How much grassland do we need?

Abstract

The United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, drawing attention to the importance of grasslands and the communities that rely on them. Rangelands cover 54% of Earth's land surface, including grasslands, savannas, shrublands, deserts, and tundra; yet, grasslands remain chronically undervalued, leading to degradation and fragmentation. Grasslands are critical ecosystems that complement forests. While forests excel in above-ground carbon storage, grasslands outperform them in soil carbon sequestration, water retention, and drought resilience. Both deserve equal priority in conservation efforts. Global data reveal clear allometric relationships between grassland, forest, and national land areas. Notably, China, despite leading the world in planted forest area, has a critically low planted grassland coverage of just 0.22%, far below the expected level. From these allometric relationships, it is suggested that China would require an additional 93 400 km² of planted grassland to achieve a target of 3.55% of the total grassland area. In this milestone year, we advocate for the creation of stronger, science-based policies aimed at protecting and restoring global grassland ecosystems. Importantly, for China, this encompasses the scientifically informed expansion of high-quality planted grassland to fulfill aspirations for aesthetic optimization of humanity's living space.

Keywords

grassland policy / International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists / multifunctionality / rangeland

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2026 The Author(s). Grassland Research published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Chinese Grassland Society and Lanzhou University.