Land Uses

According to the 1996 National Land Cover data, 64,5% (which includes rangelands) of the grasslands biome is ‘natural’ and 22,4% cultivated. Click here to view a graph which illustrates the percentage of the biome under different land uses. Click here to view a graph which illustrates the percentage of the biome under different land uses.

Impact of Land Uses on Biodiversity

It is important to understand the impact of different land uses on grasslands biodiversity. In an assessment of the impact of different production activities on grasslands, land uses at site level were scored against a set of biodiversity indicators to provide a comparative analysis of their ecological impact. Click here to view a graph of the land uses assessed.

The 3 primary indicators of biodiversity applied in the assessment were landscape composition (habitat, species, alien plants); landscape structure (transformation, fragmentation); and ecosystem functioning (fire and grazing regimes, biogeochemical processes, hydrological functioning, soil erosion and biotic processes).

The results and conclusions drawn, which influenced the strategy chosen in the Grasslands Programme, are:

• Livestock ranching and game farming are the most compatible land uses.  The programme should focus resources on securing and extending this, especially management systems which are more critical than animal type.
• Urban settlement is overwhelmingly negative. The Programme should seek to contain and direct urban footprint to areas of limited value while securing core sites through innovative approaches and appropriate regulation.
• Mining, forestry plantations and dairy are negative. The programme should seek to contain and direct footprint to areas of limited value; the impact of timber should be mitigated through improved management of unplanted areas; and priority sites should be secured through stewardship with companies.
• Dryland and irrigated cropping impact is severe. There are differences between crops, but management is a more important intervention than crop type. A further threat is that cultivation expansion is likely to be driven by biofuels.