Grasslands could shrink by up to 50% due to climate change

Grasslands are often overlooked, but they are home to 40% of earth’s land surface excluding Antarctica and Greenland but are shrinking due to climate change.

According to earth.org, grasslands “will contract by anywhere between 36–50% due to the impacts of climate change.” Another major cause of grassland degradation is agricultural development where grasslands are converted into row crops like corn or wheat.

Low-income countries, specifically in Africa will be most affected and hardest hit, threating food security and livelihoods.

Even at best case scenario (in Africa) where actually reduce emissions, grasslands may shrink by 16%. In a world where don’t take much action, in which case emissions will rise, grasslands may shrink by 65%. Keep in mind that they support 1.5 billion animals and are crucial to reducing emissions as they are carbon sinks. According to the WWF, “Grasslands store between 20 and 34 percent of the global terrestrial carbon, three times more carbon than tropical rainforests.”