Provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services from permanent grassland types

Summary in the original language of the document

Permanent grasslands (PG) provide a range of important ecosystem services (ES), including supporting biodiversity, regulating climate, mitigating risks of erosion and flooding, and providing clean water, animal feed, and recreational and aesthetic values. The provision of ES varies considerably between PG types. Here, we used an expert elicitation among 25 grassland academics across Europe to determine the effect of PG type on ES delivery. We distinguished between 18 PG types based on the presence of management, presence of succession, presence of woody plants, type of woody plants, renewal frequency, management intensity, presence of climatic limitations and defoliation type. ES delivery was scored for 19 ES indicators. The outcomes of the expert elicitation allowed us to identify five comparable groups of PG types with similar patterns of ES delivery, mainly along an intensity gradient. We conclude that the PG types in the PG Atlas are able to discriminate between different patterns of ES delivery which is an import prerequisite for communication to farmers, citizens, consumers, policy makers and scientists.