Grassy biomes
Grassy biomes span ~40% of the global land surface. Grasslands, savannas and shrublands are critical to livelihoods, economics, biodiversity and Earth System functioning.
Across grassy biomes globally, the composition, structure and biomass of the ground layer vary as a product of antecedent rainfall, time of year, local conditions, disturbance and the history of human use. Appropriate management in the context of fire, animals and human use requires an understanding of the composition, structure and functioning of the ground layer.
Data about grasses and forbs are not always collected despite the ground layer driving processes central to shaping the dynamics of these ecosystems. Lack of consistency in data stems from sites of varied size and organisation, and where plots variably record composition limiting the comparability and utility of data from different collection efforts.
The Global Grassy Group (GGG)
This network gathers ecologists and biologists aiming to standardise and improve vegetation sampling in grassy biomes. We host a database of ground-layer species composition data collected across different environmental gradients such as rainfall, fire and land-use.
On this website, you can find our suggested sampling protocols, a workflow for undertaking fieldwork and managing data, and publications that used GGG.
If you would like to contribute your data to GGG, please read our participation guide and contact us.
Herbaria
As part of the GGG protocol, we collect plant specimens that are subsequently deposited in international and regional herbaria.
The map below shows herbaria that we currently collaborate with to curate collections of specimens and confirm plant identifications.