ACT LOCALLY: HOW TO ENJOY THE BENEFITS OF NATIVE GRASSLANDS IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD

Article and imagery by WWF. Source

Grasslands are a stealth hero in Canada’s efforts to take on the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The native grasses and wildflowers of native prairie and savannah ecosystems have deep, sturdy root structures, which capture and store carbon from the air, stimulate the growth of valuable fungi and bacteria in the soil, and make the ground they grow in more absorbent of floodwater and heavy rains.

These traits also make these grasslands highly drought-resilient — once established, they require less watering than most other plants, and tend to thrive in hotter urban environments. In addition, these wild habitats create vital nesting and foraging grounds for at-risk birds, pollinators, and other wildlife.

Yet native prairie and savannah ecosystems are one of the most threatened types of habitat in Canada. In some areas of Ontario, land-use changes have caused native prairie, meadow and grasslands systems to decline by up to 99 per cent. And the impacts can be devastating — across Canada, grassland birds have declined by 57 per cent since 1970.

The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA), a three-year participant in WWF-Canada’s Nature and Climate Grant Program (presented in partnership with Aviva Canada), is working hard to change that.

Five years ago, there were only 76 hectares of native grassland left in the 370,000-hectare Nottawasaga Valley Watershed north of Toronto. Thanks in large part to the NVCA’s work with landowners, partners and volunteers, the grasslands acreage in the area has nearly tripled since then.

We talked to Shannon Stephens, the NVCA’s Healthy Waters Program Coordinator, to learn more about the organization’s work, better understand what makes grasslands so amazing, and get advice on how you can introduce them into your own home or community.

Let’s start with… what exactly is a grassland?

The term “grassland” spans different sorts of ecosystems filled with grasses and wildflowers, with very few trees and shrubs. It can mean fields of tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, for example, and it also can mean meadows that tend to be a little bit more wildflower-filled, with richer soils. It’s that mix of both native grasses as well as forbs (herbaceous flowering plants) and wildflowers. These systems can be very, very diverse, with dozens and dozens of species — much more than just grasses.

Why are grasslands so important to your work with the NVCA?

We serve a full watershed that’s got a lot of different land uses in it, including many types of natural systems. We want it to be a functional, biodiverse and flood-resilient landscape. And a big part of that depends on spongy soil — a term we use to describe soil that can absorb lots of water.

Unfortunately, some practices and land uses have caused organic matter to drop in our soils, which contribute to the soil getting compacted. It’s easy to see how something like a road or paved surface doesn’t absorb water, but we were surprised to find that when we tested many farm fields, it wasn’t much better. That’s why when you have a rainfall event, you get flooding. With impermeable urban areas on the rise, and with extensive areas of compacted soil elsewhere, this poses a real problem.

Enter our surprising hero! Native grasses and wildflowers are really good at making soils spongier. When they make sugar from sunlight, carbon and water, they don’t just feed themselves. They also share these with the soil food web. Soil bacteria, insects and fungi therefore thrive, adding organic matter, and also creating a good soil structure that is much more porous. So, when you do get rain, there’s a good sort of infrastructure there to absorb it.

Every one per cent increase in a soil’s organic matter can hold about 25,000 more gallons of water per acre — that makes a big difference.

Are there biodiversity benefits as well?

Yes! Native grasslands can support a huge diversity of species. Research shows native plants typically support 10 to 100 times more species than non-native plants.

And you can hear the difference. We often ask landowners to go out in the summer before they participate in a restoration project and just listen for 10 minutes — and maybe also record audio — to hear what’s happening. And then we ask them to do it again a few years later, once the native grasses and flowers are growing. It’s often very silent beforehand, and then once we restore these ecosystems in, you can hear all the different birds and insects that are supported. These grasslands support a living natural symphony!

Click here to read the rest of the article on the WWF website!

Image from WWF. Source