CAMROSE & EDMONTON — More than half of North America’s grasslands have been lost to development and agriculture. A new research hub at the University of Alberta aims to help conserve what remains of this critical ecosystem.
The Grassland Learning and Knowledge Hub will investigate the drivers behind conservation success and failure, according to lead researcher John Pattison-Williams, an adjunct professor at Augustana Campus in Camrose. By partnering with the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Indigenous-led RAD Network, researchers across the U of A will foster a community-based approach to sharing lessons from past land-use initiatives.
Important for capturing harmful greenhouse gases, supporting bird and wildlife biodiversity and providing grazing land for cattle, grasslands are among the most endangered ecosystems in the world, says Pattison-Williams.
“Globally about 30 to 50 per cent of the Earth’s surface is grasslands and in North America, about 60 per cent of those have been cropped or lost to transportation corridors or urban development.”
“As we lose these grasslands, we want to understand the values and concerns of the people that live on the prairies — Indigenous communities, farmers and ranchers — to get localized knowledge on why grasslands are important to them and what could impact their decisions if they are converting that land.”
The research conducted through the hub will explore multiple factors ranging from social and cultural values held by landowners such as succession planning, family stories and faith-related or spiritual beliefs, to what economic drivers are influencing landowner decisions.
“We want to talk to farmers to understand what their profitability is when they keep or convert grasslands,” Pattison-Williams says. “Understanding the financial motivations could help create an incentive-based policy to help conservation.”
The hub is supported by a $4-million grant from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund and is one of five set up across Canada dedicated to conserving grasslands, wetlands, forestry and promoting Indigenous-led knowledge.
More details can be found here. To speak with John Pattison-Williams, please contact:
Sarah Vernon | University of Alberta Media Strategist | svernon@ualberta.ca