Grasslands

Grassland
- Areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses
- Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of grasses,
flowers and herbs.
- generally open and continuous, fairly flat areas of grass
- Often located between temperate forests at high
latitudes and desserts at subtropical latitudes
- Vary in size from 2.1m (7Ft) tall
- Roots extending down into the soil 1.8m (6ft.)
- Short grasses has a height of only 20- 25cm (8-10in) tall,
roots that extend 1m( about 3 feet)
- Average temperature : -20c to -30
- A grassland is a region where the average annual
precipitation is great enough to support grasses, and
in some areas a few trees.
- Grasses can survive fires because they grow from the
bottom instead of the top. Their stems can grow again
after being burned off.
- The soil of most grasslands is also too thin and dry for
trees to survive.
Two main division of
grassland
1. Tropical grasslands
(savanna)
Two main division of
grassland

2. Temperate grasslands
 1. Tropical grasslands
(savanna)

Location :
near the equator, between the Tropic of
Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
They cover much of Africa as well as large
areas of Australia, South America, and India.
 1. Tropical grasslands
(savanna)

Climate:
are found in tropical wet and dry climates.
These areas are hot year-round, usually never
dropping under 64 degrees Farenheit.
Areas are overall very dry, they do have a
season of heavy rain. Annual rainfall is from
20-50 inches per year.
If the rain were well distributed throughout
the year, many such areas would become
tropical forest.
 1. Tropical grasslands
(savanna)

Soil
is porous, with rapid drainage of water.
It has only a thin layer of humus (the organic
portion of the soil created by partial
decomposition of plant or animal matter),
which provides vegetation with nutrients.
 1. Tropical grasslands
(savanna)

Plants:
dominated by grasses, often 3 to 6 feet tall at
maturity.
They may have some drought-resistant, fire-
resistant or browse-resistant trees, or they
may have an open shrub layer.
They develop in regions where the climax
community should be forest, but drought and
fire prevent the establishment of many trees.
 1. Tropical grasslands
(savanna)

Animals
include giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, kangaroos,
mice, moles, gophers, ground squirrels,
snakes, worms, termites, beetles, lions,
leopards, hyenas, and elephants. The world's
greatest diversity of is found on the savannas
of Africa. The antelopes are especially diverse
and include eland, impalas, gazelles oryx,
gerenuk and kudu. Buffalo, wildebeest, plains
zebra, rhinos, giraffes,
 1. Tropical grasslands
(savanna)

elephants and warthogs are among other

herbivores of the African savanna. Carnivores
include lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, wild
dogs and hyenas. Termites are especially
abundant in the tropical grasslands of the
world.
 1. Tropical grasslands
(savanna)

Threats:
Poaching, overgrazing and clearing of the land
for crops are the main threats. About 16
percent of tropical grasslands have been
converted for agriculture or urban
development. Desertification is also a
significant threat.
 2. TEMPERATE
GRASSLANDS

Location:
located north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5
degrees North) and south of the Tropic of
Capricorn (23.5 degrees South).
Major temperate grasslands include the
veldts of Africa, the pampas of South
America, the steppes of Eurasia, and the
plains of North America.
 2. TEMPERATE
GRASSLANDS

Climate:
Have hot summers and cold winters.
Summer temperatures can be well over 100 degrees
Fahrenheit
Winter temperatures can be as low as -40 degrees
Fahrenheit.
typically have between 10 and 35 inches of
precipitation a year, much of it occurring in the late
spring and early summer. Snow often serves as a
reservoir of moisture for the beginning of the growing
season. Seasonal drought and occasional fires help
maintain these grasslands.
 2. TEMPERATE
GRASSLANDS

Soil:
Are nutrient-rich from the growth and decay
of deep, many-branched grass roots.
The rotted roots hold the soil together and
provide a food source for living plants.
The world's most fertile soils underlie the
eastern prairies of the U.S., the pampas of
South America, and the steppes of Ukraine
and Russia
 2. TEMPERATE
GRASSLANDS

Plants:
Grasses are the dominant vegetation.
Trees and large shrubs are largely absent.
Seasonal drought, occasional fires and grazing by
large mammals all prevent woody shrubs and
trees from becoming established.
A few trees such as cottonwoods, oaks and
willows grow in river valleys, and a few hundred
species of flowers grow among the grasses.
 2. TEMPERATE
GRASSLANDS

Plants:
The various species of grasses include purple
needlegrass, blue grama, buffalo grass, and
galleta. Flowers include asters, blazing stars,
coneflowers, goldenrods, sunflowers, clovers,
psoraleas, and wild indigos.
 2. TEMPERATE
GRASSLANDS

Animals:
Temperate grasslands have a low diversity of
wildlife, but a high abundance of wildlife.
In North America the dominant grazing animals
are bison and pronghorn. Rodents include
pocket gophers and prairie dogs. Carnivores
include wolves, coyotes, swift foxes, badgers and
black-footed ferrets. Birds include grouses,
meadowlarks, quails, sparrows, hawks and owls.
 2. TEMPERATE
GRASSLANDS

Threats:
Overgrazing by livestock and plowing are the two
greatest threats to temperate grasslands.
Since the development of the steel plow much of
these grasslands have been converted to
agricultural lands because of their rich soil.
About 47 percent of temperate grasslands have
been converted to agriculture or urban
development. Lack of fire and fragmentation are
also threats, as is past and present wildlife
eradication
 2. TEMPERATE
GRASSLANDS

Threats:
(including the bison slaughter of the 1800s and
ongoing prairie dog poisoning in North Americas
plains).
Lack of fire and fragmentation are also threats, as
is past and present wildlife eradication (including
the bison slaughter of the 1800s and ongoing
prairie dog poisoning in North Americas plains).
COMMON SPECIES
FOUND IN
GRASSLANDS
Bumble Bee
Genus: Bombus
Species:
bimaculatus
Bald Eagle
Common Names: Fish
Eagle, Sea Eagle
Genus: Haliaeetus
Species: leucocephalus
Bobcat
Genus: Felis
Species: rufus
Coyote
Genus: Canis
Species: latrans
Prairie Dog
Genus: Canis
Species: latrans
Big Bluestem Grass
Common Names: Turkey
Feet, Beard Grass
Genus: Andropogon
Species: gerardii

Parts Used: used for erosion control, browsing and as decorative plant.
Blue Grama Grass
Genus: Bouteloua
Species: gracilis
Parts Used: used for erosion control, browsing and as
decorative plant.
Buffalo Grass
Genus: Buchloe
Species: dactyloides
Parts Used: for turf and feed purposes
Milkweed
Common Names: Blood-
flower, Tropical Milkweed
Genus: Asclepias
Species: curassavica
Purple Coneflower
Genus: Echinacea
Species: purpurea
June Grass
Genus: Koeleria
Species: cristata
Stinging Nettle
Common Names:
Great stinging Nettle,
Common Nettle
Genus: Urtica
Species: dioica
Fleabane
Common names: Philadelphia daisy, Philadelphia
Fleabane
Genus: Koeleria
Species: cristata