Grasses are certainly different things to different people. This is fine as long as we all are clear about the important role they play in nature and in our lives. Simply, grasses are important in 3 respects – they are an important source of food for man; they play an important ecological role in nature; and they are good protectors of the soil against soil erosion. It has been said that if all the plants on earth were to disappear and only the grasses remained, man would still be able to survive. Grasses are flowering plants which, because of their adaption to wind pollination, have flowers that are considerably reduced in size and lack the colourful bracts so typical of many flowers. Grasses belong to the family Poaceae, which is the fifth largest plant family on earth.
The greatest value of grass is perhaps the role that grass plays in stabilising and protecting the soil and for this reason the grass family is probably the most important plant family on earth .Today South Africa is faced with its grassland biome being under serious threat, mainly from urban encroachment.
* 25 per cent of the Earth is covered by the grassland biome
* There is a grassland biome on each continent with the exception of Antarctica
* Periodic fires, whether they are induced by man or occur spontaneously, are very important to the grassland to ensure that invasive plants do not take over
Grasslands, (also known locally as grassveld) are mostly devoid of trees, except in a few localised habitats. Bulbs (geophytes) are often abundant. Frosts, fire and grazing maintain the grass dominance and prevent the establishment of trees.
*Sweet grasses, maintain their nutrients in the leaves in winter and are therefore palatable to grazers.
*Sour grasses; tend to withdraw their nutrients from the leaves during winter so they are unpalatable to grazers. Sour grasses tend to be found where rainfall is higher, in mist belts and on more acidic soils.