Open ecosystems–savannas, grasslands, shrublands–cover more than 40% of the terrestrial land surface. Many of these biodiverse ecosystems are maintained by frequent fires and/or grazing. They support millions of people worldwide, many of whom are marginalized. However, compared to forest-ecosystems, open ecosystems are understudied in terms of their biodiversity and climate change mitigation potential. It is therefore critical to understand how the ecology and evolution of open ecosystems have been shaped by diverse drivers, so that we may utilize this knowledge for their conservation and restoration.
Scientists, conservation biologists, and policymakers have paid disproportionately more attention to forest ecosystems at the cost of open ecosystems. Consequently, several policies geared towards conserving the world’s biodiversity are forest-centric, turning a blind eye towards the contribution of open ecosystems to biodiversity, human livelihoods and climate change. Through this special issue, we hope to address this gap by encouraging scientists to publish studies that focus on open ecosystems and their relevance to current and future environmental challenges.
This Research Topics invites contributions related to:
- Syntheses, reviews, and meta-analyses that can inform broad scale patterns and long-term processes in open ecosystems while also pointing out specific gaps in our understanding
- Studies identifying biodiversity restricted to old-growth grassland, shrubland and savanna habitats in relation to secondary habitats
- Original articles showing the importance of open ecosystems to human livelihoods and climate change mitigation
- Disciplines that are related to history, understanding of processes and drivers of open ecosystems on all continents, their relationship with humans and their potential for conservation. These include but are not limited to, ecology, palaeoecology, botany, functional ecology, taxonomy, ethnobotany, phylogenetics, and conservation science
Open ecosystems–savannas, grasslands, shrublands–cover more than 40% of the terrestrial land surface. Many of these biodiverse ecosystems are maintained by frequent fires and/or grazing. They support millions of people worldwide, many of whom are marginalized. However, compared to forest-ecosystems, open ecosystems are understudied in terms of their biodiversity and climate change mitigation potential. It is therefore critical to understand how the ecology and evolution of open ecosystems have been shaped by diverse drivers, so that we may utilize this knowledge for their conservation and restoration.
Scientists, conservation biologists, and policymakers have paid disproportionately more attention to forest ecosystems at the cost of open ecosystems. Consequently, several policies geared towards conserving the world’s biodiversity are forest-centric, turning a blind eye towards the contribution of open ecosystems to biodiversity, human livelihoods and climate change. Through this special issue, we hope to address this gap by encouraging scientists to publish studies that focus on open ecosystems and their relevance to current and future environmental challenges.
This Research Topics invites contributions related to:
- Syntheses, reviews, and meta-analyses that can inform broad scale patterns and long-term processes in open ecosystems while also pointing out specific gaps in our understanding
- Studies identifying biodiversity restricted to old-growth grassland, shrubland and savanna habitats in relation to secondary habitats
- Original articles showing the importance of open ecosystems to human livelihoods and climate change mitigation
- Disciplines that are related to history, understanding of processes and drivers of open ecosystems on all continents, their relationship with humans and their potential for conservation. These include but are not limited to, ecology, palaeoecology, botany, functional ecology, taxonomy, ethnobotany, phylogenetics, and conservation science
