**2. What are grasslands?**

Grasslands constitute one of the primary and largest biomasses on earth which dominate all types of natural landscapes on all habitat-able continents of the world except Antarctica. In simplest words, grasslands may be defined as areas whereby the most dominant vegetation are grasses belonging to the family *Poaceae*, however, other flora such as various types of sedges of *Cyperaceae* family along with different rushes classified in *Juncaceae* family can also constitute a minor chunk of local ecoregion. Additionally, grasslands being the habitat of biodiversity (flora and fauna) may also contain variable proportions of legumes species belonging to *Fabaceae* (*Leguminosae*) and various other herbs. Grasslands have also been described as terrestrial ecosystems, which are dominated by various herbaceous vegetation and different kinds of shrubs whereby plant species biodiversity gets regulated and maintained by factors such as grazing intensity, fire, grazing, and temperatures

(scorching and chilling), rainfall intensity and distribution, etc. Furthermore, semi-natural grasslands are formed owing to human activities (mowing and grazing), while environmental growth conditions (temperature, precipitation, relative humidity,) and natural processes such as fire, floods, drought, etc. determine the species pool and genetic diversity of grass species [11].

## **3. Classification of grasslands**

Unimproved grasslands are dominated by unsown plant species and wild vegetation communities and can be either natural (having no planned grazing or mowing, over-seeding, etc.) or semi-natural (natural plant communities such as grasses, sedges, rushes, and herbs that are maintained by anthropogenic activities including grazing and planned biomass harvesting regimes) grasslands.

Another type of major grassland is tropical grasslands that are situated around the equator (between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn) in the interior of continents. These serve as a point of segregation between rainforests and deserts. These are also known by the name of Savannahs. These witness tropical continental climates and have alternate wet and dry seasons. Examples include hot savannas of sub-Saharan Africa and the northern grasslands of Australia (called rangelands). In contrast, temperate grasslands are found in the north of the tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn. These grasslands have a cooler climate compared to Savannahs, which is called temperate continental climate. Examples include North American prairies, Eurasian steppes, and Argentine pampas. In addition, tundra grasslands also referred to as polar grasslands are located in higher altitudes in subarctic regions having a very short vegetation growing season. Furthermore, the grassland found above the tree-line at high altitudes is commonly known by the name montane (literal meaning of high altitude) grasslands. The plant species of these grasslands are quite unique in the agrobotanical structure having specific dish-like formation along with the presence of thick waxy surface plant area. A typical example of montane grasslands include Northern Andes. Moreover, xeric grasslands, also called desert grasslands, are located around the desert low lands. Lastly, flooded grasslands tend to have abundant water throughout the year and contain a variety of vegetation that thrives well in water. Numerous types of water birds frequently migrate to flooded grasslands, while a typical example includes the everglades grassland, which is referred to as the world's largest flooded grassland [12].
