Natural grasslands used for grazing livestock can mitigate climate change | Science

Natural grasslands cover about 40% of the Earth’s land surface. Grassland plants have largely coevolved with wild grazing animals, making these ecosystems generally well-adapted to grazing livestock. Evidence shows that when grazing is properly managed — such as avoiding soil tillage, excessive grazing intensity, and high nitrogen fertilizer inputs — grasslands can function as net carbon sinks, even after accounting formethane emissions from livestock. If parts of this vast grassland area are managed with grazing practices that maintain this role, the potential global benefits for climate change mitigation could be substantial. However, despite growing attention and evidence on the role of grasslands, efforts to reduce climate change from land use have mostly focused on forests. In contrast, grasslands worldwide have been targeted for conversion to tree plantations and cropland, and livestock has generally been seen as a major source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.