Restoring diverse grasslands special issue (#journal)

Restoring diverse grassland: What can be achieved where, and what it will it do for us?

Grassland is a major feature of the landscape, and the major resource for livestock production, in the UK and across much of Europe. It is also of vital importance for wildlife and the wider natural environment and many hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent within agri-environment schemes  attempting to restore grassland with a diversity of plants, invertebrates and birds. Restoration of coherent ecological networks is a high priority. Climate change mitigation and adaptation are also imperatives, as is resource protection, and grassland can play a major role by improving soil structure and infiltration, preventing erosion and storing carbon. And food security is a further driver – grassland must support livestock, ideally producing more and of higher quality.