Mapa rozmieszczenia obszarów trawiastych na kuli ziemskiej

One of the important issues in the cartography of vegetation is the presentation of range of singular formations in small scales for the sake of teaching and popularization. The biggest difficulty in elaborating such tasks consists in the necessity of broad generalizations, both quantitative and qualitative. The article describes the methods and partially discusses the course of limits on the map ofn grasslands on the Earth. The map was done on the basis of general maps in atlases, consulting more detailed works in some cases. It is a modified version of the map done by J. Plit, F. Plit, published in the „Ecosystems of the World” (vol. 17 A, Bremeyer A. I. ed., Managed Grasslands. Regional Studies, Elsevier 1990). The map, reflecting the grade of Human transformation of grassland areas distinguishes 4 types of grasslands: A. Man-made grasslands on surfaces orginally occupied by forests (in exceptional situations by deserts) B. Natural grasslands, heavily transformed (natural grasslands in the past, today transformed in fields) C. Natural grasslands, heavily transformed but still occupied by grasses, degradated in high degree D. Natural grasslands, slightly transformed, fragments of grassland not transformed Areas occupied by formations dominated by dwarf shrubs (such as tundra), bushes and forest of miombo type have not been classified as grasslands. The situation of areas classified as the same type on different continents varies. The wide Latin American and Australian grasslands classified as „D” type tend to evolve towards „C” type (strong degradation). In Europe, this type consists in small islands of highland meadows, in most cases strictly protected.