Let the grass grow old

Abstract

Plant Ecology Over the past decade, there has been a reappraisal of the importance of grasslands in the global ecosystem. While they have often been regarded as a successional step en route to forest and woodland, there is increasing recognition of the conservation value of old-growth grasslands. Nerlekar and Veldman synthesized data on species richness in grasslands worldwide, showing that old-growth grasslands display high plant species diversity and that weedy secondary grasslands can take centuries to recover old-growth richness. They conclude that old-growth grasslands should be prioritized for conservation for their value in providing ecosystem services and supporting herbivore populations, analogous to the values perceived in old-growth forest. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117 , 18550 (2020).