Grasslands are characterized as lands dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or trees.

In the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs, which spanned a period of about 25 million years,
mountains rose in western North America and created a continental climate favorable to
grasslands. Ancient forests declined and grasslands became widespread. Following the
Pleistocene Ice Ages, grasslands expanded in range as hotter and drier climates prevailed
worldwide. There are two main divisions of grasslands: (1) tropical grasslands, called savannas,
and (2) temperate grasslands.

Savanna

Savanna is grassland with scattered individual

trees. Savannas of one sort or another cover
almost half the surface of Africa (about five million
square miles, generally central Africa) and large
areas of Australia, South America, and India.
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 50.8 to 127 cm (20-50 inches) per year. It is crucial that the rainfall is concentrated in six
or eight months of the year, followed by a long period of drought when fires can occur. If the rain
were well distributed throughout the year, many such areas would become tropical forest.
Savannas which result from climatic conditions are called climatic savannas. Savannas that are
caused by soil conditions and that are not entirely maintained by fire are called edaphic
savannas. These can occur on hills or ridges where the soil is shallow, or in valleys where clay
soils become waterlogged in wet weather. A third type of savanna, known as derived savanna,
is the result of people clearing forest land for cultivation. Farmers fell a tract of forest, burn the
dead trees, and plant crops in the ashes for as long as the soil remains fertile. Then, the field is
abandoned and, although forest trees may recolonize, grass takes over on the bare ground
(succession), becoming luxuriant enough to burn within a year or so. In Africa, a heavy
concentration of elephants in protected parkland have created a savanna by eating leaves and
twigs and breaking off the branches, smashing the trunks and stripping the bark of trees.
Elephants can convert a dense woodland into an open grassland in a short period of time.
Annual fires then maintain the area as a savanna.

The soil of the savanna is porous, with rapid drainage of water. It has only a thin layer of humus
(the organic portion of the soil created by partial decomposition of plant or animal matter), which
provides vegetation with nutrients. Savannas are sometimes classified as forests. The
predominant vegetation consists of grasses and forbs (small broad-leaved plants that grow with
grasses). Different savannas support different grasses due to disparities in rainfall and soil
conditions. Because the savanna supports such a large number of species competing for living
space, usually only one or a few kinds of grass are more successful than the others in a
particular area. For example, in drier savannas such as those on the Serengeti plains or
Kenyas Laikipia plateau, the dominant grasses on well-drained soils are Rhodes grass and red
oat grass; throughout the East African savannas, star grasses are dominant; the lemon grasses
are common in many western Uganda savannas. Deciduous trees and shrubs are scattered
across the open landscape. One type of savanna common in southwestern Kenya, Tanzania,
and Uganda, known as grouped-tree grassland, has trees growing only on termite moundsthe
intervening soil being too thin or poorly drained to support the growth of trees at all. Frequent
fires and large grazing mammals kill seedlings, thus keeping the density of trees and shrubs
low. Savannas receive an average annual rainfall of 76.2-101.6 cm (30-40 inches). However,
certain savannas can receive as little as 15.24 cm (6 inches) or as much as 25.4 cm (10 inches)
of rain a year.

Savanna has both a dry and a rainy season. Seasonal fires play a vital role in the savannas
biodiversity. In October, a series of violent thunderstorms, followed by a strong drying wind,
signals the beginning of the dry season. Fire is prevalent around January, at the height of the
dry season. Fires in savannas are often caused by poachers who want to clear away dead
grass to make it easier to see their prey. The fires do not devastate the community. Most of the
animals killed by the fires are insects with short life spans. A fire is a feast for some animals,
such as birds that come to sites of fires to eat grasshoppers, stick insects, beetles, mice, and
lizards that are killed or driven out by the fire. Underground holes and crevices provide a safe
refuge for small creatures. Larger animals are usually able to run fast enough to escape the fire.
Although the dry stems and leaves of grasses are consumed by fire, the grasses deep roots
remain unharmed. These roots, with all their starch reserves, are ready to send up new growth
when the soil becomes more moist. The scattered shrubs can also subsist on food reserves in
their roots while they await the time to venture above the soil again. Unlike grasses and shrubs,
trees survive a fire by retaining some moisture in all their above-ground parts throughout the dry
season. Sometimes they have a corky bark or semisucculent trunk covered with smooth
resinous bark, both being fire resistant. A fire leaves scorched earth covered with a fine layer of
powdery black ash in its wake. During March, violent thunderstorms occur again, this time
heralding the rainy season. When the rains come, savanna bunch grasses grow vigorously.
Some of the larger grasses grow an inch or more in 24 hours. The savannas experiences a
surge of new life at this time. For example, many antelope calves are born. With so much grass
to feed on, mothers have plenty of milk. Calves die if the rains fail to come.

Other animals (which do not all occur in the same savanna) include giraffes, zebras, buffaloes,
kangaroos, mice, moles, gophers, ground squirrels, snakes, worms, termites, beetles, lions,
leopards, hyenas, and elephants.

There are also some environmental concerns regarding savannas such as poaching,
overgrazing, and clearing of the land for crops.

Temperate Grassland

Temperate grasslands are characterized as having grasses as the dominant vegetation. Trees
and large shrubs are absent. Temperatures vary more from summer to winter, and the amount
of rainfall is less in temperate grasslands than in savannas. The major manifestations are the
veldts of South Africa, the puszta of Hungary, the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, the
steppes of the former Soviet Union, and the plains and prairies of central North America.
Temperate grasslands have hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall is moderate. The amount of
annual rainfall influences the height of grassland vegetation, with taller grasses in wetter
regions. As in the savanna, seasonal drought and occasional fires are very important to
biodiversity. However, their effects arent as dramatic in temperate grasslands as they are in
savannas. The soil of the temperate grasslands is deep and dark, with fertile upper layers. It is
nutrient-rich from the growth and decay of deep, many-branched grass roots. The rotted roots
hold the soil together and provide a food source for living plants. Each different species of grass
grows best in a particular grassland environment (determined by temperature, rainfall, and soil
conditions). The seasonal drought, occasional fires, and grazing by large mammals all prevent
woody shrubs and trees from invading and becoming established. However, a few trees, such
as cottonwoods, oaks, and willows grow in river valleys, and some nonwoody plants, specifically
a few hundred species of flowers, grow among the grasses. The various species of grasses
include purple needlegrass, blue grama, buffalo grass, and galleta. Flowers include asters,
blazing stars, coneflowers, goldenrods, sunflowers, clovers, psoraleas, and wild indigos.

Precipitation in the temperate grasslands usually occurs in the late spring and early summer.
The annual average is about 50.8 to 88.9 cm (20-35 inches). The temperature range is very
large over the course of the year. Summer temperatures can be well over 38 C (100 degrees
Fahrenheit), while winter temperatures can be as low as -40 C (-40 degrees Fahrenheit).

The fauna (which do not all occur in the same temperate grassland) include gazelles, zebras,
rhinoceroses, wild horses, lions, wolves, prairie dogs, jack rabbits, deer, mice, coyotes, foxes,
skunks, badgers, blackbirds, grouses, meadowlarks, quails, sparrows, hawks, owls, snakes,
grasshoppers, leafhoppers, and spiders.

There are also environmental concerns regarding the temperate grasslands. Few natural prairie
regions remain because most have been turned into farms or grazing land. This is because they
are flat, treeless, covered with grass, and have rich soil.

Temperate grasslands can be further subdivided. Prairies are grasslands with tall grasses while
steppes are grasslands with short grasses. Prairie and steppes are somewhat similar but the
information given above pertains specifically to prairiesthe following is a specific description of
steppes.

Steppes are dry areas of grassland with hot summers and cold winters. They receive 25.4-50.8
cm (10-20 inches) of rainfall a year. Steppes occur in the interiors of North America and Europe.
Plants growing in steppes are usually greater than 1 foot tall. They include blue grama and
buffalo grass, cacti, sagebrush, speargrass, and small relatives of the sunflower. Steppe fauna
includes badgers, hawks, owls, and snakes. Today, people use steppes to graze livestock and
to grow wheat and other crops. Overgrazing, plowing, and excess salts left behind by irrigation
waters have harmed some steppes. Strong winds blow loose soil from the ground after plowing,
especially during droughts. This causes the dust storms of the Great Plains of the U.S.

Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of grasses, flowers and herbs. Latitude, soil and
local climates for the most part determine what kinds of plants grow in a particular grassland. A
grassland is a region where the average annual precipitation is great enough to support
grasses, and in some areas a few trees. The precipitation is so eratic that drought and fire
prevent large forests from growing. Grasses can survive fires because they grow from the
bottom instead of the top. Their stems can grow again after being burned off. The soil of most
grasslands is also too thin and dry for trees to survive.
When the settlers of the United States moved westward, they found that the grasslands, or
prairies as they called them, were more than just dry, flat areas. The prairies contained more
than 80 species of animals and 300 species of birds, and hundreds of species of plants.

There are two different types of grasslands; tall-grass, which are humid and very wet, and short-
grass, which are dry, with hotter summers and colder winters than the tall-grass prairie. The
settlers found both on their journey west. When they crossed the Mississippi River they came
into some very tall grass, some as high as 11 feet. Here it rained quite often and it was very
humid. As they traveled further west and approached the Rocky Mountains, the grass became
shorter. There was less rain in the summer and the winters got colder. These were the short-
grass prairies.

Grassland biomes can be found in the middle latitudes, in the interiors of continents. They can
have either moist continental climates or dry subtropical climates. In Argentina, South America,
the grasslands are known as pampas. The climate there is humid and moist. Grasslands in the
southern hemisphere tend to get more precipitation than those in the northern hemisphere, and
the grass tends to be the tall-grass variety.

There is a large area of grassland that stretch from the Ukraine of Russia all the way to Siberia.
This is a very cold and dry climate because there is no nearby ocean to get moisture from.
Winds from the arctic aren't blocked by any mountains either. These are known as the Russian
and Asian steppes.

In the winter, grassland temperatures can be as low as -40 F, and in the summer it can be as
high 70 F. There are two real seasons: a growing season and a dormant season. The growing
season is when there is no frost and plants can grow (which lasts from 100 to 175 days). During
the dormant (not growing) season nothing can grow because its too cold.

In tropical and subtropical grasslands the length of the growing season is determined by how
long the rainy season lasts. But in the temperate grasslands the length of the growing season is
determined by temperature. Plants usually start growing when the daily temperature reached
about 50 F.

In temperate grasslands the average rainfall per year ranges from 10-30 inches. In tropical and
sub-tropical grasslands the average rainfall per year ranges from 25-60 inches per year The
amount of rainfall is very important in determining which areas are grasslands because it's hard
for trees to compete with grasses in places where the uppers layers of soil are moist during part
of the year but where deeper layer of soil are always dry.

The most common types of plant life on the North American prairie are Buffalo Grass,
Sunflower, Crazy Weed, Asters, Blazing Stars, Coneflowers, Goldenrods, Clover, and Wild
Indigos.

Some common animals in the grasslands are Coyotes, Eagles, Bobcats, the Gray Wolf, Wild
Turkey, Fly Catcher, Canadian Geese, Crickets, Dung Beetle, Bison, and Prairie Chicken.

by Sam M. 200
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/grassland.html

www.blueplanetbiomes.org/grasslands.htm

Grasslands go by many names. In the U.S. Midwest, they're known as prairies. In South
America, they're called pampas. Central Eurasian grasslands are referred to as steppes, while
in Africa they're named savannas. What they all have in common is grass as their naturally
dominant vegetation. Grasslands are found where there is not enough regular rainfall to support
the growth of a forest, but not so little as to form a desert.

In fact, most grasslands are located between forests and deserts. About one quarter of the
Earth's land is covered with grasslands, but many of these lands have been turned into farms.
Grasslands are generally open and fairly flat, and they exist on every continent except
Antarctica. Most lie in the drier portions of a continent's interior.

There are two different kinds of grasslands: tropical and temperate. Grasslands in the southern
hemisphere tend to get more precipitation than those in the northern hemisphere. Some
grasses grow more than 7 feet (2 meters), and have roots extending several feet into the soil.

Tropical grasslands are warm year round, but usually have a dry and a rainy season. One such
tropical grassland, the African savanna, is home to some of the worlds most recognizable
species, including elephants, giraffes, rhinos, zebras, lions, hyenas, and warthogs.

Temperate grasslands, which average between 10 and 30 inches (25 and 75 centimeters) of
rain per year, have shorter grasses, sometimes just a few millimeters. These areas have two
seasons: a growing season and a dormant season. During the dormant season, no grass can
grow because it is too cold.

The animals that live in temperate grasslands have adapted to the dry, windy conditions. There
are grazing animals like gazelle and deer; burrowing animals such as mice and jack rabbits; and
predators such as snakes and coyotes. The North American grasslands were once home to
millions of bison, before most of them were slaughtered by humans.

When rainy season arrives, many grasslands become coated with flowers, some of which can
survive well into winter with the help of underground storage organs and thick stem bases.

No other habitat is as agriculturally useful to humans as grasslands. Soils tend to be deep and
fertile, perfect for cropland or pastures. Much of the North American prairielands have been
converted into one of the richest agricultural regions on Earth.

Fires, both natural and human-caused, are important in maintaining grasslands. Ancient hunting
peoples set regular fires to maintain and extend grasslands, and prevent fire-intolerant trees
and shrubs from taking over. Grasses are able to survive fires because they grow from the
bottom instead of the top.

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com
Grassland

Temperature
Dependent on latitude, yearly range can be between -20C to 30C
Precipitation
About 500 to 900 mm of rain per year
Vegetation
Grasses (prairie clover, salvia, oats, wheat, barley, coneflowers)
Location
The prairies of the Great Plains of North America, the pampas of South America, the veldt of
South Africa, the steppes of Central Eurasia, and surrounding the deserts in Australia
Other
Found on every continent except Antarctica
Example: Ingeniera White, Argentina
Temperature graph:

Precipitation graph:

Location map:

Description
Grasslands are generally open and continuous, fairly flat areas of grass. They are often located
between temperate forests at high latitudes and deserts at subtropical latitudes. Grasses vary in
size from 2.1 m (7 ft) tall with roots extending down into the soil 1.8 m (6 ft), to the short grasses
growing to a height of only 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 in) tall. These short grasses can have roots that
extend 1 m (about 3 ft) deep.
The height of grass correlates with the amount of rainfall it receives. Grasslands receive about
500 to 900 mm of rain per year compared to deserts, which receive less than 300 mm and
tropical forests, which receive more than 2,000 mm. While temperatures are often extreme in
some grasslands, the average temperatures are about -20C to 30C. Tropical grasslands have
dry and wet seasons that remain warm all the time. Temperate grasslands have cold winters
and warm summers with some rain.
The grasses die back to their roots annually and the soil and the sod protect the roots and the
new buds from the cold of winter or dry conditions. A few trees may be found in this biome along
the streams, but not many due to the lack of rainfall.
.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Biome/biograssland.php
TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS
Location

Temperate grasslands are located north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees North) and south
of the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees South). The major temperate grasslands include the
veldts of Africa, the pampas of South America, the steppes of Eurasia, and the plains of North
America.

Plants

Grasses are the dominant vegetation. Trees and large shrubs are largely absent. Seasonal
drought, occasional fires and grazing by large mammals all prevent woody shrubs and trees
from becoming established. A few trees such as cottonwoods, oaks and willows grow in river
valleys, and a few hundred species of flowers grow among the grasses. The various species of
grasses include purple needlegrass, blue grama, buffalo grass, and galleta. Flowers include
asters, blazing stars, coneflowers, goldenrods, sunflowers, clovers, psoraleas, and wild indigos.

Animals

Temperate grasslands have a low diversity of wildlife, but a high abundance of wildlife. In North
America the dominant grazing animals are bison and pronghorn. Rodents include pocket
gophers and prairie dogs. Carnivores include wolves, coyotes, swift foxes, badgers
and black-footed ferrets. Birds include grouses, meadowlarks, quails, sparrows, hawks and
owls.

Climate

Temperate grasslands have hot summers and cold winters. Summer temperatures can be well
over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while winter temperatures can be as low as -40 degrees
Fahrenheit. They typically have between 10 and 35 inches of precipitation a year, much of it
occurring in the late spring and early summer. Snow often serves as a reservoir of moisture for
the beginning of the growing season. Seasonal drought and occasional fires help maintain these
grasslands.

Soil

Temperate grasslands have soils that are nutrient-rich from the growth and decay of deep,
many-branched grass roots. The rotted roots hold the soil together and provide a food source
for living plants. The world's most fertile soils underlie the eastern prairies of the U.S., the
pampas of South America, and the steppes of Ukraine and Russia.

Threats

Overgrazing by livestock and plowing are the two greatest threats to temperate grasslands.
Since the development of the steel plow much of these grasslands have been converted to
agricultural lands because of their rich soil. About 47 percent of temperate grasslands have
been converted to agriculture or urban development. Lack of fire and fragmentation are also
threats, as is past and present wildlife eradication (including the bison slaughter of the 1800s
and ongoing prairie dog poisoning in North Americas plains).
TROPICAL GRASSLANDS (SAVANNAS)
Location

Tropical grasslands are located near the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic
of Capricorn. They cover much of Africa as well as large areas of Australia, South America, and
India.

Plants

Tropical grasslands are dominated by grasses, often 3 to 6 feet tall at maturity. They may have
some drought-resistant, fire-resistant or browse-resistant trees, or they may have an open shrub
layer. They develop in regions where the climax community should be forest, but drought and
fire prevent the establishment of many trees.

Animals

Tropical grassland animals (which do not all occur in the same area) include giraffes, zebras,
buffaloes, kangaroos, mice, moles, gophers, ground squirrels, snakes, worms, termites,
beetles, lions, leopards, hyenas, and elephants. The world's greatest diversity of ungulates
(hoofed mammals) is found on the savannas of Africa. The antelopes are especially diverse and
include eland, impalas, gazelles oryx, gerenuk and kudu. Buffalo, wildebeest, plains
zebra, rhinos, giraffes, elephants and warthogs are among other herbivores of the African
savanna. Carnivores include lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, wild dogs and hyenas. Termites
are especially abundant in the tropical grasslands of the world.

Climate

Tropical grasslands are found in tropical wet and dry climates. These areas are hot year-round,
usually never dropping under 64 degrees Farenheit. Although these areas are overall very dry,
they do have a season of heavy rain. Annual rainfall is from 20-50 inches per year. It is crucial
that the rainfall is concentrated in six or eight months of the year, followed by a long period of
drought when fires can occur. If the rain were well distributed throughout the year, many such
areas would become tropical forest.

Soil

The soil of tropical grasslands is porous, with rapid drainage of water. It has only a thin layer of
humus (the organic portion of the soil created by partial decomposition of plant or animal
matter), which provides vegetation with nutrients.

Threats

Poaching, overgrazing and clearing of the land for crops are the main threats. About 16 percent
of tropical grasslands have been converted for agriculture or urban development. Desertification
is also a significant threat

http://study.com/academy/lesson/temperate-grassland-biome-climate-plants-animals-
locations.html
 A savanna is a rolling grassland scattered with
shrubs and isolated trees, which can be found
between a tropical rainforest and desert biome. Not
enough rain falls on a savanna to support forests.
Savannas are also known as tropical grasslands.
They are found in a wide band on either side of the
equator on the edges of tropical rainforests.

Savannas have warm temperature year round. There

are actually two very different seasons in a savanna;
a very long dry season (winter), and a very wet
season (summer). In the dry season only an average
of about 4 inches of rain falls. Between December and February no rain will fall at all. Oddly
enough, it is actually a little cooler during this dry season. But don't expect sweater weather; it is
still around 70 F.

In the summer there is lots of rain. In Africa the monsoon rains begin in May. An average of 15
to 25 inches of rain falls during this time. It gets hot and very humid during the rainy season.
Every day the hot, humid air rises off the ground and collides with cooler air above and turns
into rain. In the afternoons on the summer savanna the rains pour down for hours. African
savannas have large herds of grazing and browsing hoofed animals. Each animal has a
specialized eating habit that reduces compitition for food.

There are several different types of savannas around the world. The savannas we are most
familiar with are the East African savannas covered with acacia trees. The Serengeti Plains of
Tanzania are some of the most well known. Here animals like lions, zebras, elephants, and
giraffes and many types of ungulates(animals with hooves) graze and hunt. Many large grass-
eating mammals (herbivores) can survive here because they can move around and eat the
plentiful grasses. There are also lots of carnivores (meat eaters) who eat them in turn.

South America also has savannas, but there are very few species that exist only on this
savanna. In Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, savannas occupy some 2.5 million square
kilometers, an area about one-quarter the size of Canada. Animals from the neighboring biomes
kind of spill into this savanna. The Llanos of the Orinoco basin of Venezuela and Columbia is
flooded annually by the Orinoco River. Plants have adapted to growing for long periods in
standing water. The capybara and marsh deer have adapted themselves to a semi-aquatic life.

Brazil's cerrado is an open woodland of short twisted trees. The diversity of animals is very
great here, with several plants and animals that don't exist anywhere else on earth.

There is also a savanna in northern Australia. Eucalyptus trees take the place of acacias in the
Australian savanna. There are many species of kangaroos in this savanna but not too much
diversity of different animals.
Plants of the savannas are highly specialized to grow in this environment of long periods of
drought. They have long tap roots that can reach the deep water table, thick bark to resist
annual fires, trunks that can store water, and leaves that drop of during the winter to conserve
water. The grasses have adaptations that discourage animals from grazing on them; some
grasses are too sharp or bitter tasting for some animals, but not others, to eat. The side benefit
of this is that every species of animal has something to eat. Different species will also eat
different parts of the grass. Many grasses grow from the bottom up, so that the growth tissue
doesn't get damaged by grazers. Many plants of the savanna also have storage organs like
bulbs and corms for making it though the dry season.

Most of the animals on the savanna have long legs or wings to be able to go on long migrations.
Many burrow under ground to avoid the heat or raise their young. The savanna is a perfect
place for birds of prey like hawks and buzzards. The wide, open plain provides them with a clear
view of their prey, hot air updrafts keep them soaring, and there is the occasional tree to rest on
or nest in. Animals don't sweat to lose body heat, so they lose it through panting or through
large areas of exposed skin, or ears, like those of the elephant.

The savanna has a large range of highly specialized plants and animals. They all depend on the
each other to keep the environment in balance. There are over 40 different species of hoofed
mammals that live on the savannas of Africa. Up to 16 different species of browsers (those who
eat leaves of trees) and grazers can coexist in one area. They do this by having their own food
preferences, browsing/grazing at different heights, time of day or year to use a given area, and
different places to go during the dry season.

These different herbivores provide a wide range of food for carnivores, like lions, leopards,
cheetahs, jackals and hyenas. Each species has its own preference, making it possible to live
side by side and not be in competition for food.

In many parts of the savannas of Africa people have started using it to graze their cattle and
goats. They don't move around and soon the grasses are completely eaten up. With no
vegetation, the savanna turns into a desert. Huge areas of savanna are lost to the Sahara
desert every year because of overgrazing and farming.

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna.htm

TEMPERATE GRASSLAND

Introduction: Temperate grasslands are composed of a rich mix of grasses and forbs and
underlain by some of the worlds most fertile soils. Since the development of the steel plow most
have been converted to agricultural lands.
Climate: Semiarid, continental climates of the middle latitudes (Koeppens BSk climate type)
typically have between 10 and 20 inches of precipitation a year. Much of this falls as snow,
serving as reservoir of moisture for the beginning of the growing season. Warm to hot summers
are experienced, depending on latitude.
Vegetation: Perennial grasses and perennial forbs [especially Compositae (or Asteraceae,
depending on the taxonomic system used) and Leguminosae--the sunflower and pea families,
respectively] are dominant growthforms. Two or more strata of grasses (erect grasses and
recumbent species) are recognized in the more humid expressions of the biome.
Grasses. Perennial grasses, with their growth buds at or just below the surface, are well-
adapted to drought, fire, and cold. The tiller or narrow, upright stem reduces heat-gain in the hot
summers; the intricate root systems trap moisture and nutrients. Two basic types are:
Turf- or sod-forming grasses, with rhizomes or underground stems from which new
plants spring forth; associated with the more humid grasslands
Bunch grasses, without rhizomes, that reproduce by seed; associated with the drier
parts of the biome.
Major regional expressions:
North America: the prairies of the Central Lowlands and High Plains of the US and Canada.
The Palouse Prairie of eastern Washington state, the California grasslands, and the desert
grasslands of the Southwest are also temperate grasslands.
Eurasia: the steppes from Ukraine eastward through Russia and Mongolia.
South America: the pampas of Argentina, Uruguay, and southeastern Brazil
Africa: the veld in the Republic of South Africa.
Soils: Calcification is the dominant soil-forming process in semiarid regions. Mild leaching, high
organic content, and concentration of calcium carbonate in the B horizon typifies the dark
brown mollisols developed under the temperate grasslands. When this process works on a
loess that itself is rich in calcium, the worlds most fertile soils are created, the chernozems (A
Russian term meaning black soil). Loess and hence chernozem underlie the eastern prairies of
the US, the pampas of South America, and the steppes of Ukraine and Russia.
Fauna: The temperate grassland fauna is very low in diversity, especially in comparison with the
tropical grasslands or savannas of Africa. In North America the dominant herbivores are bison
Bison bison) and pronghorn (the sole member of the Nearctic endemic family, Antilocapridae).
Rodent herbivores include the pocket gopher (another Nearctic endemic), ground squirrels, and
the prairie dog. Carnivores include coyote (actually an omnivore), badger, and the federally
endangered black-footed ferret, the last two members of the weasel family.
On the Russian steppes the fauna formerly included wisent (Bison bonasus), tarpan or wild
horse, and saiga antelope, among others. Mole rats, fossorial members of one of the two
mammal families endemic to the Palearctic, are conspicuous by virtue their many mounds.
Polecats and other members of the weasel family are among the larger, extant carnivores.

https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/?page_id=173

What Are Temperate Grasslands?

If you have ever watched an old Western movie and can picture in your mind a vast herd of
buffalo roaming across the plains, then you are picturing a temperate grassland biome. These
biomes are characterized by their vast expanses of open land that receive relatively little rainfall
and are home to large herbivores.

Climate of the Temperate Grassland Biome

Temperate grassland biomes have a semiarid climate and normally receive between 15 and 30
inches of precipitation per year. Much of the precipitation they receive falls in the form of snow
during the winter months. Depending on the latitude of the temperate grassland, they often
experience long, hot summers.
The temperatures in the grasslands vary according to the season. In the winter, it is possible for
the temperatures to dip well below freezing, and in the summer, it is not uncommon for
temperatures to stay above 90 degrees Fahrenheit for a long period of time.

Plants of the Temperate Grasslands

Due to the relatively low amount of precipitation received in these grasslands, it is difficult for
trees and large shrubs to survive. For this reason, the majority of plants found in the biome
consist of different types of grasses. These grasses have adapted to survive long periods of
drought, as well as the cold temperatures and occasional fires that spread throughout the area.
They have also evolved to have large deep root systems to take hold in the soil and help
prevent erosion.

This picture depicts the vast open spaces found

in temperate grasslands.

The grasses found here can either be tall or short depending on the location of the grassland
and the amount of rain they receive. In areas that receive less rain, the grasses consist of
shorter species. Warmer areas that receive more rain are home to taller species of grasses,
including sagebrush, cacti, sunflowers, and clovers.
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