Grasslands – A thorough analysis

A grassland is typically defined as an area where the vegetation is mainly comprised of grasses, and
not including a huge number of trees or prominent features such as mountains. Grasslands are a
crucial part of humanity’s growth, as we grow and farm most of our food on it. Because of their
importance, deforestation of forests to create farmable grassland has led to countless species
becoming endangered or extinct as a result of their habitats being destroyed. As well as being
important to humans, grasslands also have influence on all four spheres of the biophysical
environment.

Humans have changed natural grassland environments in a variety of ways, primarily for the purpose
of producing food. For example, the introduction of an exotic species that is to be farmed may have
a negative impact on the preexisting animals, with the new species outcompeting them for
resources and causing endangerment of the local wildlife. As well as disrupting the wildlife, however,
introduction of many new animals can damage the environment. For example, having too many
cattle in a small area may cause overgrazing, cutting off the food supply of the cattle and damaging
the stability of the immediate environment. Changing the physical landscape through irrigation and
flattening land/clearing trees also comes with many issues, with irrigation systems having the
potential to reduce downstream river flow and increase evaporation in the irrigated area, leading to
atmospheric instabilities and increasing downwind rainfall. Finally, the changing of fire regimes will
significantly affect the quality of the soil. Fire regimes significantly affect soil properties because
organic matter located on, or near the soil surface is rapidly combusted. The changes in organic
matter, in turn, affect several chemical, physical, and microbiological properties of the soil. Although
some nutrients lost, most nutrients are made more available.

Grassland is important to the atmosphere and hydrosphere and affect them in different ways. One
major effect the grasslands have on the atmosphere is their role in climate regulation. Grasslands
help to regulate climate via the storage of large carbon and greenhouse gases underground. It is
estimated that grasslands store 34% of the world’s carbon reserves, just behind the 39% in forest
environments. As well as passively holding a huge amount of carbon, grasslands also actively help
reduce climate change. As plants such as shrubs and trees grow, they store a large amount of carbon
in their roots and the surrounding soil, reducing the amount that makes it into the atmosphere.
Grasslands also contain a large amount of water in the form of water catchments and reservoirs
deep under the surface. In order to continue storing water that can later be accessed by us, the
grassland must have a healthy quality of soil. This is crucial, as the soil is responsible for filtering the
water as it travels through the ground. The disruption and contamination of groundwater supplies
on a large scale would be catastrophic, as Groundwater is a vital water supply for humanity.
Groundwater provides drinking water entirely or in part for as much as 50% of the global population
and accounts for 43% of all of water used for irrigation. Worldwide, 2.5 billion people depend solely
on groundwater to satisfy their water needs.

Grassland has a profound impact on the biosphere and lithosphere. As previously mentioned,
healthy grassland is essential for the support of some types of ecosystems. A good example of this is
in the ‘great steppe’, a huge steppe that stretches from central Europe to central Asia. As grass is
pretty much the only prominent feature in a steppe, most of the animals that live there depend on
the grassland for their survival. The bison, for example, depend on the grass as their main source of
food, along with other herbivores such as the horse, pronghorn and the guanaco. Some animals also
rely on the quality of the soil itself, such as the prairie dog. The prairie dog is a rodent that digs
extensive underground tunnel networks to escape predators and depends on the quality of the soil
for its survival. The steppe also holds a large amount of underground minerals, while the previously
mentioned rodent’s tunnels help to ventilate the soil and reduce surface concentration of mineral
salts. Furthermore, the upper layer of grasslands is usually covered with patches of cryptogamic
crust. Cryptogamic crust is a layer of thin, fragile organic crust which is comprised of bacteria, moss
algae and fungi. The crust is vital for the growth and support of the grassland, and some of the
species that make up the crust are endangered, if the crust were to be disturbed or destroyed, it
would have long term negative effects of the grassland’s ecosystem. Healthy soil also reduces the
rate of soil degradation and desertification. The conversion of natural ecosystems to pastureland
doesn’t damage the land initially as much as crop production, but this change in usage can lead to
high rates of erosion and loss of topsoil and nutrients. Overgrazing can reduce ground cover,
enabling erosion and compaction of the land by wind and rain. This reduces the ability for plants to
grow and water to penetrate, which harms soil microbes and results in serious erosion of the land.
However, he effects of soil erosion go beyond the loss of fertile land. It has led to increased pollution
and sedimentation in streams and rivers, clogging these waterways and causing declines in fish and
other species’ populations. degraded lands are also often less able to hold onto water, which can
worsen flooding.

In conclusion, grasslands are a crucial part of humanity’s survival, and impact the biosphere,
lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere in different ways. Humans have affected grassland in a
variety of ways, most of the negative. These effects have led to an increase on desertification, a loss
of essential nutrients in the soil, overgrazing of the grass and destruction of the local
ecosystems/habitats in pursuit of farmland, among other things. Grassland continues to play an
active part in the four biophysical spheres, and support mankind’s growing population.