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Extensively managed grasslands are recognized globally for their high biodiversity and their social and cultural values. However, their capacity to deliver multiple ecosystem services (ES) as parts of agricultural systems is surprisingly understudied compared to other production systems. We undertook a comprehensive overview of ES provided by natural and semi‐natural grasslands, using southern Africa (SA) and northwest Europe as case studies, respectively. We show that these grasslands can supply additional non‐agricultural services, such as water supply and flow regulation, carbon storage, erosion control, climate mitigation, pollination, and cultural ES. While demand for ecosystems services seems to balance supply in natural grasslands of SA, the smaller areas of semi‐natural grasslands in Europe appear to not meet the demand for many services. We identified three bundles of related ES from grasslands: water ES including fodder production, cultural ES connected to livestock production, and population‐based regulating services (e.g., pollination and biological control), which also linked to biodiversity. Greenhouse gas emission mitigation seemed unrelated to the three bundles. The similarities among the bundles in SA and northwestern Europe suggest that there are generalities in ES relations among natural and semi‐natural grassland areas. We assessed trade‐offs and synergies among services in relation to management practices and found that although some trade‐offs are inevitable, appropriate management may create synergies and avoid trade‐offs among many services. We argue that ecosystem service and food security research and policy should give higher priority to how grasslands can be managed for fodder and meat production alongside other ES. By integrating grasslands into agricultural production systems and land‐use decisions locally and regionally, their potential to contribute to functional landscapes and to food security and sustainable livelihoods can be greatly enhanced.

Vegetation mapping with details of plant communities plays an important role in managing and conserving the natural environment. Vegetation types mapping by Du Preez, including the current Drakensberg-Amathole Afromontane Fynbos (Gd6) in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, somewhat differs from that of Mucina and Rutherford. Recent research indicated that the Gd6 vegetation type is very restricted in the park. Apart from these shortcomings, there are also questions about the occurrence of other fynbos components within the grassland biome. Using the Braun-Blanquet cover abundance scale, 108 sample plots were placed in three transects across the mapped and proposed sections of Gd6 to collect vegetation data. A TWINSPAN classification in JUICE suggests the phytosociological classification of two distinct plant communities. These two communities were further confirmed by ordination, which indicated that the communities had different environmental preferences. The combination of different plant families found during the study confirms the composition of fynbos elements within the grassland. Our research findings indicate that Gd6 is present within Golden Gate Highlands National Park and serves as a baseline for plant communities related to this vegetation type. The results further suggest that both mapped and proposed sections should be combined to create a single, more detailed map.Conservation implicationsThe analysis of plant species and communities in the proposed and mapped sections of the Drakensberg-Amathole Afromontane Fynbos indicated the presence of this vegetation type within Golden Gate Highlands National Park. The description of these communities helped to define and assist with the criteria for the management and protection of fynbos components in the grassland.

The ecological system of the desert/grassland biome transition zone is fragile and extremely sensitive to climate change and human activities. Analyzing the relationships between vegetation, climate factors (precipitation and temperature), and human activities in this zone can inform us about vegetation succession rules and driving mechanisms. Here, we used Landsat series images to study changes in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) over this zone in the Sahel region of Africa. We selected 6315 sampling points for machine-learning training, across four types: desert, desert/grassland biome transition zone, grassland, and water bodies. We then extracted the range of the desert/grassland biome transition zone using the random forest method. We used Global Inventory Monitoring and Modelling Studies (GIMMS) data and the fifth-generation atmospheric reanalysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA5) meteorological assimilation data to explore the spatiotemporal characteristics of NDVI and climatic factors (temperature and precipitation). We used the multiple regression residual method to analyze the contributions of human activities and climate change to NDVI. The cellular automation (CA)-Markov model was used to predict the spatial position of the desert/grassland biome transition zone. From 1982 to 2015, the NDVI and temperature increased; no distinct trend was found for precipitation. The climate change and NDVI change trends both showed spatial stratified heterogeneity. Temperature and precipitation had a significant impact on NDVI in the desert/grassland biome transition zone; precipitation and NDVI were positively correlated, and temperature and NDVI were negatively correlated. Both human activities and climate factors influenced vegetation changes. The contribution rates of human activities and climate factors to the increase in vegetation were 97.7% and 48.1%, respectively. Human activities and climate factors together contributed 47.5% to this increase. The CA-Markov model predicted that the area of the desert/grassland biome transition zone in the Sahel region will expand northward and southward in the next 30 years.

The lack of information on plant traits limits our understanding of how plant species and communities will respond to ongoing global changes. The biodiversity-rich Anatolian steppes have remained unexplored in terms of belowground plant traits. We documented the distribution and representation of belowground organs (excluding roots that do not form a bud bank) in Anatolian steppe plants, categorizing them by taxonomic family and growth form. Comparisons and analyses were made using data from the published Flora of Türkiye. Our results show that one-fifth (736 taxa) of all Anatolian steppe plants and one-third (514 taxa) of polycarpic hemicryptophytes bear a belowground organ with clonality or perennation functions. The proportion of belowground organ types varied between growth forms, as polycarpic hemicryptophytes had mainly rhizomes or rootstocks whereas geophytes had bulbs. Some families, such as the Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae and Liliaceae, possessed a specific type of belowground organ, while some others, including the Rosaceae, Caryophyllaceae and Asteraceae, had a higher diversity of belowground organ types. We conclude that the seasonal climate with cold winters and dry summers can be a driver of this belowground organ diversity in Anatolian steppes. The presence of bulbs, rhizomes and tubers appears to be phylogenetically clustered, with the representation of these organs differing between the monocot clade and the eudicot clade; indeed, bulbs and corms are, in this case, exclusive to monocot families. Further measurements of belowground plant traits in the field and laboratory are needed to fully understand the patterns and processes in Anatolian steppe ecosystems.

A palynological and sedimentological record from the Mahwaqa Mountain in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, provides evidence of the vegetation dynamics in this part of the Grassland Biome during the last c. 18,000 years. The wetland is located at 1,850 m on an isolated outlier of the Ukhahlamba–Drakensberg Mountain range on an ecotone along a climatic gradient. The vegetation responded to humidity and temperature changes during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. The period c. 18,000–13,500 cal. BP is characterized by high Ericaceae and Restionaceae percentages and decreasing values of charred particles, indicating cool conditions. Around 13,500–8,500 cal. BP, Ericaceae were gradually replaced by Poaceae, signaling climate warming. Growing environmental wetness during the same time period is inferred from Phragmites-type and Cliffortia pollen percentages. Since c. 8,500 cal. BP, Cliffortia, Restionaceae, and Phragmites-type percentages have maintained low levels. Ericaceae were almost completely replaced by grasses and Asteraceae by c. 7,500 cal. BP. All indications are that warm and fluctuating moisture conditions followed until 4,600 cal. BP but they became driest between c. 4,600 and 3,500 cal. BP, when high Asteraceae, Pentzia-type and Scabiosa percentages were prominent. From c. 3,500–800 cal. BP, the increase of sedges, Aponogeton and grass pollen (including Phragmites-type) at the expense of Asteraceae pollen suggests the return of slightly more humid conditions. Since c. 1,000 cal. BP an increase of water demanding Podocarpus and Cliffortia occurred. Pine pollen indicates the recent introduction of alien plants in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Olea europaea subsp. africana (Mill.) P.S. Green (medium‐sized tree species known as “African wild olive”), provides important ecological goods and services for sustaining frugivores in the grassland biome in South Africa. We speculate that O. europaea subsp. africana's population has been declining due to habitat loss and exploitation for domestic benefits suggesting an unrecognized conservation threat. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the anthropogenic conservation threats for O. europaea subsp. africana in the Free State, South Africa and to determine the potential importance of seed dispersal effectiveness in the restoration of the species in the study area. Overall, the results showed that 39% of the natural habitat range has been transformed by human‐mediated activities. Agricultural activities accounted for 27%, while mining activities and human settlement accounted for 12%, of natural habitat loss. In support of the study predictions, seeds of O. europaea subsp. africana had significantly higher germination and germinated faster after passing through the mammal gut (i.e., 28% and 1.49 per week), compared to other seed treatments (i.e., over 39 weeks). However, there were no statistically significant differences between seed germination of the bird‐ingested seeds, with intact fruits as the experimental control, although both were significantly greater than the de‐pulped seeds. Potential seed dispersal distances by birds were relatively larger, ranging from 9.4 km to 53 km, than those of mammals (1.5 km–4.5 km). We propose that the O. europaea subsp. africana's habitat range may have been declining, and since it is a keystone plant species, we recommend that the complementary seed dispersal services by birds and mammals could be important for its recruitment and restoration in the degraded habitat. Habitat fragmentation threatens the population of Africa wild olive. Vertebrates disperse and improve seed germination restoration efforts may require the collection of seeds ingested by vertebrates to propagate seedlings.

As a conservation strategy, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) establishes biodiversity gardens in areas with unique vegetation types that are vulnerable to extinction. The study aimed to (1) determine the vegetation cover dynamics of the Free State National Botanical Garden (FSNBG) over a 30-year period (1987–2017), focusing on different vegetation classes; (2) evaluate the ecological integrity of the Critical Biodiversity Area 1 (CBA1) vegetation using species abundance and vegetation cover; and (3) quantify potential conservation threats that may be drivers of vegetation cover changes. The “moderate vegetation cover” and “dense vegetation cover” had increased by 25.1 ha and 8.6 ha respectively in the FSNBG. Woody vegetation cover expanded significantly over the past 30-year period, suggesting “bush” encroachment. Shannon–Wiener diversity indices showed high overall plant species diversity of CBA1 vegetation type (H = 3.5), with the vegetation cover remaining high (79.6 ± 15.9%), 50 plant species no longer existing, suggesting reduced taxonomic richness. Major conservation threats included the presence of 27 alien and invasive plant species interspersed within different vegetation patches and anthropogenic habitat fragmentation in the past 19 years (i.e. covering ~ 18% of the buffer zone). We conclude that increased vegetation cover is associated with bush encroachment and we recommend interventions to reduce the population density of woody plants and establish permanent vegetation monitoring plots.

The grassland biome, which is classified as a terrestrial ecosystem, contributes significantly to carbon sequestration. About one third of this ecosystem covers the land surface in south Africa and faces the danger of being eradicated. Much of the pressure is attributed to by synthetic initiatives that seeks to expand the economy of the country thereby meeting the demands of cumulative population. Mining, agriculture, and human settlement are the main characters. Given the paucity of research on the threatened ecosystem, the support vector machine learning algorithm (SVM) is employed to investigate fragmentation from 2016 to 2023. We used Sentinel-2A/B satellite images to learn more about spatial and temporal patterns, as well as the distribution of fragmentation in the grassland biome, using the Google Earth Engine platform. The findings revealed that grassland occupied 66% of the area in 2016, decreased to 52% in 2019, and then increased to 59% by 2023. The inconsistency in the pattern or trend of the grassland class is likely attributable to the expansion of the other classes. The SVM model indicated an overall classification accuracy of 97.62%, 97.66% and 98.58% in 2016, 2019, and 2023, respectively. In contrast, the models developed to relate LAI to NDVI, MSAVI2, OSAVI, and NDRE produced R 2 values of 0.6396, 0.6325, 0.6387, and 0.6344, respectively. An in-depth understanding of the fragmentation patterns observed in grasslands yields valuable information for the formulation of conservation strategies, sustainable land-use planning, and climate-resilient management approaches aimed at safeguarding South Africa's distinctive grassland ecosystems.

A new project maps mobility patterns and social networks from prehistory to historical times in the western piedmont of the Maloti-Drakensberg, South Africa, and considers how rock art sites relate to seasonal or transhumance patterns in the region.

The genus Fusarium hosts a large number of economically significant phytopathogens with a global distribution. Surprisingly, only a limited number of studies have tried to identify the natural distribution of members of this genus in undisturbed soils. Members of the Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC) are increasingly associated with plant disease, and human and animal health problems. Recently, an outbreak of kikuyu poisoning of cattle was attributed to the F. incarnatum-equiseti species complex. Thus, it is of importance to identify the natural distribution of members of the FIESC from the environment. The aim of this study was to use the phylogenetic signal within the TEF 1α gene region to characterise 54 F. incarnatum-equiseti isolates obtained from undisturbed soils from the grassland biome of South Africa. These isolates were further compared with members of the FIESC previously associated with kikuyu poisoning of cattle. The phylogenetic analysis indicated a high level of variation within this species complex. Several members were closely related to isolates implicated in the death of cattle from infected kikuyu grass.