When it comes to conservation, forests and oceans are the big attention grabbers. But rangelands, which cover 54% of the planet’s terrestrial surface, are no less important for nature and wildlife. With ecosystems as varied as deserts, grasslands, semiarid shrublands and savannas, a third of global biodiversity hotspots fall within rangelands. More than 40% of the African continent is rangeland, including some of its most iconic landscapes, like the Serengeti or South Africa’s Highveld. Just like its forests and oceans, though, the world’s rangelands are under threat. Climate change, industrial food production, mineral extraction and unsustainable livestock practices all contribute to rangeland degradation. According to a report released by the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in May, up to a third of global rangelands are at risk of such degradation, which can include desertification, soil fertility and biodiversity loss, or conversion into plantations, including ones that generate carbon credits from non-native tree species. The consequences of rangeland degradation can be far-reaching. Wildlife that once roamed vast landscapes are squeezed, water gets scarcer, and devastating sandstorms become more common. Rangeland loss also contributes to climate change — nearly one-third of the global carbon pool is contained inside their grasses, soil and vegetation. Despite all this, they rarely take center stage at international conferences to address climate change and biodiversity loss. And there’s another reason why the planet’s rangelands are important: they’re where a big portion of our food supply comes from. Sixteen percent of global food production takes place on…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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