Temperate Grassland

By Julia Fistel, T.J. Miguel, and Marcos Gonzalez

Location and Names Located north of the Tropic of Cancer and South of Capricorn Major temperate grasslands are within the veldts of Africa,

the pampas of South America, the steppes of Eurasia, and the plains of North America

They exist between deserts and forests

Climate Soil:- Deep and dark- Upper layers are the most fertile from

the build up of decaying stems and roots

- Nutrient-rich for living plants - Its rotting roots assist in holding the

soil together

Temperature:- Has hot summers and cold winters- Summers can be over 100 degrees

Fahrenheit while the winter can be as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit

Rainfall:- Less than in tropical savannas, though

drought usually doesn’t effect biodiversity

- Occasional fires and seasonal droughts help maintain them

- Rains in late spring and early summer (average of 20-30 inches of rainfall/year)

Climate Graph

Nutrient Flow Diagram



Native Living Organisms • Native Animals:• Bison (dominant grazing

animals) • Deer • Mice• Prairie Dogs (rodents)• Red-Tailed hawksNative Plants:• Buffalo grass• Johnson grass• Sweet Clovers• Asters• Coneflowers• Goldenrods • (Trees and large shrubs are

rarely found)

Energy Flow

Energy Flow

Gross and Net Primary Productivity

GPP:• 3.1 - 5.0 kgCm⁻²yr⁻¹• 10^9tons/yr. for the world’s

GPP• Rainfall is low• Temperatures are usually warm• Growing season is length,

preventing region to obtain a higher productivity

NPP:• Mean NPP= 600 g/sq m x yr.• 1.6 kg/m^2 of biomass• 10-30 inches of rainfall per

year• 5.4% of world’s NPP

Overall: Temperate grasslands have a low diversity of wildlife,

but a high abundance of wildlife.

Succession Secondary Succession:• Consists of the series of community changes

where a previously colonized, but disturbed or harmed habitat is present.

• Prairie fires have maintained and prevented them from turning into wooded areas

• Its grass on prairie lands have deep root systems

• This allows plants to stay alive despite the fires• Invasive plants are fortunately killed since they

haven’t adapted• Native grass then has more room to grow

Human’s Impact on this process:• As humans plow the lands, they take away the

important root systems • Such plowing takes away the soil nutrients for

plants to survive• Destroys the fields overall

Human ImpactMDC: • U.S. Prairie, Russian Steppes, Argentina

and Uruguay (in South America)• People have built power plants, cities,

schools, roads, homes, etc. (Urban development)

• Pollution from vehicles and factories

LDC:• Veldts of Africa• Gobi Deserts in Asia • Land has been divided up over time for

farming (overgrazing)• Animals in the grasslands don’t know

where else to go (loss of habitat)

How Each Are Being Handled Today

Improvements in the MDCs:1. In the U.S.A, grasses are being replanted and are

revitalizing their soil 2. In Canada, climate change policies are addressing

industrial development habits that have caused harm in the past

Improvements in the LDCs: 3. Open spaces are being preserved more today and are

slightly being taken into more consideration.4. Endangered plants and animals are having their

habitats more protected