Global ecosystem typology

Alternative site for the Global ecosystem typology with additional information for ecosystem profiles and indicative maps.

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T7.2 Sown pastures and fields

Biome: T7. Intensive land-use biome

Contributors:
(texts)

In these intensively managed agricultural systems, grasses and legumes are sown and cultivated, with regular inputs of nutrients and (sometimes) water, primary for the mostly commercial production of livestock or food (hay) for livestock. Sown pastures are structurally simple ecosystems with low-diversity and high-productivity. They are dominated by one or few selected plant species as primary food sources for one animal species (usually large mammalian herbivores). Management includes chemical or physical treatments to exclude competitors, predators, herbivores, or pathogens. They differ from less intensively managed rangeland (e.g. biome T5) and semi-natural grasslands (T7.5), where livestock graze in predominantly native ecosystems.

Key Features

Structurally simple, very low- diversity, high-productivity grasslands dominated by one or few species of perennial grasses (Poacaeae) maintained by intensive addition of nutrients, water and artificial disturbance regimes (mowing or grazing).

Overview of distribution

Abundant in humid or sub-humid, boreal to tropical climates worldwide.

Profile versions

Main references

Selected references for this functional group:

  • Spedding CRW (1986) Animal production from grass: A systems approach Bioindustrial ecosystems (Eds. DAJ Cole, GC Brander), pp 107-120. Ecosystems of the world vol. 21. Elsevier, Amsterdam

  • Bernués A, Ruiz R, Olaizola A, Villalba D, Casasús I (2011) Sustainability of pasture-based livestock farming systems in the European Mediterranean context: Synergies and trade-offs Livestock Science 139: 44–57

Diagrammatic assembly model

Diagrammatic assembly model of T7.2 Sown pastures and fields. See general notes on diagrams. Open image full size.

Maps

Maps are indicative of global distribution patterns are not intended to represent fine-scale patterns. The maps show areas of the world containing major (coloured red) or minor occurrences (coloured yellow) of each ecosystem functional group. See general notes on maps.

Information about the current valid indicative map for this functional group is shown below.

T7.2.WM.nwx_v1.0

Datasets

  • EarthStat-Crops
  • HANPP-Haberl
  • GLW3-lifestock-2010

Map references

  • Ramankutty, N., A.T. Evan, C. Monfreda, and J.A. Foley (2008) Farming the planet: 1. Geographic distribution of global agricultural lands in the year 2000 Global Biogeochemical Cycles 22, GB1003 DOI:10.1029/2007GB002952

  • Helmut Haberl, K. Heinz Erb, Fridolin Krausmann, Veronika Gaube, Alberte Bondeau, Christoph Plutzar, Simone Gingrich, Wolfgang Lucht, Marina Fischer-Kowalski (2007) Quantifying and mapping the human appropriation of net primary production in earth’s terrestrial ecosystems Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (31) 12942-12947 DOI:10.1073/pnas.0704243104

  • Gilbert M, G Nicolas, G Cinardi, S Vanwambeke, TP Van Boeckel, GRW Wint, TP Robinson (2018) Global Distribution Data for Cattle, Buffaloes, Horses, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, Chickens and Ducks in 2010 Nature Scientific data 5:180227 DOI:10.1038/sdata.2018.227

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