involved wlih gaseous enshange in lhe almospheie, and also wrrh deep nurrrenl reeyeling while prairies ul grasses, lorbs. and rheir assoemes ad more an lhe near sail suriaee, and m copious produrers ul lhler and shallow m masses (I95 l/ha yersusa loresrs me l/ha in lhe lap 30 arn ol ioill bolh lune-ion lo romplei-nenl rhe olher ir. dillerehl srrala of lhe soil/ almosphere inlerlaie The prolound dillerenee lies m lhe lnel Hm rhe regenersrion l-irne alier "halves!” or removal ul all or parl ol lhe slandrng crop is measured in deeddes ior lives, and seasons or even weeks In: grasses, so rhal yields horn lhe siandlriie Cmp iwherelhrseunsisls ol lhe vegeiaiive pans ol lhe planes and nol lhe seeds. honey, or lruusl may lavour grasses ll lhe lorssl rakes in years lo regrow lram lhe ground level, lhen ir "ylelds" or gains aboiil 2,5 l/ha/year ll lhe grasses ean be eul or grased lwiee in a season men lliey ear. yield some la l/ha/year Grasses do lhis by developing rhelr birds or gmwlh poinis eluse In lhe ground, below an or browse damage. and keeping a lol ol rheir rnasr m living roors lam ar so ol lhe lulal biomassl, Trees, when eul, lose mosl ul lheir menslems lgrewlh eenlrea or budsl and have relauvely less roal “serves lless rhrn sour ul lheir Mal massl vields to people or eallle are noi, however, lhe rmporlanl lanors in lhe susrainablhry ol syslema, as we have ollen proved lo our eosl Trees boih shelrer. provide i-iulrienr lo. and supply ollseason or rbmplemeniary yields when grasses are alledcd by droughl or eold H is, as ever. a mauer u! balansiiig lhe eomponenls al lhesyslem so lhar brilh hees and grasses ean serve lhe slabilily ol lhe whole, whzmcr we use lhem or nul ll repays us loo, in lhe long lerm, hr see lhai a balaneed syslem persisls in us yield, ralher lluan our demands run u down lo a desemried endpoinl ul low lnlal yield. Lilre maehines. plant syslems are ul greaiesl benelil when lhey prove durable and reliable, and weshauld always lhinli iil ”yleld” as (omplexed by lhe kngth bl lime lhal yield ean be mainrained Grasses, in elleei, eller lor our use only a lime parl o: whai lhey have, while lorese rnalre mosr el iheniselves Visible and available lsomeiirnes an {helix peril). CnssLands lor ralher herblandsl he berween (meals and deserls. Alpmc herblands he above lhe lreeline, and below ire barren upper slopes o1 mounlams, as savannahs lie belweeri hulmd rainloresl and deserts, and revenue or shoreline herblields berween lhe lures: and open waler. Grasses and herbs an always relreal In The bulleeed almospheie ol lhe lupsoll and eseape mid and heal, while lrees musi sland and endure lhe ehanges oi seasons. Every lens: has he herbland edges, eaehenaraeleruus onhal placesrul, arid hislory, oi all ul eanhs greal plan! syslms. il is grasslands lhal we mosr lavour by our use ol lire and plough Waihng (or lhe righi wind and wealher, pie indusrrial peoples senl rue across the dry grasses |U klll or invade lhe 10M| edge We bullr niany iii our plains lhis way lrom lhe edges ol wales and deserls lo lhe hilk and valleys ol ha and risereslsranl [crests Maori, lnea, 66 and aborigrnal Ali-lean and Auslflhin peoples explored by lire, and desiioyed Eomls lo do so, belund lhe lire lronl, lrees lperhaps adapred by developing hieresislanr balk. loliage, burizd buds, and hard seed> advanee lo reoreupy lhe land, so lhal many plains have a darls wet rainloiesr edge polzwanis, and a sayannah Torr-er ol adapled lrees lrnasr are lireedependenll lollowing along horn lhe direelion ol the her winds, It is a comma“ pallern (o hnd lhese ~inoylng pliins" in areas shll subyeel lo lire managemenl alane Eyenrually, we loo beeonie dependeni on lhe grasses, lhe animals lhal led on lhe-in, and lhe lhe We flourish besl, however, on use lomskplam edges. where we and our assoelaled animals ran prorir lrorn bath herbland and loresk, ilnd we as ebnselous designers need lo complex lhe agrieullural grass dosens wiih inany mnie herb species, and Wilh elurnps, lrnes,eiinlours, and valleys ol irees "Grasslands unsuiled [or larming exl§| in every eoniinenl, and lhere is surely no beher way in use il lhan ru preserve us wrldhle ,, lsrie Dolly, mm In lael must dry savannah veldl areas ul Ali-lea and Auslfllla are unsuiied lnr larmmg, alihougli rieh in naiural prolein yields leg kangaroo). We rriay never again equal lhe produd yield ol lhe a: million bison on lhe Amenean prairies, wilh rheir unnumbered associated hordes ol pronghorii and mule deer, and a husl ol mIer spenes, The so irr so large mimmls al Alrica, and llie w assoeialed sperles o! nnlelopc can never be equalled in lulal biomass. yield, or value iii the eanh by a propped—up, energy—ennsurnlng and essenlially rerrograde pasloral sysleiu oi a lew speeies oi dumtit eallle and goat lloelis. Russm has preserved and enerviiraged shiga ahlelope llrom near errineeion in lhe law-s» lo over a million loday, and ran eull .llwe omiese annually lur lood They are lhe besi-adapled lundra animals The Lapps Ilkewlse manage iheir reindeer, by rravelling wilh lhe herds div rhelr migrauons. and lunnlchernobylll ioolra susliinabk y ld horn lhe snb~iKhr meadows and lichens rhal would be deslroyed by eulrivarion or dislurbanee Abmfl 24% oi lhe canh's surlaee is m some lorrn oi grasslands, Originally, lhese were nor lhe simple eras—legume or mono-(mp eereol siands “m we have subsequenlly developed, bul eoiuahied many hundreds bi plani speeles Even bi lhe irue grasses, wliieh number 7.5m speeles, we now use only Mspeeier in pavlures and less lhan 20 as grains, A rough elassih. canon ol grasslands is as hollows. Nansral . Maiirilaiii nieiidaivs Called alps in SWI‘MrIand, lhey are cflul nawererleh and leasl modified by man - chiiuiii-rilal iiilrriiirs. Variousl, rermed priinli pampas, veldi, lhey have been greally modified and only eirisl as “serves - savohiivlis or sealiered lree syslems. in thh grasses may be less numerous lhan lorbs lnongrass planrs such as bulbs, oKhlds, various llowers, sucnlr lenls, annual or biennlal dimryleduns, lorage shrubs,