Grasslands
By: Robert, Shane, Eleni, Colleen and
Charlie
Climate and Soil
Climate
• The temperature of a grassland biome ranges
from -40˚F (-40˚C) in the winter to 100˚F
(38˚C).
• Most precipitation takes place between spring
and summer.
• The annual precipitation rate ranges between
50.8-88.9 cm (20-35 in.)
Soil
• The soil type is clay, and its upper layers are
fertile.
• The soil is held together by decomposed roots.
• Grazing and trampling in the grasslands can
cause increased erosion of the soil.
Vegetation
Overview
• Although there are several different types of
grasslands, they are all very similar and tend to vary
only in plant species and temperature (overall types
of plants present as well as plant adaptations are
practically the same)
Temperate Grasslands
• Temperate grasslands:
– Few trees or large shrubs
– Mostly grasses, as the name would suggest
– Two types of temperate grasslands – prairies and steppes; prairies have
tall grasses while steppes are filled with short grasses.
– Most plants in the temperate grasslands are resistant to drought, fire
and grazing. The grasses manage to survive all of these because their
leaves grow from the base, which is away from fires and animals that
would destroy it. During a prairie fire, the leaves of the grass that are
above ground are destroyed, but the base underground is protected by
the soil above it.
– Because the grasses are wind-pollinated, they are easily able to spread
in the open environment, allowing them to quickly cover the
grasslands.
Temperate Grasslands
Prairie
• Prairie:
– Trees such as cottonwoods, oaks and willows grow in river valleys.
– There are a few hundred species of flowers
– The amount of vegetation is maintained by grazing animals and
wildfires. This ensures that the grassland’s vegetation doesn’t become
too thick and therefore helps other plants to grow.
Prairie
Steppe
• Steppe:
– Plants include blue grama, buffalo grass,
cacti, sagebrush, speargrass, and small
relatives of the sunflower
Steppe
Tropical Grasslands
•
Tropical Grasslands (Savannas)
– Again, full of grasses
– May have some trees, usually drought or fire resistant
– Might have an open shrub layer
– The grasses survive in the savanna because they are capable of growing quickly during
the rainy season, then turning brown and storing water and nutrients in their roots during
the dry season.
– Plants have adapted to fires to the point where fires actually stimulate new growth in
plants.
– Of all the plants in the savanna, the acacia tree has adapted the most. Its long roots
ensure that it can access deep reservoirs of groundwater, ensuring that it can survive most
droughts. The tree has also adapted to resist fires. It can keep growing from the root
crown even after being burned. The tree is protected by sharp thorns and by a symbiotic
relationship with ants. When an animal eats the leaves, the ants begin defending their
tree, often driving away any animal that may try to graze on the acacia tree.
Tropical Grasslands
Animal Life
Prairie
• Grazing animals such as oxen and bison who
fed on the prairie grass were also exploited by
humans so bison being driven to near
extinction by hunters.
• Animals like buffalo, horses, kangaroos,
elephants and giraffes are all animals that also
inhabit the prairie.
• Some of these animals were in danger of
extinction despite their massive numbers.
Bison
Kangaroo
Giraffe
Steppe
• Animal life on the steppe is comprised of
grazing mammals such as the antelope, and a
wide variety of burrowing mammals such as
ground squirrels and ferrets.
Antelope
Squirrel
Savanna
• Several species of animals including birds, mammals, reptiles,
and insects congregate and feed upon the trees and grass or
each other.
• Humans have exploited many of the animals of the savanna
biome, either for sport, fur, or illegal poaching.
• Animals (which do not all occur in the same savanna) include
elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, kangaroos, mice, moles,
gophers, ground squirrels, snakes, worms, termites, beetles,
lions, leopards, hyenas, and elephants.
• If there are large herbivores present, there will also be some
carnivores following them.
Tiger
Elephant
Zebra
Human Factors
People on the Grasslands
• Prairie
– Has fertile soil that is used for farming crops.
– Prairie plants can yield 51%more energy per acre
then ethanol from corn for bio fuels.
• Plants include lupine, big bluestem(turkey foot), blazing
star, switchgrass, and prairie grass.
People on the Grasslands
• Masai people
– Live on the savannas in Kenya and Tanzania
– Use grass, twigs, mud to build huts
– Raise Cattle and livestock for survival
Masai People
Challenges on the Prairie
• The temperature can range from -40 degrees
Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit
• Have a dormant season
• Fires both natural and man made are common
Works Cited
•
"Grasslands -- National Geographic." Environment Facts, Environment Science, Global Warming, Natural Disasters,
Ecosystems, Green Living - National Geographic. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
<http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/grassland-profile/>.
•
Hagerty, Ryan. "Grasslands Habitat." Grasslands Habitat Facts - Defenders of Wildlife. Defenders of Wildlife, 2011.
Web. 13 Nov 2011.
•
Living In The Environment: An Introduction To Environmental Science G. Tyler Miller--20th edition; Wadsworth
Publishing, Belmont, California,Encyclopedia Britannica, 20th Edition
•
M., Sam. "Grasslands." Grasslands Biome. Blue Planet Biomes, 2000. Web. 14 Nov 2011.
•
"Tropical Savannas."http://www.radford.edu. N.p., 2005. Web. 14 Nov 2011.
•
Webber, Charles. "The grassland biome."http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu. University of California Museum of
Paleontology, 2002. Web. 13 Nov 2011.