Recent estimates have ranged from 18 to 80% of the planet's total land area are rangelands. The wide variation has been attributed to the base number used, the source of the data, and the definition of rangelands. The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment estimated that Drylands (uncultivated lands, scrublands, shrublands, grasslands, savannas, semideserts, and true deserts) cover 41% of the Earth's land surface. A recent article discusses the issues involved in answering this simple question. See Lund, H.G. 2007. Accounting for the World's Rangelands. Rangelands 29(1):3-10.
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