There are two kinds of grasslands—temperate grasslands and savannas.

• Temperate grasslands: called prairies

•Tropical grasslands: called savannas

By Moira Whitehouse PhD

The largest grassland is the savanna in Africa. There are temperate grasslands in North America, South America, Eurasia, South Africa and northern Australia.

In different parts of the world, temperate grasslands are called by different names:

•In Eurasia --steppes. •In South America ---pampas•In South Africa --- veldts.

•In North America--- prairies.

But for this lesson we shall consider them all as prairies and will notice that the plants and animals that grow and live in each of the temperate grasslands have much in common.

found the middle of North America.

As the sample for our study, let’s use the North American Prairie:Prairie:

• Prairie land is usually flat.

grasses

• The most important plants are

(would you believe?)

Rainfall in the prairie is typically pretty low--about 10 to 30 inches of rain per year coming more likely in the spring. Lack of precipitation in late summer, fall and winter along with occasional fires and grazing by large mammals go together to make life a bit challenging for grasses and very difficult for trees.

Fires used to be common in the temperate grasslands. Before man started fighting the fire, fire regularly swept the prairie.

Any shrubs or trees that lived in open temperate grasslands are usually destroyed by grass fires.

• Trees grow mainly along the banks of the rivers.

• Very few trees or bushes grow in the temperate grasslands.

Of course, there are many different kinds of grasses that grow in the temperate prairie.

Prairie grasses have some special adaptations that allows them to survive hot dry summers.

•How? They have very deep and extensive root systems that can reach deep down to get water.

•And in addition, they have long, narrow leaves that lose less water than larger leaves.

Even after a prairie fire, native grasses and colorful wild flowers called forbs would come back the next year. How can they do that?

Prairie grasses grow from roots just underground and are not killed when fires burns their leaves and stem.

Also these grasses survive animal’s regular munching-- cutting the blades off just at the ground-- because of these underground stems and buds .

The prairie grasses’ success, like most other plants, is dependent on moisture. Where there is more moisture, the prairie grasses grow very tall.

Where there is less rain, the grasses are likely to be short.

However some areas are a mixture of tall and short grasses.

Little blue stem

Canada wild rye

Common grasses in the prairies in North America

Big blue stem

barley.

Very little of the original prairie grasses survives today, only one to two percent. Because prairie soil is deep and fertile much of the land is now used to grow grains such as:

wheat

corn

Temperatures in the temperate grasslands vary with the seasons. In some areas winter temperatures can fall to well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. And in summer, temperatures can reach above 90 degrees Fahrenheit

In winter, the grasses die and snow blankets the fields of grass.

The grasses in the prairie are green in spring and turn brown in summer and fall.

Winter snow cover is a good thing in the prairies -- it protects the plants from the cold and also provides water in spring when the snow melts.

Grasslands don’t provide much shelter for predators to hide, and they do provide an abundance of grass for food, so animal populations are similar in grasslands throughout the world.

Mainly herbivores.

Remember the prairies are large open areas with few trees, not much shelter and lots of grass for herbivores to eat.

Prairie Animals

The main animals in the prairies were bison and antelope--plant eating mammals with hooves. Their long legs helped them run fast to escape grassland predators.

There were about 50 million bison roaming the plains of North America when people from Europe first came to the new world.

By 1903, most had been killed with fewer than 2,000 surviving. These were found in zoos, privately owned or lived in the wild in Canada or western United States. Today populations have increased somewhat with herds living mostly in US and Canadian parks.

Herds of beautiful pronghorn antelope also lived on the North American prairie. There were about 50 million before the Europeans came; now that number is down to about one million.

Although huge numbers of individual animals lived on the prairies, there were not many different kinds of animals. Prairie animals other than bison and pronghorns include rodents like as gophers and prairie dogs, as well as rabbits, coyotes, birds and insects.

Most prairie animals are herbivores, however there are some carnivores and omnivores.

Red foxcoyote

garter snake

The Savanna is a grassland with scattered individual

trees.

The Savanna

Savannas are near the equator so their temperatures are?

Tropical grasslands (savannas) are located near the equator. The

largest savannas are found in Africa.

Because they are near the equator, savannas would have definite seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter)

a. hot to warm b. cool to cold

a. true b. false

Here we see a Savanna scene with tall grasses, widely scattered acacia trees and grazing zebras.

Climate is the most important factor in creating a savanna. Savannas are always found in warm or hot climates where the annual rainfall is from about 20-50 inches per year

The largest part of the tropical savannas may receive as much as 50 inches of rain during the six months of the wet season, but as little as 4 inches during the dry season.

But, the rain does not fall evenly throughout the year in the savanna. There is a very rainy and a very dry season.

Many grasses and trees of the savanna flourish during the sometime brief wet season and then go into a state of dormancy when the rains stop. Grasses turn brown and trees lose their leaves to reduce the loss of water by transpiration.

The acacia tree, shaped like an umbrella, is a notable species of the Savanna biome. This interesting tree uses its long tap roots to draw water from deep below the surface during the savanna dry season.

Although the acacia tree leaves are leathery, they are not too leathery for this Giraffe to munch on.

In addition, the tree's small leathery leaves reduce water loss during the dry season.

The Baobab tree is another remarkable tree commonly found in the savanna. Why do you think it has this huge trunk?

Because...it stores water in its trunk during the wet season and uses it during the dry season...and it can also lose its leaves when it’s dry to conserve moisture.

With lots of long grass, the savanna is a perfect place for large grassing eating herbivores.—more than any other biome on Earth. Here we see a few of them.

elephants giraffes

rhinoceros buffalo

impalasgazelles kudus

wildebeest zebras

cheetahs

leopards civets

African lions

With lots of herbivores we also find lots of—guess what?yes, carnivores.

hyenas jackals

African wild dog Serval

Many of the animals that live in savannas rely on speed for survival, as the vast open areas provide little means of escape from quick predators. If the prey is too slow, it becomes dinner. If the predator is not fast enough, it (and maybe its family) goes hungry.

Camouflage is also very important to animals of the savanna. Predators need to blend in with their environment in order to sneak up on unsuspecting prey. On the other hand, prey may use camouflage as a defense mechanism to escape predators.

Notice on this chart, animal herds of the savanna migrate each year to other areas in search of food and water.

There we have the savanna, Earth’s other grassland--home to many exotic animals seen on TV and in zoos.