Multifunctionality in managed grassland systems: Biodiversity and ecosystem services

Grassland systems have been in focus for a long time due to their ecological, socioeconomic and cultural importance. If moderately managed, these grasslands may increase the multifunctionality of rural landscapes by harbouring extraordinary high biodiversity and at the same time providing numerous ecosystem services like meat production, carbon sequestration, and different cultural values. Grasslands are currently undergoing an extensive land use change world-wide, in particular transformation as a consequence of agricultural intensification, urbanisation, and land abandonment. In this project we will present a comprehensive overview of what ecosystem services are generated in different types of grassland and if different services show trade-offs or synergies with each other and with biodiversity conservation. During our stay at STIAS we will synthesize parts of our previous work, together with the other scientific literature, in a joint publication addressing biodiversity and ecosystem service generation in grasslands. The project includes an initial workshop with scientists from UK, Europe and South Africa in February 2014.