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Quick Key Facts. Roughly 40 percent of Earth’s land surface is covered by grasslands.. Grasslands store about one-third of Earth’s terrestrial carbon and act as important carbon sinks.. More ...
Woody plants, shrubs or trees may occur on some grasslands—forming savannas, scrubby grassland or semi-wooded grassland, such as the African savannas or the Iberian deheza. [ 17 ] As flowering plants and trees, grasses grow in great concentrations in climates where annual rainfall ranges between 500 and 900 mm (20 and 35 in). [ 18 ]
The tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are characterized by rainfall levels between 90–150 centimetres (35–59 in) per year. [1] Rainfall can be highly seasonal, with the entire year's rainfall sometimes occurring within a couple of weeks. African savannas occur between forest or woodland regions and grassland regions.
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are terrestrial biomes defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. [1] The predominant vegetation in these biomes consists of grass and/or shrubs . The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to semi-humid.
There are seasonally flooded grasslands and savannas (llano bajo) and grasslands and savannas that remain dry throughout the year (llano alto). [2] The llano alto grasslands and savannas are characterized by grasses and shrubs 30–100 cm high, forming tussocks 10 to 30 cm apart. Soils are typically sandy and nutrient-poor.
Fire kills the vascular tissue of trees, but not prairie species, as up to 75% (depending on the species) of the total plant biomass is below the soil surface and will re-grow from its deep (upwards of 20 feet [11]) roots. Without disturbance, trees will encroach on a grassland and cast shade, which suppresses the understory.
The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America.The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides), the two less dominant grasses in the prairie are greasegrass (Tridens flavus) and sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula).
The grasslands are home habitat for resident prairie birds, while the wetlands of the region are important stopovers for birds migrating between North America and Mexico. The Cheyenne Bottoms near Great Bend, Kansas , and the Platte River in Nebraska are particularly important for migrating sandhill cranes and other waders .