USask AgBio research: Saving Prairie grasslands

As the United Nations spotlights the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers are in a race against time to preserve vital lands and resources.

One of the most iconic images of the Western Canadian Prairies is undoubtedly herds of cattle or bison, grazing placidly on wide fields stretching as far as the eye can see.

While a road trip across the plains still brings such sights, few may realize those fields are under extreme pressure, while also increasingly being reduced in size and number.

Before the 1800s, herds of millions of bison roamed the Great Plains, contributing to widely diverse flora and fauna in rangeland ecosystems. In fact, pre-colonization, Canada had 61 million hectares of native grassland; now, there are 11 million, or less than 20 per cent.

Researchers in the USask College of Agriculture and Bioresources are seeking ways to preserve, protect and improve those lands.

“No landscape in Canada is more impacted by human activity,” said Dr. Eric Lamb (PhD), professor in the Department of Plant Sciences.

Only one to five per cent of grasslands on the most fertile prairie soils remain intact today, he said.