Dry grassland

This is why conservation efforts have become vital for dry grasslands, to ensure the continuance of its vast diversity and to help the many endangered species that these areas host.

For example, Denmark contains large areas of this type of grassland, which are characterized by short plant cover and the presence of a wide variety of flowers.

Dry grasslands are highly threatened in Europe by factors such as: destruction for other activities, abandonment of traditional use, afforestation, eutrophication, or invasion of neophytes.

Since dry grasslands have a very wide ecological and geographical amplitude they are able to inhabit many environments, which allow them to be suitable study objects for understanding biodiversity patterns.

– Azonal/extrazonal These dry grasslands occur in areas where the zonal vegetation is forest, but with soil that is usually shallow, poorly developed and unstable, and therefore does not allow tree growth.

– Semi-natural (secondary) These dry grasslands represent the dominant type in most European countries, growing in places where the natural vegetation is forest.

They are mostly found in temperate to continental areas, which are characterized by warm summers and cold winters because of their wide annual temperature amplitude.

Some now also have adaptations such as thorns or a bad taste to avoid grazing, whereas others have grown in the zones that are out of reach of present grazers.

If grazing is not part of dry grasslands, then the area will turn into forests as other plant species take over and take the available nutrients needed for growth.

As they grow bigger and larger, they start to block the sunlight from reaching the dry grassland species, causing them to die.

Dry grassland areas are predominantly inhabited by grazing animals, but besides livestock and other mammals it also has one of the highest small-scale species densities in the world .

Using grazing animals to eat these wood-like plants is considered one of the most natural methods of dry grassland preservation.

Besides Canidae like the Indian fox, dry grassland can also be populated by Felidae and in particular Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi).

The lack of nutrients in the soil prevent larger plants and trees to grow, which gives the species in Acredidae a sufficient amount of light to complete their life cycle.

This is consistent with the fact that dry grassland is known for specialist invertebrate species, that are not common anywhere else, such as solitary wasps and field cricket (Gryllus campestris).

Dry grasslands are important habitats also for ants, where they act ecosystem engineers and contribute to their high biodiversity.

[1] In a lot of different countries with dry grassland areas the land is used for agriculture, which have an effect on the biome and the flora and fauna species living there.

Research suggests that, at least in Europe, a common solution should be looked for in order to conserve dry grassland areas.