This article introduces a Special Issue on biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands and
provides a synthesis of the current knowledge on this topic. Four major categories of …

Soil is one of the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats. Yet, we lack an integrative conceptual
framework for understanding the patterns and mechanisms driving soil biodiversity. One of …

One of the most common forest disturbances, fire, has a significant influence on the people,
societies, economies, and environment of countries all over the world. This study explores …

Woody encroachment is ubiquitous in grassy ecosystems worldwide, but its global impacts
on the diversity of herbaceous plants that characterise and define these ecosystems remain …

Land-use change has caused degradation, loss and fragmentation of semi-natural habitats,
especially in grassland ecosystems. Today, the remaining habitats are often situated in a …

This book begins with a brief account of the extraordinary sequence of events that led to
emergence of grasslands as major vegetation formations that now occupy some of the driest …

This paper presents the details of the EDGG sampling methodology and its underlying
rationales. The methodology has been applied during EDGG Research Expeditions and …

Traditionally managed mountain grasslands are declining as a result of abandonment or
intensification of management. Based on a common chronosequence approach we …

Aim Biodiversity across the globe is heavily eroded by intensified management at local and
landscape scales. Species communities of calcareous grasslands, which are among …

Agro-pastoral decline in European mountain areas has recently caused changes to
traditional landscapes with negative consequences on semi-natural grassland conservation …