Permanent grasslands in Europe: Land use change and intensification decrease their multifunctionality
Newcastle University · ETH Zurich · +10 more institutions
Abstract
Permanent grasslands cover 34% of the European Union’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…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 27.29
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 80
Authors
30Topics & keywords
- Ecosystem services
- Grassland
- Biodiversity
- Land use
- Livestock
- Agroforestry
- Agriculture
- Land use, land-use change and forestry
- Climate action