Native grasses possess extensive ecological adaptability, such as cold, drought, and salt tolerance, and tolerance to poor soil conditions. They play a crucial role in ensuring food security and ecological security. However, their development and utilization are still limited by lack of information on agronomic cultivation methods, low seed production, and difficulty in commercial production. This review summarizes the core requirements for native grass breeding and practical solutions. A “six-step” strategy for native grass breeding is proposed: (1) establish a basic agronomic cultivation system; (2) develop economically feasible seed production technologies to ensure farmers’ access to seeds; (3) systematically collect and evaluate germplasm resources in the target environment; (4) promote superior germplasm lines and achieve large-scale seed production; (5) initiate selection/breeding plans for key traits such as seed yield, seedling vitality, and multi-trait productivity; and (6) on this basis, strategically integrate advanced technologies such as genetic markers, gene editing, and omics analysis to accelerate the process of precision breeding. This progressive strategy emphasizes laying a solid foundation for breeding before applying newly emerging technologies to cultivate native grass varieties with commercial value.

Background: Improving the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of pastures has the benefit of reducing costs of production and reducing nitrogen loss to the environment. Genetic variation has been shown to exist for NUE, and hence NUE is a trait for breeding programs.

Methods: In this study, we develop genomic selection methods for NUE in perennial ryegrass through developing high-throughput sensor-based phenotyping and genotyping by sequencing (GBS) technologies. NUE of an advanced perennial ryegrass breeding population was screened in a spaced plant field trial which contained 644 genotypes, 3 nitrogen treatment levels (0, 20, and 40 kg ha⁻¹ per application), and 3 replicates. The trial was conducted for 2 years with a total of 6 nitrogen applications. An unmanned aerial system (UAS) equipped with multispectral sensors was deployed weekly over the trial. Approximately 4–5 weeks after nitrogen fertilizer application, 75–675 selected samples were cut for ground truthing. Prediction models for biomass were developed based on spectral and ground truth data and biomass for each plant was computed. Plants were genotyped by GBS transcriptomics.

Results: NUE, defined as biomass production per unit of N application, varied significantly with N application level, season and among genotypes. Moderate broad-sense heritability (0.61–0.72) for NUE was observed. Genomic prediction accuracies were in the range of 0.3–0.5.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that genomic selection for NUE was possible. The genomic prediction developed in these advanced breeding lines may be tested in other genetic backgrounds. The technologies are ready to be extended into other perennial pasture grass species.

Background: Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L. and Crotalaria ochroleuca G. Don) was evaluated as a warm-season legume to mitigate the “summer slump” in Maine's forage production caused by heat and moisture deficit stress.

Methods: This study compared three cultivars: “Crescent Sunn,” “Loei,” and “Red Mini,” at 60 and 90 days after seeding over the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons to measure biomass, nitrogen (N) fixation, and nutritive value.

Results: Environmental conditions significantly impacted performance; biomass accumulation in 2024 was 4296 kg dry matter (DM) ha⁻¹, whereas the drought-stressed 2025 season produced 1099 kg DM ha⁻¹. Notably, drought increased the percentage of N derived from the atmosphere (52% in 2025 vs. 33.8% in 2024) and improved forage nutritive value by increasing crude protein and digestibility. Crescent Sunn and Loei consistently outperformed Red Mini; across all cultivars, delaying harvest to 90 days increased total biomass but elevated lignin levels and reduced digestibility.

Conclusions: Sunn hemp is a resilient forage and N source for northern temperate regions; management should target a 60-day harvest for high-quality animal feed or a 90-day harvest for maximum cover crop biomass.

Background: Alfalfa is one of the most important forage crops in the world, and its performance is significantly affected by salt stress. Although plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can alleviate salt stress, their colonization in the rhizosphere is often compromised by high salinity. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) not only enhance the stress resilience of PGPR but also directly improve plant salt tolerance. Consequently, a thorough investigation of the synergistic effects between EPS and PGPR is of significant theoretical and practical importance for developing advanced microbial fertilizers.

Methods: To investigate the underlying mechanisms, we applied salt stress using NaCl and introduced EPS isolated from Erwinia persicina strain Cp2 (Cp2-EPS). The effects of co-inoculation of Cp2-EPS alone and Bacillus DN2 on the growth and salt tolerance of alfalfa were investigated.

Results: Pot experiments demonstrated that co-inoculation exerted stronger effects than single treatments, with Cp2-EPS showing a more pronounced impact than DN2 alone. The alfalfa seedlings after combined inoculation showed increased photosynthesis and greater accumulation of osmotic substances, such as proline, soluble sugars, and soluble proteins. Increased activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase effectively reduced cell membrane damage, enhanced the ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species, and alleviated oxidative stress symptoms in plant cells. The colonization density of DN2 in the alfalfa rhizosphere from the co-inoculation was significantly higher than that in the single DN2 inoculation.

Conclusions: Alfalfa salt tolerance and productivity were synergistically enhanced by Cp2-EPS through its promotion of Bacillus DN2 colonization and persistence in the rhizosphere.

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.

Background: Shrub encroachment (SE) drives rangeland degradation, threatening biodiversity and forage productivity. The reversal of the catastrophic effects of SE depends on the efficacy of restoration efforts. We evaluated the potential of manual removal of the shrub Pteronia incana (Burm.f.) DC. with or without reseeding mixtures of grasses (Panicum maximum Jacq. and Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees) on rangeland restoration at Peddie, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Methods: The treatments were (1) uprooting and reseeding (UPR), (2) uprooting only (UPO), (3) cutting and reseeding (CR), (4) cutting only (CO) and (5) untreated control (CTL), each replicated three times in North and South aspects.

Results: Graminoid cover was higher in all treatments than in CTL, with CR showing relatively higher cover in North and South slopes. Restoration treatments increased plant density, richness and diversity compared to CTL. Slope aspect, treatment and seeded species interacted significantly on biomass production. CO in the North aspect attained two-fold higher biomass production of nonreseeded grasses than other treatments. Responses of reseeded species varied by aspect, with P. maximum attaining two-fold higher BP in CR and UPR in the North than the South slope, whereas E. curvula had higher biomass production in CR in the South than the North slope.

Conclusions: Shrub clearing facilitated restoration of diversity and plant densities regardless of the restoration method. However, biomass production and vegetation cover depended on the interaction of the shrub clearing method, reseeding and slope aspect. Thus, the decision on restoration of herbaceous vegetation should be informed by the vegetation attribute of restoration priority.

Background: Livestock grazing is a major driver of arthropod community dynamics in drylands; however, its effects across vegetation types and seasons remain poorly understood.

Methods: We investigated seasonal (spring and summer) grazing effects on ground-dwelling arthropod communities by focusing on herbivore, detritivore, and omnivore abundance in steppe and desert steppe ecosystems of Mongolian grasslands.

Results: Grazing consistently increased herbivore abundance across all contexts. In the steppe, however, grazing effects on detritivores and omnivores were season-dependent: detritivore abundance declined under grazing only in summer, while omnivore abundance increased only in summer. These patterns likely reflect minimal grazing-induced changes in vegetation height during spring, when vegetation is not fully developed. In the desert steppe, seasonal interactions were weak, likely due to sparse vegetation limiting seasonal variation.

Conclusions: Grazing effects on arthropod communities vary with seasonal vegetation dynamics and differ between vegetation types. Accounting for seasonal variability is important for conserving arthropod communities in rangelands under climate change.

Background: The plant–microbe interaction between tall fescue and its endophyte Epichloë coenophiala can affect ecosystem responses to changing rainfall patterns and increasing temperatures. Endophyte-infected (E+) stands often exhibit improved stress tolerance and differing soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to endophyte-free (E−) stands. However, it is unknown if mammalian nontoxic endophyte (NTE) strains introduced into some tall fescue cultivars confer differing stress tolerances or reduce soil GHG emissions.

Methods: We quantified the impact of fescue-NTE symbioses in Jesup and Texoma on biomass and GHG emissions in response to increased temperature (+3°C) and altered precipitation (50% lengthened interval between events) using a factorial design in the United States southeastern transition zone over 2 consecutive years (2016–2017).

Results: Endophyte infection increased aboveground biomass 24% across years, whereas heat decreased aboveground biomass 17% across tall fescue cultivars and years. Endophyte infection reduced CO₂ emissions under both ambient (for Jesup) and heated conditions (for Texoma), but endophyte infection also increased NH₃ volatilization for Texoma (no effect for Jesup), especially under the hottest and driest treatment.

Conclusions: Fescue-NTE symbioses may improve pasture resiliency with projected climate change for the study region.

Background: Nitrogen availability from mineralization of organic matter in managed forage and grazing lands can be substantial, but little is known of how it varies with management within and among farms within a region and across regions.

Methods: Soil samples (n = 648) were collected at 0–10-cm depth under grasslands and woodlands across three physiographic regions of North Carolina, United States, which has a warm-humid climate. Potential C and N mineralization and inorganic N were classified by physiographic region, soil texture, and farm management to characterize influences.

Results: Potential C and N mineralization were strongly associated across both grasslands and woodlands. Although physiographic region explained 27% ± 5% of the variation in C and N mineralization, it was individual farm locations varying by management and soil type that contributed the most to this variation (48% ± 2%), whereas field within a farm (11% ± 3%) and duplicate sampling within a field (11% ± 3%) were minor components. Soil-test biological activity was the best predictor of net N mineralization, with some modifications based on pasture age and quantity of hay fed on the farm. Apparent nitrification was inhibited under woodlands and in ~20% of samples under grasslands.

Conclusions: Pasture age and management were key factors controlling C and N mineralization. Widely varying soil N supply from mineralization suggests that N fertilizer recommendations for pastures should be adjusted for soil texture and management conditions, and use of the soil-test biological activity assay could be a simple indicator of N availability to guide these recommendations.

Background: Himalayan grasslands are biodiversity hotspots vital for soil stabilization, carbon cycling and herbivore sustenance, and yet, studies on seasonal plant–soil–microbe dynamics remain limited in the Western Himalayas.

Methods: We examined seasonal variations in vegetation, soil properties and microbial diversity in subalpine (SAL, Pir Chinasi) and alpine (AL, Ratti Gali) grasslands.

Results: Vegetation communities shifted seasonally, with summer being dominated by Sibbaldia cuneata Hornem. ex Kuntze in SAL and Bistorta affinis (D. Don) Greene in AL, while winter shifted to Poa alpina Pall. ex Roem. & Schult. in SAL. Biodiversity indices were greater (p < 0.05) in summer for SAL, while only richness differed seasonally in AL. Soil moisture correlated with soil organic carbon in winter (r = 0.642, p < 0.01) and in summer (r = 0.756, p < 0.001). Microbial alpha diversity peaked in summer, with communities dominated by Actinomycetota and Pseudomonadota. Microbial composition correlated with different soil properties seasonally with pH and micronutrients in summer and total potassium and phosphorus in winter. Beta diversity differed between grasslands (p = 0.001), while functional profiles remained stable seasonally, indicating metabolic resilience.

Conclusions: Seasonal shifts and grassland type drive the structure of Himalayan ecosystems. Although plant and microbial communities were seasonally dynamic, their core metabolic functions were stable, indicating functional resilience essential for stability of the vulnerable high-altitude ecosystems.