There are four types of grasslands in the world. One of them is the plains and prairies of North America. There are the steppes in the Soviet Union and the veld of South Africa. The last type of grasslands are the pampas of Argentina.
MAJOR LOCATIONS
Some major locations of grasslands are the Great Plains of North America, Pampa of Argentina, fields of southern Africa, parts of Hungary, Northeastern China, USSR, Siberia, the Serengeti Plains of Africa, South America, and Australia.
APPEARANCES
The appearances of grasslands are as follows. The dominant organisms are grasses in grasslands. There are flat rolling terrains, and trees and shrubs are scattered out or in clumps along stream or low areas.
CLIMATE
There are wet and dry seasons with extended droughts. There are drying winds and extreme temperatures. The rainfall gets between 25 to 75 centimeters annually.
PLANTS
There are two major types of plants ; grasses and shrubs. Some short grasses are buffalo grass, alfalfa, ragweed, and blue grass. Some tall grasses are big blue stem, iron weed, and wheat grass. Some shrubs are trees, herbs, flowers (sunflowers), and weeds.
PLANT ADAPTATIONS
Some plant adaptations are as follows. The colorful blossoms attract insects to pollinate them. Extensive root systems for some shrubs can get water from far down in the Earth. Different species' roots get most of their water and nutrients from different levels in the soil.
ANIMALS
One vertebrate animal is the Gnus. Gnus belong to the family Bovidae. They make up the genus Connochaetes. The black wildebeest is classified as Connochaetes gnou, and the blue wildebeest as Connochaetes taurinus.
Another mammal is the Giraffe. The giraffe belongs to the family Giraffidae. It is classified as Giraffa camelopardalis. Zebras can also be found in the grasslands.
Zebras belong to the family Equidae. The mountain zebra is classified as Equus zebra, Burchell's zebra as Equus burchelli, the true quagga as Equus quagga, and Grévy's zebra as Equus grevyi.
Prairie Dogs are also found in the grasslands. Prairie dogs make up the genus Cynomys in the family Sciuridae. The common prairie dog is classified as Cynomys ludovicianus. Also see ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS.
ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS
Three examples of animal adaptation are first giraffes because their necks are adapted to feed from the tall trees instead of feeding from the smaller trees where all the other animals feed. Another one is the wart hog because they have good camouflage to protect themselves from predators. One more animal adaptation is that different animals eat from different parts of the plant. Zebras eat from the top part of the grass and the wildebeest eats the leaves, leaving the gazelles to eat the rest of what's left.
NATURAL BALANCE
The amount of rainfall determines the amount of grass, which determines the number of herbivores, which controls the number of predators. Without this balance the grasses would be soon be eaten completely and the land would become a desert.
