“Manisa bozaka” or “Counting grass”: Global Grassy Group guide to understanding and measuring the functional and taxonomic composition of ground layer plants.

Abstract

• Grassy biomes span more than 40% of the global land surface and are central to people, biodiversity and Earth System functioning. There is however limited standardised measurement of herbaceous taxonomic and functional composition in grassy biomes that inhibits the development of a comparative understanding of grassy biomes among geographic regions. Here, we present a protocol for the measurement of herbaceous richness and composition to motivate for much needed data standardisation in the measurement of grassy biomes. The data collection protocol and associated data management system are designed to have utility for fields of research ranging from phylogenetics and taxonomy to functional, community and ecosystem ecology. The described data collection protocol links to a data management system designed to foster collaboration and equity among biologists and ecologists working on herbaceous plants and grassy biomes.