THEMATIC SLIDES
GRASSLAND
GRASSLAND
• Narok, Kenya
• Peanut Basin, Senegal
• Revane, Senegal
• Wyperfeld National Park,
Australia
• Upper Green River,
United States
Credit: World Biomes
GRASSLAND
• One fifth of the Earth's land surface is grassland a biome found on every continent except Antarctica
• Grassland biomes can be found in the middle latitudes,
in the interiors of continents
• Most of the world's natural grasslands have been
converted to wheat or corn fields
Sources: Earth Observatory;
Conversion of grasslands into agriculture
Narok, Kenya
• 1975: The
agricultural
expansion is
just beginning
• 2000: This
image shows the
degree to which
farmlands have
expanded
Farmlands abandoned for savannas
Peanut Basin, Senegal
Shows growing
patchwork of savannas
(greenish patches)
• 1979: Image shows
farmland before being
abandoned
• 1999: Hundreds of
villages are scattered
throughout the region to
enjoy fallow and grazing
lands
Impact of drought and over-grazing
Revane, Senegal
• 1965: Ancient valleys
cutting through gravelly
plateaus, with extensive
bushland vegetation
• 1999: The badland
phenomenon spread
extensively along the
shallow valley slopes
Fire – a regular occurrence in
Wyperfeld National Park, Australia
• 1973: Vegetation in the
Wyperfeld National Park
is mostly a rich green in
the image
• 2000: The dark green
areas are now mottled
with light patches, areas
where the ground is bare
after a burn
• 2004: Significant
additional burned
areas
Changing landscape of
Upper Green River, United States
The landscape in 1989
Over 3000 wells
(black/white
dots) Have been
approved in
the basin, and
development is
occurring at a rapid rate
GRASSLAND
One Planet Many People:
Atlas of Our Changing Environment
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