Grasslands

Grassland

a biome that is predominantly grasses due to low rainfall, grazing animals, and or fire. (temperate, and tropical)

Temperate Grasslands

a variety of temperate grasslands all of which experience extreme seasons (summer and winter)

Tropical Grasslands

places that have both rainy and dry seasons but are typically warm year-round -- winters can be cool and dry while summers are hot and rainy

Carbon Sequestration

the storage of carbon in a form that prevents its release into the atmosphere

Rangeland

Grassland used for grazing livestock

Desertification

the process that transforms once-fertile land into desert

Overgrazing

too many herbivores feeding in an area, eating the plants faster than they can regrow

Continous Grazing

giving livestock full access to the entire pasture at all times

Rotational grazing

moving animals from one pasture to the next in a predetermined sequence to prevent overgrazing

Undergrazing

grazing too few animals on a grassland to maintain its ecological integrity

Holisitc Planned grazing

grazing livestock in a way that mimics wild grazers by grazing intensively on a small section of pasture before moving to another

Sustainable Grazing

practices that allow animals to graze in a way that keeps pastures healthy and allows grasses to recover

Conservation Reserve Program

Federal program that pays farmers to take land out of production

Conservation easement

legal agreement that restricts the way land can be used to achieve conservation goals

Shelterbelt

a stand of trees that blocks the wind and thus decreases soil erosion