Routledge Handbook of Grasslands

This comprehensive handbook represents a definitive state of the art overview of grasslands from multiple, interdisciplinary and global perspectives.

Despite the real and intrinsic values that grasslands offer, they are globally subject to fragmentation, habitat and species loss, and they are increasingly threatened by climate change. From a human societal perspective, grasslands are central to much of our culture and represent areas where agriculture first arose. The Routledge Handbook of Grasslands brings together an interdisciplinary team of global authors to present a much needed and vitally important overview of the new and ongoing debates around the values of and threats to grasslands. Reflecting the broad range of issues, debates and threats, the handbook is divided into five parts:

Part I: Deep Roots, Dynamic Futures: Understanding the Science of Grasslands
Part II: Living Complexity: Grassland Function, Biodiversity, and Renewal
Part III: Working Landscapes: Innovation and Tradition in Grassland Stewardship
Part IV: Social-Ecological Ties: Grassland Services, Justice, and Governance
Part V: Landscapes of Meaning: Cultural and Creative Perspectives on Grasslands

Drawing on the experience of researchers, practitioners and managers, the handbook is the only grassland-oriented text to include social, economic, policy, and cultural value dimensions of grasslands, as well as an up-to-date coverage of the agronomy and ecology of these environments. The handbook concludes with a forward-thinking chapter which discusses the future of grasslands, further directions, threats and innovations.

The Routledge Handbook of Grasslands is essential reading for students and scholars of grassland ecology, management and conservation as well as policy and management practitioners involved in grassland management and governance, as well as natural resources more broadly.

Author Biography

Heather A. Hager is an ecologist and natural sciences research facilitator at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, and an award-winning textile artist.

David J. Gibson is a plant ecologist and Emeritus in the School of Life Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA. He is the author of Grasses and Grassland Ecology (2009) and co-editor of Grasslands and Climate Change (2019).

Jonathan A. Newman is a temperate grassland ecologist and Vice President: Research at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. He is co-author of Defending Biodiversity (2017) and co-editor of Grasslands and Climate Change (2019).