There is much interest in the fate of the world’s varied ecosystems.
We see that concern mirrored in the press often, in particular the threat encroaching agriculture is having on South American rain forests, and the threat global temperature change has on the arctic, and its denizens in particular the polar bear.
For differing reasons both ecosystems get a lot of attention.
The importance of trees in the cycle of cleaning the atmosphere makes the rainforest important.
And there is a feeling species of plants yet to be discovered could offer humanity all manner of new components which could be important in medicine. They cannot be discovered if they have gone extinct.
The threat to the arctic ice cap could lead to flooding of coastal lowlands, and when a regal creature such as the polar bear is threatened it becomes a natural ‘poster boy’ to rally support to the issue.
But it was interesting to read a recent release by the Nature Conservancy of Canada | Saskatchewan Region which suggests the most endangered ecosystem might be much closer to home for those of us on the Canadian Prairies.
The release notes Nature Conservancy of Canada scientist Dan Kraus has said the grasslands are the world’s most endangered ecosystem in this recent short essay:http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/blog/grasslands-the-most.html#.WBOYetUrKHt
“The public often points to rainforests and coral reefs as the planet’s most critical habitats in need of conservation. But choosing the most endangered comes down to risk: more than 50 per cent worldwide grasslands have been converted to crops and other uses, and there are few protected areas,” related the release. “More than 70 per cent of Canada’s prairie grassland has been converted. The endangerment of grassland habitat in Canada has cascaded into the endangerment of many grassland species.
“Grasslands are critical for allowing water to infiltrate into the ground and holding water during floods. Grasslands are important for carbon storage, with intact native prairies proving to be particularly effective at sequestration and long-term storage in their deep and extensive root networks.”
Kraus’ report goes into great detail.
“There are many reasons why temperate grasslands are endangered. They are the original breadbasket of the world. Over 50 percent have been converted to crops and other land uses. Much of the remaining are intensively grazed, replacing what were some of the planet’s greatest concentrations of wild grazing animals with cattle, goats and sheep,” it detailed.
“The loss and continued threats to temperate grasslands was recognized in 2008, when the International Union for the Conservation of Nature declared temperate grasslands as the world’s most endangered ecosystem. Two years later, a paper published in the Journal of Ecological Letters about global habitat loss and conservation found that temperate grasslands had the highest Conservation Risk Index compared to all other terrestrial ecosystems. This high risk is a result of large-scale conversion of temperate grasslands and very few protected areas. A recent paper in the Journal Science examined habitat types around the world, and temperate grassland were identified as the ecosystem with the greatest impacts and land use pressures …
“The endangerment of grassland habitat in Canada has cascaded into the endangerment of many grassland species. More than 60 Canadian species at risk depend on this habitat, including species that symbolize our grasslands, such as plains bison, swift fox and greater sage grouse.”
The situation is certainly one which deserves greater attention from academics, government, and agriculture.
