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 …

Maintaining and enhancing the biodiversity of the agriculturally utilised area has a high
priority in environmental policy worldwide. Temperate grasslands in Europe make an …

The Palaearctic steppes range from the Mediterranean basin towards China, forming one of
the largest continuous terrestrial biomes. The literature on steppe ecology and conservation …

In biodiversity conservation of agriculture‐driven landscapes, grasslands have an
outstanding importance; their conservation became a top priority both in research and …

The relationship of different types of grassland use with plant species richness and
composition (functional groups of herbs, legumes, and grasses) has so far been studied at …

To counter the loss of agro-biodiversity, Swiss farmers can qualify for area-related direct
payments by managing part of their utilized land (at least 7%) as so-called ecological …

Intensified grasslands are usually the dominant type of grassland in many countries in
Europe but are generally of poor ecological value. Several management factors may affect …

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

Research has delivered convincing findings on the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem
functioning and humankind. Indeed, ecosystems provide provisioning, regulating …

Decline of grassland diversity throughout Europe within the last decades is threatening
biological diversity and is a major conservation problem. There is an urgent need to …