Grass species in pristine and agricultural landscapes are essential for biodiversity, soil quality and food production. For instance, grass flowers provide food for honeybees, grass roots decrease soil erosion and clean polluted waters, and grass diversity is known to influence the good taste of milk. It is therefore important to understand how grass species emerge, disappear and adapt to changing environmental conditions and agricultural practices. Da Silveira Pontes et al. review the latest advances on plant strategies in grasslands, using a recent scientific discipline named functional ecology.
