the Best Biome

The Best Biome Podcast

Three prairie biologists make the ever-growing argument for why grasslands are the world’s best biome.

Nicole, Rachel, and Allan discuss the deep evolutionary history of the plains, the intricacies of unique grassland ecosystems, and frequently just lose our minds about absurdities like ostriches stealing each other’s children.

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The Best Biome

Three prairie biologists make the ever-growing argument for why grasslands are the world’s best biome. Features hosts Rachel Roth, Nicole Brown, and Allan Saylor of Kansas-based nonprofit Grassland Groupies.

Desertification is a major threat to many grasslands, so let’s study the best real-world example: The Horqin Grassland, aka the Horqin Sandy Lands. How has this landscape changed over time, what can it teach us about the future of arid grasslands, and which approaches by Inner Mongolia and China to fight desertification give us hope? We love a hopeful story, and this certainly is one.

Primary Sources:

Chen, Q., Yang, X., Kwon, S., Li, Y., Liu, J., & Zhang, K. (2023). Woody plant cover trends and potential drivers in the Horqin Temperate Steppe, Northeast China: Remote Sensing-based computation and modeling. Ecological Indicators, 146, 109789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109789
Huang, W., He, Y., Wang, H., Zhao, X., & Zhu, Y. (2023). Long-term effects of restoration on the links between above-and belowground biodiversity in degraded Horqin Sandy Grassland, northern China. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1128187
Li, J., Xu, B., Yang, X. et al. Historical grassland desertification changes in the Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China (1985–2013). Sci Rep 7, 3009 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03267-x
https://www.scitepress.org/PublishedPapers/2021/110202/110202.pdf

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