Grassland
By : Sarah Iqbal
Description of Grasslands
A grassland is basically a huge field of grass. Grasslands get between 10 to 30 inches of rain each year. Not many trees grow in grasslands, but if grasslands got more rain then they could turn into a forest. If grasslands got less rain it would turn into a dessert. The soil of grasslands tend to be very deep and fertile. Crops grow very well in this type of soil, too.
Location
Grasslands are mainly located in North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. You normally find grasslands in between a dessert and a forest. In North America grassland are mostly called "prairies", in South America they are mostly called "pampas", in Europe they are mainly called "steppes", and in Africa they are referred to mainly as "savannas".
Animals
In the grasslands there are mainly animals like zebras and bisons. They are in herds and they feed on the grass. Since grasslands only get 10 to 30 inches of rainfall each year and there is a seasonal drought each year also the animals are mainly there only in the rainy months.
Plants
Grass is the main plant in grasslands, of course, but you barely see bushes or trees in grasslands. There are many different kinds of grasses though, for example there are, purple needlegrass, wild oats, foxtail, ryegrass, buffalo grass, and some others. There are also some different kind of flowers that grow with the grass like the prairie blazingstar, the sweet coneflower, and purple coneflower and more.
Climate
The prairies of North America have an average temperature of about 20 degrees Fahrenheit around January and 70 degrees around July. The farther west you go more near the middle of the country the weather becomes drier. There isn't really anything to stop the wind so normally it is pretty windy in these grasslands.
The savannas of Africa are normally kind of tropical. When worm moist air from the equator moves in and around this time it is normally really hot and moist. After that's over though a cooler drier season comes that can last around 8 months or more.
The pampas of South America normally have tropical weather also. Moist wether is the main weather in this area. Tall grass tends to grow well here.
The steppes of Europe have a cold and dry weather. The Himalayas block warm, moist air from the Indian Ocean, so there is not much precipitation. But there is nothing to block the winds from the north so in the winter it gets really cold.
Threat
One major threat is that there is already enough difficulty drawing a line between moist desserts and dry grasslands. But if the earths temperature goes higher some of the grasslands might turn into desserts. And one main reason why that isn't good is because we use some grasslands for growing different kinds of crops.