Indigenous temperate grasslands are one of the world’s great ecosystems – or so they used to be. Indigenous temperate grasslands are now considered the most altered biome on the planet. The temperate grasslands biome occupies 9 million sq.km or ~ 8% of the earth’s terrestrial surface. But of this 8%, only 3.4% are currently protected within the global system of protected areas. 3.4% is even less than half of he next poorly represented ecosystem, Mediterranean forests and woodlands. After cradling the needs of humans for centuries, indigenous temperate grasslands are now the earth’s most endangered ecosystem.