Temperate Grasslands Biome
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Abiotic conditions found in grasslands
Abiotic means the non-living conditions that affect the living things in a biome.
A list would include:
Temperature
Precipitation
Nutrients in soil
pH
salinity (in soil or the water)
Light intensity
O2 and CO2 levels
Biotic conditions found in grasslands
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Biotic refers to every living thing in a Biome because they affect each
other.
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Bacteria
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Protists
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Fungi
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Plants
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Animals
Earth’s Grasslands
Climate of some grasslands
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Grasslands have hot summers and cold winters. 100F to -40F
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Precipitation measures 10 to 35 inches per year.
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precipitation is so erratic, that drought and fire prevent large forests from
growing.
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During summer drought conditions make nutrition hard to come by; sudden
storms make water unpredictable and most flows away; evaporation
exceeds precipitation; rivers run dry; extreme winds.
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During winter snow blankets on prairie; blizzards can make food hard to find
and inhibit mobility; long winters deplete food supplies.
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Frequent fires and intense grazing by migrating herds guided the evolution
of successful adaptations. Dividing the grasslands by humans stresses
species survival.
Soil
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Deep and dark and rich on organic matter.
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over 50% carbon.
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nitrogen makes up 5% organic matter
Effects of a Warming Climate
Lower precipitation, may occur, resulting in less photosynthesis.
So, the amount of biomass, stored carbon in soil may decrease.
Drought-hardy, cold-resistant, and herbicide-tolerant varieties of soybeans, wheat,
and corn allow crops to expand into native grassland.
rainfall patterns change.
Natural Resources
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Maize
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corn
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wheat
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alfalfa
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tall grasses used as hay
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Bison- food, tools, weapons, clothing, shelter
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Iron
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oil
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coal
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gold
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food or other necessities from animals including deer, prairie dogs, mice, jack rabbits, skunks, coyotes, snakes, fox,
owls, badgers, blackbirds, grasshoppers, and hawks.
Purple Needle Grass
Wild Oats
Foxtail
Ryegrass
Buffalo Grass
Asters
Blazing Stars
Goldenrods
Sunflowers
Clovers
Wild Indigos
Bison
Gazelles
Zebras
Rhinoceroses
Wild Horses
Lions
Wolves
Antelope
Prairie Dogs
Rabbits
Food Web
Grassland Food web
Trophic Levels
Energy Pyramid, only 10% of energy moves up to the next level, so protein
is lacking in poor countries that eat their grain.
Dispersion Patterns
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Clumped
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Uniform
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Random
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Most birds have a uniform or geometric dispersion pattern
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Geometric dispersion allows protection of nests and offspring
Population Dispersion Patterns, random, uniform, clumped
Population Density, organisms per area, example buffalo per square mile
Species interactions
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Competition, organisms that require the same resource like nesting sites.
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Mutualism, both organisms benefit from each other, lichen = algae living inside a
moss.
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Commensalism, one organism benefits the other unaffected, bird benefits with a
nesting site and tree.
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Parasitism, one organism benefits, parasite; other is harmed, host.
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Predation, one organism benefits, predator; other dies, prey
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Symbiosis is a relationship between two organisms.
commensal or parasitic.
Tick and dog.
It may be mutualistic,
Predation
Primary and Secondary succesion
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Secondary Succession: The ecological succession that occurs on a preexisting soil after
the primary succession has been disrupted or destroyed due to a disturbance that
reduced the population of the initial inhabitants.
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Ex:The development of new inhabitants to replace the previous community of plants and
animals that has been disrupted or disturbed by an event (e.g. forest fire, flood,
harvesting, epidemic disease, pest attack, etc.).
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Primary Succession: An ecological succession that occurs following an opening of
uninhabited, barren habitat or that occurs on an environment that is devoid of vegetation
and usually lacking topsoil.
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Ex: the initial development of plant or animal communities in an area where no soil initially
exists (such as caused by a lava flow following volcanic eruption or severe landslide that
covered the land). The primary succession is important in pioneering the area to create
conditions favorable for the growth of other forms of plants and animals.
Primary Succession,
starting with rock.
Secondary Succession, after a fire or disaster, soil exists.
Impact from human beings
Farming practices, plowing up the soil = erosion, loss of soil nutrients, introduction of new
weeds, new diseases
Carve large grasslands into isolated plots.
Loss of native species.
Over grazing by livestock.
Removal of plants changes weather and can cause desertification.
Salinization, resulting from irrigation practices.
Urbanization, houses covering productive land. Development of urban areas is
increasingly cutting into grassland habitat.
Land once incompatible with row-crop agriculture, but which provided a living to ranching
families and habitat for prairie wildlife, is being converted to row crops.
Endangered Species
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Prairie Chicken
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Pronghorn Antelope
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Swift Fox
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Burrowing Owl
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Black Footed Ferret
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Many African species.
Carrying Capacity, the number of organisms an environment can support
over many years.
Sources,
<https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/?page_id=173
Woodward, D. S. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/?page_id=173
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<http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/grasslands.html
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/grasslands.html
http://www.defenders.org/grasslands/temperate-grasslands
Defenders of Wildlife. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.defenders.org/grasslands/temperate-grasslands
<http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/grassland.html
(2013, 04). Retrieved 04, 2013, from http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/grassland.html
<http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/grasslands.php
(2013, 04). Retrieved 04, 2013, from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/grasslands.php
<http://traveltips.usatoday.com/interesting-temperate-grassland-61857.html
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://traveltips.usatoday.com/interesting-temperate-grassland-61857.html
http://www.hamiltonnature.org/habitats/grasslands/grass_soil.htm
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/grassland-threats/