Fields of uncertainty

This chapter presents the current state of global grasslands, specifically how climate change mitigations and adaptations, including human dimensions, may affect grasslands. Grasslands as a whole are the second largest global terrestrial system and support a range of essential ecosystem services. With increasing pressures on land for livestock, bioenergy, and the built environment, grassland area is decreasing in extent and becoming degraded; that which remains is being impacted by climate change. The roles of grasslands are clear; however, their future remains uncertain, with existing conflicts regarding carbon management, food security, and bioenergy, to name a few factors. Adaptation opportunities, including climate-adapted species and regeneration programmes, are aimed to promote resilience in global grasslands. There are a range of potential future research opportunities to address the global grasslands challenge, including longitudinal research, explorations of societal perceptions, deepening the understanding of uncertainty within future climate scenarios upon grasslands, and a systems approach to understanding both climate change and human impacts upon global grasslands.