Changes in grassland cover in Europe from 1990 to 2018: trajectories and spatial patterns

Abstract

Grasslands are one of the most widespread terrestrial biomes. In Europe, the majority of grasslands depends on human management, and as a result, grassland areas are facing different dynamics and transitions to other land cover types. This study identifies the trajectories in grassland cover in Europe from 1990 to 2018. Using a 1 km × 1 km grid spanning most European countries, we identified increasing, decreasing and mixed development trajectories of grassland cover. For each development trajectory, we selected four representative hotspots and identified the land cover and its changes over different periods. Our results reveal that the decreasing development trajectory occurred on 35% of the aggregated grids with hotspots in Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean region and the UK. The increasing development trajectory occurred on 20% of the aggregated grids, centred in Central Europe, and the mixed development trajectory occurred on 3% of the aggregated grids. Within the selected hotspots, the development trajectories were linked to transitions among agricultural land cover classes or to transitions with shrubs and urban areas. The development trajectories also indicated strong country-specific differences, suggesting a strong impact of national policies. The generated outcomes of this study can be used to support decision-making on future pathways for grassland habitats on a European scale.