Chapter 5 - Grassland

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.

Tropical Grassland or 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 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.

Savanna in the Samburu Game Preserve, Kenya

Temperate grassland

Colorado prairie.

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.

There are many types of animals in the grasslands. Animals range from bison to zebras. Some adaptations that the animals of the grassland are being able to run away for hungry predators then hiding in a safe place were no one can get them. Also animals in the grassland are usually more active in the rainy season.

Aardvark Aardvarks are large mammals that eat ants.	African Elephant The African Elephant is the largest land animal.	African Wild Cat African Wild Cats are fierce, solitary hunters.	Anteater Anteaters are mammals with very long snouts from South and Central America.
Antelope Antelopes are graceful mammals with beautiful horns.	Ant Ants are social insects.	Asian Elephant The Asian Elephant is an endangered species.	Baboon The baboon is a large monkey with a long snout and large cheek pouches.
Bactrian Camel Bactrian Camels are two-humped camels from deserts and steppes of Asia.	Badger The badger is a nocturnal mammal with a black-and-white striped face.	Bison The American Buffalo (which is actually a Bison) is the heaviest land animal in North America.	Black-Footed Ferret The Black-Footed Ferret is an endangered type of ferret from North America.
Blue-tongued Skink An Australian lizard with a long, blue tongue.	Boa Constrictor A large constricting snake from South and Central America.	Bobcat A fierce, short-tailed wild cat from North America.	Bull Snake Also known as the gopher snake and the pine snake, this hissing constrictor lives in North America.
Camel Camels are large mammals that live in dry areas of the Middle East.	Cape Hunting Dog The Cape Hunting Dog hunts in packs in Africa.	CHEETAH The cheetah is the fastest land animal. Or go to a simple cheetah coloring printout (just the image).	Coati (Coatimundi) Coatimundi (also called coati) are long-nosed, long-tailed mammals from the Americas.
Coyote Coyotes are meat-eaters related to wolves.	Coypu Coypus (also called nutrias) are semi-aquatic rodents that are originally from South America.	Cricket Crickets are jumping insects.
Deer The deer is a shy, fast-moving plant-eater.	Dhole The dhole is a wild dog from Asia.	Dingo The dingo is a wild dog from Australia.
Donkey Donkeys are hoofed mammals adapted to environments with little water.	Dragonfly The dragonfly is a flying insect with a long abdomen.	Earthworm An earthworm is a little animal with a long, soft body and no legs. They are found worldwide
Emu The emu is a large Australian bird that cannot fly.	Fox The fox is a meat-eating mammal with a long, bushy tail.	Gecko Geckos are the only lizards that make noise. Some geckos live in grasslands.
Giraffe The giraffe is the tallest land animal; it is found in Africa.	Giraffe and Baby A mother and baby to color.	Gopher Snake Also known as the bull snake and the pine snake, this hissing constrictor lives in North America.
Gnu The gnu is a fast-running, herding, grass-eater from eastern Africa. It is also known as the wildebeest.	Goat Goats are sure-footed, hoofed mammals.	Golden Eagle Golden Eagles are large birds of prey.	Grasshopper Grasshoppers are insects that can hop, walk, and fly. There are about 10,000 different species of grasshoppers worldwide.
Gray Wolf Gray wolves are carnivores that live in packs and howl.	Great Horned Owl A large bird of prey from North and South America.	Hippopotamus The hippopotamus is a large African mammal that stays in the water a lot.	Hyena A meat-eating mammal that hunts and scavenges prey.

Impala A high-jumping, lightly-built antelope from southern Africa.	Jack Rabbit Jack rabbits are hares; they have very long legs and long ears.	Jaguar The jaguar is a large, spotted wild cat from South and Central America.	Kakapo A large, flightless, nocturnal, solitary parrot from New Zealand.
Kangaroo Kangaroos hop and have pouches. Their babies are called joeys.	Leopard Leopards are widely-distributed, spotted wild cats.	Lion A group of lions is called a pride.	Llama Llama are woolly mammals from South America.