The role of livestock farming in the conservation of wet grasslands and the ecosystem services they provide

Wet grasslands are managed for livestock farming. They have been heavily drained in the past and their abandonment is now the main threat. Extensive management allows the conservation of these open ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide, such as hosting a diverse fauna and flora, the production of quality fodder, the regulation of water flows and quality, pollination and carbon storage. The services are not all synergistic and there is no ideal habitat for all the services provided. However, the diversity of habitats, sometimes within the same marsh, makes it possible to offer interesting levels of services at the landscape scale. Wet grassland conservation depends above all on maintaining livestock farming with extensive management in marshy areas.