Tropical grassy biomes: misunderstood, neglected, and under threat

•Tropical grassy biomes are extensive and critical to human livelihoods.•The definition of these grassy systems is inconsistent and misleading.•We discuss novel threats linked to problems with biome definition.•The assumption that ‘more trees are better’ does not hold for tropical grassy biomes. Tro...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2014-04, Vol.29 (4), p.205-213
Main Authors: Parr, Catherine L., Lehmann, Caroline E.R., Bond, William J., Hoffmann, William A., Andersen, Alan N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
atmospheric CO2
Biodiversity
Biological and medical sciences
biome shift
Carbon Dioxide
CDM
Conservation of Natural Resources
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Ecosystem
forest
Forests
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
grassland
Poaceae
REDD
savanna
Tropical Climate
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•Tropical grassy biomes are extensive and critical to human livelihoods.•The definition of these grassy systems is inconsistent and misleading.•We discuss novel threats linked to problems with biome definition.•The assumption that ‘more trees are better’ does not hold for tropical grassy biomes. Tropical grassy biomes (TGBs) are globally extensive, provide critical ecosystem services, and influence the earth–atmosphere system. Yet, globally applied biome definitions ignore vegetation characteristics that are critical to their functioning and evolutionary history. Hence, TGB identification is inconsistent and misinterprets the ecological processes governing vegetation structure, with cascading negative consequences for biodiversity. Here, we discuss threats linked to the definition of TGB, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation schemes (REDD+), and enhanced atmospheric CO2, which may facilitate future state shifts. TGB degradation is insidious and less visible than in forested biomes. With human reliance on TGBs and their propensity for woody change, ecology and evolutionary history are fundamental to not only the identification of TGBs, but also their management for future persistence.
ISSN:0169-5347
1872-8383
DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2014.02.004