The Grassland Biome

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate August 2001

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Did you know that Grasslands are found on every continent except Antarctica? Grass lands first during the Eocene Era. Grasslands supported the development of communities of gazers that are the grassy plains on our planet. There are about 11,000 species of grass and each one adapted for survival to survive in the environmental conditions. About a quarter of our vegetation consists of grasses, and some grow under very difficult conditions because of the climate in the grasslands. Grasses also developed unique characteristics to survive.

The climate in the grassland biome is slightly drier than the climate in the deciduous forest biome. The temprature ranges from 20 c to 30 c. The average rainfall varies in the grassland from 10 to 40 inches year around. Fires in the grassland can cause the grasslands to thrive. The grass that gets burned enriches the soil, which allows new plants to grow. Some of the wild flowers can only sprout there seeds unless a searing heat.

Fire also helps certain plants from growing that could change the grassland environment such as the deciduous tress. 1 Some of the examples of grassland animals are African Elephant, Bison, Black rhinoceros, black footed ferret, bobolink, brown hyena, giraffe, Greater Prairie Chicken, Ground Dove, lion, meadow vole, Northern pocket gopher, ostrich, prairie dog, and the warthog. Some plants in the grassland are dangerous such as the Stinging needle plant that grows to be 3 feet tall and causes a painful sting when it touches bare skin. Poison ivy is also a dangerous and that could be found at the edge of the prairie. The prairie has Its dangerous plants but it also has beautiful such as the blazingstar, this plant reaches up to 5 feet high. Another beautiful plant is the sweet coneflower, which can grow to be...