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1.6 million acres of Great Plains grasslands were destroyed in 2021 alone, World Wildlife Fund says
Over the course of 12 months, an area of Great Plains grasslands bigger than the state of Delaware was erased from the map.
by Adriana Perez and Alysa Guffey, Chicago Tribune
(Snip)
Clay Bolt, manager of communications for WWF's Northern Great Plains program, said the importance of the grassland ecosystem is hard for people to grasp because much of the work is happening underground.
Bolt said that grasslands have large and ornate root systems that resemble something like "an upside-down forest" and trap carbon underground. When these plants are plowed, the soil is turned over and that carbon is released into the atmosphere. Crops that are grown in their place, such as corn or soybeans, typically have shallow roots and do not have the capacity to store carbon.
(Snip)
With a new farm bill in the works to govern agricultural sector policy for the next five years, and with the introduction of the North American Grasslands Conservation Act, advocates and experts hope they will see new resources and strategies dedicated to supporting Great Plains producers and farmers and slowing grassland conversion rates. The WWF points to the wetlands bill as a potential blueprint for grassland conservation legislation.
(Snip)
Conservation programs that encourage climate change mitigation would, in turn, help improve water quality, keep carbon in the soil and minimize soil erosion in farmland and grasslands across the country.
https://phys.org/news/2023-10-million-acres-great-plains-grasslands.amp
by Adriana Perez and Alysa Guffey, Chicago Tribune
(Snip)
Clay Bolt, manager of communications for WWF's Northern Great Plains program, said the importance of the grassland ecosystem is hard for people to grasp because much of the work is happening underground.
Bolt said that grasslands have large and ornate root systems that resemble something like "an upside-down forest" and trap carbon underground. When these plants are plowed, the soil is turned over and that carbon is released into the atmosphere. Crops that are grown in their place, such as corn or soybeans, typically have shallow roots and do not have the capacity to store carbon.
(Snip)
With a new farm bill in the works to govern agricultural sector policy for the next five years, and with the introduction of the North American Grasslands Conservation Act, advocates and experts hope they will see new resources and strategies dedicated to supporting Great Plains producers and farmers and slowing grassland conversion rates. The WWF points to the wetlands bill as a potential blueprint for grassland conservation legislation.
(Snip)
Conservation programs that encourage climate change mitigation would, in turn, help improve water quality, keep carbon in the soil and minimize soil erosion in farmland and grasslands across the country.
https://phys.org/news/2023-10-million-acres-great-plains-grasslands.amp