Phytodiversity of temperate permanent grasslands: ecosystem services for agriculture and livestock management for diversity conservation

Summary

This narrative review investigates the apparent paradox whereby plant diversity-enhancing farming practices deliver fewer direct productivity gains than conventional management, yet may offer other ecosystem services valuable to farmers. The authors conclude that species richness thresholds in permanent grasslands may already exceed levels needed for productivity effects, and recommend that grazing—particularly rotational systems of intermediate intensity—is superior to mowing for enhancing phytodiversity. The review emphasises the need for closer collaboration between ecological and agricultural researchers to better understand and operationalise grassland diversity conservation within viable farming systems.

Regional applicability

Findings are directly relevant to United Kingdom temperate grassland management and biodiversity conservation policy. The identified grazing-based management approaches are applicable to UK pastoral farming contexts, though interactions between local environmental conditions, sward composition, and livestock behaviour will require farm-specific adaptation and monitoring.

Key measures

Plant species richness, primary and secondary production, sward heterogeneity, grazing intensity, species composition

Outcomes reported

The review examined the relationship between plant species richness and productivity in permanent grasslands, identified ecosystem services provided by grassland phytodiversity, and evaluated livestock management practices that support diversity conservation.

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