Tropical Savannah Ecosystems

Tropical Savannah Ecosystems

Subject – Environment

Context – Climate mitigation should not come at cost of biodiversity conservation, warns tropical savanna ecologist

Concept –

• A grassland ecosystem is a dry area of land dominated by grasses. Huge trees and shrubs are very rarely found in these regions, which is mainly because of the climatic conditions and other environmental factors, which do not withstand the plant’s requirements.
• Grasslands are also called transitional landscape.
• These ecosystems are mainly found in regions, where there is a scarcity of water and not enough and regular rainfall to support the growth of plants and forests. The grassland ecosystem lies between the deserts and the forest ecosystems.
• Savanna grasslands and temperate grasslands are some examples of grassland ecosystems. Grasslands of South America are known as pampas and central Eurasian grasslands are referred to as steppes and so on.

Tropical Grasslands

• Savana climate is also known as Sudan climate. It is a transitional type of climate which can be found in the region between equatorial rainforests and hot deserts of the subtropics.
• Tropical grasslands have dry and wet seasons that remain warm all the time. These regions are warm throughout the year, followed by dry and wet seasons.
  • A typical characteristic feature of Savanna climate is the extreme diurnal range of temperature.
• Tropical Grasslands are the ones which receive 50 cm to 130 cm rain.
  • All the rainfall in the region is concentrated during the summer.
• It is situated within the tropical latitudes on either side of the equator. It is well developed in Sudan, and hence the name, where there are distinct wet and dry seasons.
• Trade-winds are the prevailing winds of the region which bring rainfall in the coastal areas. They are easterly winds – flow from east to west, hence the rainfall is maximum on the east coasts.
• Also, the tropical grasslands contain quite short plants which makes it an excellent hunting ground.
• The tropical grassland is a home for elephants, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, zebras, and other spectacular species.
• Tropical Grasslands are:
  • East Africa- Savanna
  • Brazil- Campos
  • Venezuela- Llanos

Temperate Grasslands

• These grasslands are similar to tropical grasslands, except for the climatic conditions. They have cold winters and warm summers with 25 cm and 75 cm. of annual rainfall. Shrublands are the best example of temperate grasslands.
• Moreover, these grasslands suffer extreme climates. In the cold season, the temperature can reach up to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. While in the summer season it reaches up to 90 degrees in some areas.
• The precipitation in these grasslands is mostly in the form of dew and snow.
• Some vegetation that grows here are, cacti, sagebrush, perennial grasses, buffalo grass clovers, and wild indigos, etc.
• Temperate Grasslands are:
  • Argentina- Pampas
  • America- Prairie
  • South Africa- Veld
  • Asia- Steppe
  • Australia- Down