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 …

Plant communities have undergone dramatic changes in recent centuries, although not all
such changes fit with the dominant biodiversity-crisis narrative used to describe them. At the …

The exhibition of increasingly intensive and complex niche construction behaviors through
time is a key feature of human evolution, culminating in the advanced capacity for ecosystem …

Local extinction of species can occur with a substantial delay following habitat loss or
degradation. Accumulating evidence suggests that such extinction debts pose a significant …

In terms of origin, grasslands in C entral E urope can be classified into (i) natural grasslands,
predetermined by environmental conditions and wild herbivores;(ii) seminatural grasslands …

Abandonment or change of traditional (pre-modern) management systems threaten semi-
natural grasslands worldwide. Understanding existing traditional grassland management …

Revisiting the classical Gradmann's 'steppe theory'for central Europe, we examine whether
the early Holocene steppe habitats survived the critical period of maximum Holocene …

The involvement of ecological theory in habitat restoration has significantly increased in the
past decade. However, despite the fact that the field of restoration ecology has grown …

Comprehensive and standardized biodiversity monitoring schemes are needed to build
scientifically sound decision-making tools for biodiversity conservation. Based on a thorough …

Aim Habitat loss and degradation pose a major threat to biodiversity, which can result in the
extinction of habitat characteristic species. However, many species exhibit a delayed …