of economic efficiency, equity and environmental integrity.
Citation
Hadley, Malcolm, "Grasslands for Sustainable Ecosystems" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 18.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1993/session7/18
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Grasslands for Sustainable Ecosystems
Grasslnnds present many advantages for examining issues related to sustainability. Grasslands include planted pastures as well as a variety of natural rangelands in situations ranging from semi-arid to subhumid. Diversity is also reflected in the spectrum of grassland users and uses, for example, nomadic pastoralism, extensive ranches, intensive pastures, wildlife tourism, game hunting. And in terms of sustainability of resource management, grasslands encompass a wide range of contrasting situations and conflicts in resource use. Heavy grazing pressure associated with increasing human populations in certain tropical savannas, the implications of rural depopulation to traditional pasture management in alpine regions, and the effects of world trading patterns and financial subsidies on grassland use and profitability, all affect grassland sustainability. This paper introduces a selection of issues related to grasslands as sustainable ecosystems. Context is provided by the three contemporary "mega-environmental" topics of sustainable development, global change and biological diversity. Conceptual frameworks and management techniques have both been the subject of considerable rethinking in recent years, as illustrnted through new understanding on the funclional ecology of savanna rangelands. Fresh insights have been obtained on the processes and perceptions underpinning sustainability, in such fields as carrying capacity and herbivore load, effects of episodic events on the stability of systems and landscapes, and recognition that complexity and diversity in production systems have tended to be underperceived and consequently undervalued in both agricullural and social sciences. Insights such as these can help shape approaches to grassland development consistent with the three policy goals of economic efficiency, equity and environmental integrity.
