Economic Importance Of Grasslands – Environment
Introduction
The size of grasslands illustrates their importance on a worldwide scale. Grasslands make up 80% of agriculturally productive land and about 26% of the overall land area. Over a billion people depend on grasslands in tropical developing nations, where they make up the majority of the world's land. Grazing livestock receive a feed supply from grasslands, which results in a range of high-quality foods.
What Are Grasslands?
• When climate and soil circumstances inhibit tree growth, a section of the land at all latitudes and altitudes becomes a grassland, which is an intermediate stage in ecological succession.
• Over 25% of the surface of the earth is made up of grasslands.
• The local climate and soil conditions mostly dictate the kinds of plants that flourish here.
• In areas with little rainfall and/or low soil depth and quality, grasslands can be found.
• Although the low rainfall during the monsoon restricts the growth of many trees and shrubs, it is enough to maintain the growth of grass cover.
The Economic Value of Grasslands
Source of Food
• The three main crops grown on grasslands worldwide are wheat, maize and rice.
• Cows and lambs rely heavily on grasslands as a source of food.
• These animals live their entire lives grazing in these meadows before being butchered for meat or kept for milk when they reach adulthood.
• These animals in turn produce leather, fiber, traction, fertilizer, and transportation.
Water supply
• Grasslands that are semi-natural are currently in inadequate supply of water.
• However, local stakeholders, such as local farmers and specialists from the area, are aware of their significance.
• The supply is significantly greater in South America because inland grasslands are present in the major catchment basins of the continent.
• By effectively absorbing water, increasing infiltration, and reducing erosion, these natural grasses control stream flow during wet seasons and maintain flows during dry ones.
Hay and Honey
• There are numerous ways to harvest, use, or sell grassland products, all of which are important economically and to people's well-being. Hay and honey is one of them.
• For thousands of years, grasslands have provided food for domestic animals, whether in the form of raw grass or hay for winter grazing.
• Clovers and other invasive weeds, with which honey bees have a long-standing connection, can survive in grassland and pasture.
• Furthermore, plants that attract honey bees to gather nectar are probably present in pastures and grasslands.
• As a result, the honey and hay that are produced by grasslands are more valuable economically.
Hunting, recreation, and tourism
• Natural and semi-natural grasslands are important components of the cultural landscape.
• Some grasslands have been declared as national parks or nature reserves, and both locally and nationally they are frequently marketed as tourism destinations.
• A cultural environment with grasslands has the potential to be significant in the framework of a World Heritage site and can serve as a standalone tourist destination.
• Numerous outdoor recreational pursuits including bird viewing, hiking, and hunting are connected to open landscapes.
• They are therefore more significant economically.
Other Services
Erosion Prevention
• Permanent vegetation prevents soil erosion by reducing water flow and stabilizing the soil.
• In regions with high energy rains and steep gradients, permanent grasslands can play a significant role in preventing soil erosion if they are neither overgrazed nor left unmanaged.
• Grasslands experience around 10% of the soil erosion that croplands do, although erosion on forested terrain is far lower.
• The ability of grassland plants to prevent erosion is strongly correlated with water availability and management, carbon sequestration, and soil fertility.
Carbon Sink
• As a carbon sink, grasslands help to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
• According to research from the University of California, Davis, rangelands and grasslands are more durable carbon sinks than forests.
Conclusion
Despite being extremely valuable economically, grasslands are in danger due to habitat loss, which can be brought on by human activities like overgrazing, inappropriate agricultural practices, and crop removal. The majority of the world's grassland has been degraded by agricultural expansion, endangering wildlife. Only 1% of the original tall grass prairie is still in existence, but 16% of tropical grasslands and more than 50% of all temperate grasslands have been turned into agricultural or industrial areas.