Sustainable Livestock Grazing Helps Stem Biodiversity Loss

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American Institute of Biological Sciences

edited by Alexander Pol

Editors' notes

Nov. 22, 2025

A new analysis published in the journal BioScience challenges conventional conservation approaches by demonstrating that traditional livestock grazing on rangelands represents a crucial but often overlooked strategy for protecting global biodiversity.

Dr. David D. Briske of Texas A&M University and colleagues argue that rangelands harbor far more biodiversity than is recognized in international conservation frameworks. "Sixty-seven percent of biodiversity hotspots and 38% of key biodiversity areas globally include rangelands, but international conventions seldom recognize this vast biodiversity repository," the authors write.

Rangelands cover 54% of Earth's land surface and support the livelihoods of approximately 500 million people. Despite these landscapes' vast extent, only 12% of rangelands receive formal protection, leaving countless resident species unprotected.

The authors describe four key synergies between pastoralism and biodiversity conservation: working lands conservation that complements existing protected areas, the continuation of vital disturbance regimes through grazing and fire, connectivity through traditional migration corridors, and community-led governance systems that use local knowledge to maintain biodiversity and ecological function. Notably, the authors emphasize that "rangelands represent approximately 50% of Earth's remaining ecologically intact ecosystems."

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