Resource information
The purpose of this review is to outline the status quo regarding multifunctional and social demands on grasslands. The products and services that grassland ecosystems can provide society are detailed. Existing agro-policies are reviewed as to how they reflect social demands on grasslands. A farm level analysis considers many factors that may influence the fulfilment of social demands. Conclusions are drawn on the future of grassland use under different socioeconomic conditions. Traditional (meat, milk, fibre, medicinal plants, fuel and power) and non-traditional (branded products, biodiversity as gene pool and biomass for energy) products are identified. Services of grasslands are summarized at three different levels viz. globally (regulation of climate, air quality, water resources, soil health, carbon sequestration and maintaining biodiversity), regionally (aesthetic and landscape values) and locally (preservation of cultural heritage and maintenance of the significance of religion for pastoralism). Targeted policies are emerging that assist in sustaining healthy grassland ecosystems and fulfilling multifunctional demands at different social levels. In spite of these policies, the future of the world's grasslands seems to vary by country, according to the level of development. In poor countries, production from grassland will remain of vital importance (in some cases, with the threat of ecosystem degradation), while at the same time, ecological and amenity uses of grassland appear to be ignored. Trends in the function of grassland ecosystems in developed countries seem to be just the opposite. The importance of production is declining, while ecological and amenity functions receive increasing attention in response to multifunctional and social demands.
