Temperate Grasslands
By Alan M Pelletier II
Human Impacts
Humans have also burned much grassland, this releases a ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. America runs on production, production of items and food. Genetically mutating animals where they grow faster and larger than normal creates a hungry animal. This is where major overgrazing comes into play. Overgrazing has a large impact on the nutrients in the soil, and created the inability for grasses to repopulate.
All of these factors can be helpful to human population, but it hurts the natural grassland that is home to many species.
Things to do and see
Plants and their adaptations
They have all adapted to grow taller than the other species to receive more sun. Roots of plants have adapted to grow very deep, to keep moisture during droughts. Perennial grasses have adapted to bud below ground, so it is fire resistant to fire, and minor droughts.
Animals and their adaptations
Adaptations: Antelope, being able to see predators coming, have adapted to run quickly away from danger. Small mammals have adapted their front paws, to be able to big burrows underground to keep away from predators. Coyotes have adapted to hunt in packs to have an advantage over prey. All animals have adapted their skins to create camouflage and have also adapted their digestive systems to process large amounts of grass.
Citations:
About American Prairie Reserve [Internet]. Bozeman(MT); [2016, cited 2016 Jan 29] . Available from: http://www.americanprairie.org/aboutapf/
Miller Jr. TM, Spoolman SS. 2011. Natural Capital Degradation [Internet]. Sixteenth Edition . Belmont(CA); [2011, cited 2016 Jan 29] Available from: Living in the Environment
Temperate Grassland Ecosystem [Internet]. 2013. [cited 2016 Jan 31] . Available from: https://wildtracks.wordpress.com/world-ecosystems/grassland-ecosystems/temperate-grassland-ecosystem/