“GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM”

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 CONTENTS

1) ECOSYSTEM
2) TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM
3) GRASSLAND
4) TYPES OF GRASSLAND
5) PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF GRASSLAND
6) ADAPTATION IN GRASSLAND
7) INDIAN GRASSLAND
8) ROLE OF FIRE
9) CONCLUSION

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 INTRODUCTION

ECOSYSTEM (Arthur Tansley)

 A group of organisms interacting among themselves and with

their environment is known as ecosystem.

 Example
Animals cannot synthesis their food directly but depend on the
plants either directly or indirectly.
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https://blog.uvm.edu/dwang-SurvivalEcology/files/2009/10/ecosys_diag.png

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 GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM

 Grassland ecosystem is dominated by grasses.

 One fifth of the Earth's land surface is grassland - a
biome found on every continent except Antarctica.
 Amount of rainfall is not enough to trees and enough to
not form desert.
 Grasslands are generally located between deserts and
forests.
 Grasslands are usually found in the center of larger
continents, away from oceans.

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 DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRASSLANDS

 TROPICAL GRASSLAND
 TEMPERATE GRASSLAND

Img src: http://www.geoknow.net/biosphere/images/grasslands/world-grasslands-map.jpeg

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 LOCATION

TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS TROPICAL GRASSLANDS

Temperate grasslands are located north Tropical grasslands are located near
of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees the equator, between the Tropic of
North) and south of the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
Capricorn (23.5 degrees South)

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/k4/biomes/Boverview4.html

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 PLANTS

TEMPERATE GRASSLAND TROPICAL GRASSLAND

The grass is short, soft, juicy and The grass is tall (3m) coarse and spiky
nutritive. which is neither juicy nor nutritive .

http://www.travelodestination.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Temperate-
http://www.nature.org/cs/groups/webcontent/@photopublic/documents/media/ Grassland-attractions.jpg
mongolia-steppe-640x400.jpg

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 ANIMALS
TEMPERATE GRASSLAND
Temperate grasslands have a low
diversity of wildlife, but a high
abundance of wildlife.
In North America the dominant grazing animals
are sheep, cows. Rodents include pocket rats
and prairie dogs. Carnivores include wolves,
coyotes, foxes, and bear. Birds include grouses,
meadowlarks, quails, sparrows, hawks and owls.
TROPICAL GRASSLAND
The world's greatest diversity of
ungulates (hoofed mammals) is found
on the savannas of Africa.
Buffalo, wildebeest, plains zebra, rhinos, giraffes,
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.
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 ANIMALS

TEMPERATE GRASSLAND TROPICAL GRASSLAND

IMGSRC:http://environment11.pbworks.com/f/savanna%20animals.gif
IMG SRC; http://417542058272067887.weebly.com/temperate-grassland.html
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 CLIMATE
TEMPERATURE
 Temperate grasslands have hot
summers and cold winters. Summer
temperatures can be well over 100
degrees Fahrenheit, while winter
temperatures can be as low as -40
degrees Fahrenheit.
PRECIPITATION
 They typically have between 10
and 35 inches of precipitation a
year.
TEMPERATURE
 Tropical grasslands are found in
tropical wet and dry climates.
usually never dropping under 64
degrees Fahrenheit.
PRECIPITATION
 Annual rainfall is from 20-50
inches per year.
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 SOIL

TEMPERATE GRASSLAND TROPICAL GRASSLAND

 Temperate grasslands have soils  The soil of tropical grasslands is
that are nutrient-rich from the porous, with rapid drainage of
growth and decay of deep, many- water.
branched grass roots.
 Soil is not very fertile
 The world's most fertile soils  It has only a thin layer of humus
underlie the eastern prairies of the
U.S., the pampas of South America,
and the steppes of Ukraine and
Russia

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 COVERING AREA
TEMPERATE GRASSLAND TROPICAL GRASSLAND
 The major temperate grasslands  They cover much of Africa as well as
include the velds of Africa, the large areas of Australia, South
pampas of South America, the America, and India
steppes of Eurasia, and the plains of
North America.

IMG SRC : http://image.slidesharecdn.com/3-biomes-121219051936-

phpapp02/95/3-biomes-33-638.jpg?cb=1355894525

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 ADAPTATION
TEMPERATE GRASSLAND
 Prairie plants have adapted to fires by
growing underground storage structures, and
having their growth points slightly below
ground surface. These roots can also help
collect water during drought seasons. The
plants die back every winter, but are kept alive
from year to year by the underground root
system.
 http://grasslandscience10.weebly.com/temperate-grassland.html
TROPICAL GRASSLANDS
 The baobab tree has adapted to the
savanna biome by only producing leaves
during the wet season. When leaves do
grow, they are in tiny finger-like clusters.
The small size of the leaves helps limit
water loss.
 http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/savannahP.html
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 ADAPTATION
TEMPERATE GRASSLAND TROPICAL GRASSLAND
 Smaller mammals have adapted to have  Migration of animal towards water
pouch-like cheeks. These cheeks allow bodies during drought season.
them to stockpile a large amount of food,
more than they need to eat at that time.
They then carry the food back to their
burrows, store it in the ground, and feed
off of these food stocks during the winter
months when they are sealed in their
burrows.

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Wildebeest-during-Great-
Migration.JPG

 http://www.ehow.com/info_8175993_animal-adaptations-temperate-grasslands.html

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 INDIAN GRASSLAND
Terai-Duar Grasslands
 WORLD’S TALLEST GRASSLAND CONTAINING 6 METERS OF
GRASS
 LOCATED: between the Yamuna and Brahmaputra drainages
 ANIMALS: one-horned rhinoceros, Asian elephant, gaur, nilgai, water
buffalo, an impressive diversity of deer, pygmy hogs and Bengal tigers
 Dudwha National Park in Uttar Pradesh and Kaziranga National Park along
the Brahmaputra in Assam

 http://b.static.trunity.net/files/123701_123800/123716/300px-RoyalchitwanNP2.jpg

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 ROLE OF FIRE
 Fires, both natural and human-caused, are important in
maintaining grassland.
 Grasses are able to survive fires because they grow from
the bottom instead of the top.
 With in interval of six months burned grass recovered
similar to unburned grass and mammal diversity is great in
earlier burned grass.
 Occasional fires help to rid the land of old grasses and allow
for new grasses to grow, bringing new life to the area.
 Fires on grasslands can move as fast as 600 feet per
minute

 http://www.fws.gov/uploadedImages/Region_6/NWRS/Prairie_Zone/Flint_Hills/Images/4march2011%20376.jpg

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 CONCLUSION

 Grasslands contain large diversity of

animals. Grassland ecosystems support
high densities of grazing animals. They
are home to many species that live in
herds, including zebras and wildebeest,
and the predators that prey on them, like
lions and cheetahs.

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