Permanent grasslands in Europe: Land use change and intensification decrease their multifunctionality

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62156489%3A43210%2F22%3A43921149" target="_blank" >RIV/62156489:43210/22:43921149 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.107891" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.107891</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.107891" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.agee.2022.107891</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Permanent grasslands in Europe: Land use change and intensification decrease their multifunctionality

Original language description

Permanent grasslands cover 34% of the European Union&apos;s agricultural area and are vital for a wide variety of ecosystem services essential for our society. Over recent decades, the permanent grassland area has declined and land use change continues to threaten its extent. Simultaneously, the management intensity of permanent grasslands increased. We performed a systematic literature review on the multifunctionality of permanent grasslands in Europe, examining the effects of land use and management on 19 grassland ecosystem service indicators. Based on the evidence in 696 out of 70,456 screened papers, published since 1980, we found that both land use change and intensification of management decreased multifunctionality. In particular, preventing conversion of permanent grasslands to croplands secured the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. A lower management intensity was associated with benefits for biodiversity, climate regulation and water purification, but impacted the provision of high-quality animal feed. Increasing the number of species in the sward enhanced multifunctionality of permanent grassland without significant trade-offs such as losses in production. Our review covered many aspects of land use, management and ecosystem services, but we also identified areas with no or only few studies. The most prominent gaps were related to comparisons between permanent and temporary grasslands, and effects of management practices on the provision of cultural values, and on erosion and flood control. We suggest that, despite apparent changes in human dietary preferences, the protection of permanent grasslands in Europe must be prioritised. At the same time, considering the need to reduce ruminant livestock&apos;s contribution to climate change, the time seems ripe to increase support for low-intensity grassland management to optimise the provision of essential ecosystem services from Europe&apos;s permanent grasslands.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

—

Continuities

O - Projekt operacniho programu

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment

ISSN

0167-8809

e-ISSN

1873-2305

Volume of the periodical

330

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1 June

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

107891

UT code for WoS article

000790163200006

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85124415782