Grasslands are indispensable biomes providing critical ecosystem services, yet their ecological integrity is increasingly threatened. Despite extensive but fragmented research on services, biodiversity, and management drivers, a translational framework to guide governance remains elusive. This review introduces the Governance Levers Matrix, a novel, integrative decision-support framework designed to bridge this gap. We synthesize knowledge across three domains ecosystem services, biodiversity indicators, and governance mechanisms into a three-dimensional matrix linking desired outcomes (services), measurable states (indicators), and actionable interventions (levers). Our analysis reveals that effective stewardship requires multi-scale coordination, as field-level management is often constrained by landscape context and policy architecture. Key insights include the explicit mapping of trade-offs (e.g., forage production vs. species richness) and synergies (e.g., biodiversity enhancing carbon sequestration), and the critical role of collective action. We demonstrate that prevailing policy instruments, such as agri-environment schemes, frequently underperform by neglecting this multi-scale logic. The matrix thus provides a structured tool for diagnosing governance failures, designing targeted interventions, and navigating complex socio-ecological trade-offs. We conclude with targeted recommendations for policy reform including a shift to outcome-based incentives and landscape-scale coordination and a research agenda focused on quantifying matrix relationships and integrating climate adaptation. This framework advances grassland science from descriptive ecology toward prescriptive, evidence-based governance.

Keywords: Grassland governance; Ecosystem services; Biodiversity indicators; Multi-scale management; Policy integration; Socio-ecological systems.