Poaceae are dominant are estimated to constitute 40.5% of the land area of the Earth, excluding Greenland and Antarctica. Grasses are also an important part of the vegetation in many other habitats, including wetlands, forests and tundra. The Poaceae are the most economically important plant family, providing staple foods from domesticated cereal crops such as maize, wheat, rice, barley, and millet as well as forage, building materials (bamboo, thatch, straw) and fuel (ethanol). Though they are commonly called "grasses", seagrasses, rushes, and sedges fall outside this family. The rushes and sedges are related to the Poaceae, being members of the order
Detection of genetically modified organisms near infrared light, chemical bonds in the sample vibrate and re-release the light energy at a wavelength characteristic for a specific molecule or chemical bond. It is not yet known if the differences between GMOs and conventional plants are large enough to detect with NIR imaging. Although the technique would require advanced machinery and data processing tools, a non-chemical approach could have some advantages such as lower costs and enhanced speed and mobility. The Cantons of Switzerland perform tests to assess the presence of genetically modified organisms in foodstuffs. In 2008, 3% of the tested samples contained detectable amounts of