Links re conserving grassy places
There are some excellent resources available to people who want to learn about or contribute to the conservation of our endangered and under-appreciated grassy ecosystems.
Land of Sweeping Plains: Managing and Restoring the Native Grasslands of South-eastern Australia (Williams et al. 2015). This book is just fabulous - 450 pages packed with information, pictures, and case studies. 14 chapters by 15 people at the forefront of grasslands research, conservation and restoration. Considers both ecological and social contexts. It’s readable but not dumbed down. I can’t recommend it highly enough. The only disappointing thing about this book is that it doesn’t cover the subtropics.
Grasslands: Biodiversity of South-Eastern Australia. This website / app is a companion to the book above. Again it is super impressive, with detailed information on grassland communities, grassland species (plants and animals) and individual grasslands.
Jewels in the Landscape: Managing very high conservation value ground-layers in grassy Box-Gum Woodlands (Prober and Stol 2015). Ecologist Suzanne Prober has spent decades researching the ecology of grassy woodlands in the central-west of NSW. This guide includes lots of beautiful photos, and a nuanced discussion of fire.
Victoria is a hotspot for grassland conservation. Here’s the website of the Victorian Volcanic Plains Conservation Management Network. Lots of material and links. This information sheet about fire management is one of many, covering a wide range of topics.
Much of our nation’s capital, Canberra, is built on top of Aussie grasslands and grassy woodlands. Increasingly, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is conserving their grassy ecosystems, and figuring out how to manage them. The Ginninderra Catchment Group is a good example. Follow the links to find out more about fire management in Canberra grasslands. The whole site is worth exploring.
Worlds End Conservation in South Australia owns and manages rare semi-arid grasslands and grassy woodlands. Check out their organisational set-up; it’s unusual and works well.
The Tasmanian Land Conservancy also owns and manages rare grassland, this time in the high country of Tasmania's north-west. The three videos linked from this page all celebrate the Vale of Belvoir. All mention fire; the middle one is particularly about ecological burning.
This link is one of very few about the grasslands of Queensland’s Darling Downs. More power to Cambooya Landcare!
“Tropical grassy biomes: misunderstood, neglected and under threat” (Parr et al. 2014). This article focuses on grassy vegetation in the tropics, but much of its content is relevant to grasslands and grassy woodlands in subtropical and temperate regions.
“Ecological thresholds at the savanna‐forest boundary: how plant traits, resources and fire govern the distribution of tropical biomes” (Hoffmann et al. 2012). How do the various factors associated with woody plant encroachment into grassy ecosystems, fit together? This article proposes an elegant model that matches what I've seen in Australia.
Open Ecosystems: Ecology and Evolution beyond the Forest Edge (Bond 2019). They know a thing or two about grassy ecosystems in Africa. If you want to learn about these biomes worldwide, this book by South African ecologist William Bond is highly informative.
“The future for natural temperate grasslands lies in the seeds that we sow to create diverse, connected communities of vibrant and committed grassland custodians.”
- Ian Lunt, in Land of Sweeping Plains