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Occupying 70% of cultivable surfaces on the planet and 13 million hectares in France, grassland, primarily used by wild and domestic ruminants, is one of the key components of agro-ecological transition, through its many productive functions, landscape, stimulating biodiversity, regulating biogeochemical cycles etc.

Its operation during the year and services are highly dependent on the phenology of the plants that make it up. Phenology, in interaction with the climate, controls the productivity of grass, its quality and therefore co-determines the rate of operation to which the herds’ schedule is subjected.

Moreover, this phenology is very different within each species for certain stages such as ear emergence or the start of vegetation after winter.

Furthermore, climate change modifies the cycles of temperatures, conditions of growth in the spring and severely disrupts interactions between the varieties and populations as well as the climate to which they were adapted.

Objectives:

To monitor and record, understand and properly simulate these interactions is precisely the main purpose of the Grassland Observatory as part of the Environmental Research, Experimentation and Observation System TEMPO.  

Beyond that, the Observatory wants to give more visibility to the data collected on phenomena that mark the life of the grasslands (poaceae, legumes, other dicotyledoneae, etc.).

Finally, the Grassland Observatory may take interest in rhythms related to farming and schedules of the farmers  using these resources (calving, grazing, seasonal moving to summer pastures, etc.). 

^{John Duke of Bedford /Illustrated with dried specimens of the plants upon which these experiments have been made, and practical observations on their natural habits, and the soils best adapted to their growth ; pointing out the kinds most profitable for permanent pasture, irrigated meadows, dry or upland pasture, and the alternate husbandry ; accompanied with the discriminating characters of the species, and varieties. By George Sinclair.}

Managers : 

• Jean-Louis DURAND, Responsable de l’observatoire, Unité de Recherches Pluridisciplinaires Prairies et Plantes Fourragères, INRAE, Lusignan, jean-louis.durand@inrae.fr