Temperate Grassland Biome
Biology Research project
Weather and Climate
Landforms
Animal Life
GRAZERS- Buffalo, Cows, Horses, and Deer. In Africa there are Antelope, Gazelles, Zebra, and Rhino's.
SMALL MAMMALS- Mice and Jackrabbits, skunks, weasels such as Black-footed ferrets, and badgers. Several species of snakes including the harmless garder snake and poisonous rattle snake. There are prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and pocket gophers that use underground tunnels to raise their young.
Plant Life
LEGUMES- Butterfly weed is a legume, a plant that processes nitrogen from the atmosphere and makes it available to the grassland biome. It blooms throughout the warmer months and it attracts butterfly's and bee's. Lead-plant is considered an indicator species denoting high quality grassland's. It prefers dry soil's. It is important to wildlife, attracting bees and wasp which in turn are important food sources for birds. Purple prairie clovers prefers full sun and well draining soils. Herbivores like its sweet taste making it difficult to grow in high dense populations. It is uncommon in disturbed areas.
Plant and Animal Adaptations
PLANTS- Prairie grasses have adapted to the unreliable levels of precipitation by growing narrow leaves, which restrict water loss. Many grasses have taken advantage of the windy conditions and are wind pollinated, while soft stems enable them to bend in the strong winds and prevent any damage.The extensive root systems of prairie grasses prevent grazing animals from pulling roots completely out of the ground. In addition, the roots grow deep down into the ground to absorb as much water as possible. During fires, the above ground portion of grasses are destroyed while the deep roots survive to sprout again, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden website.
Animal and plant relationships
Biotic Factors
Plants: As you know from the title temperate grasselands are dominated by several types of grasses. These grasses are known as perrenial grasses because with underground stems and buds these grasses are not easily destroyed by wild fires. When these grasses are eaten they are healthy because they grow so low to the ground. Also in temperate grasslands there are many wildflowers and very very little amount of trees and shrubs. There are not many trees and shrubs that are in temperate grasslands but the few there are, are destroyed easliy by fires, unlike the grasses. Some wildflowers you might see in temperate grasslands are goldenrods, sunflowers, and wild indigos.
Animals: Temperate Grasslands lack diversity in animal life especially compared to savannahs because they are so alike. Temperate grassland's animal life is mostly herbivorous vertabraes, known as ungulates (ex. antlope). Ungulates are mammals with hoofs and long legs for escaping predators. Some animals located in the North American temperate grasslands are bison, antelpope, birds, gophers, prarie dogs, coyotes, and insects. Also in the Steppes of Eurasia you could find some lynx, antelopes falcons, and foxes.