Tropical Savanna

General Information The tropical savanna is characterized by the tall grass and occasional trees. The savanna exists in areas with a 6 to 8 month period of wet summer and a dry winter season. The annual rainfall in the Savanna’s depends on the geographic location. Some can get 10 inches and some can get up to 50 inches. Fire is an important trait in the savanna’s it is what makes the savanna’s a tropical savanna and not a tropical rainforest.

Abiotic Factors The abiotic factors in this Biome are; Warm temps, occasional rainfall, and fires set by lightning when it rains.

Dominant plants Tall perennial grasses; sometimes drought- tolerant and fire resistant trees or shrubs. Grass is the most dominant plant in the tropical savanna and it sometimes it can grow to be 6 to 9 feet tall. There are some trees like the Baobab tree is so use to the climate that it doesn’t produce leaves until the wet season.

Dominant Wildlife Certain animals only show up in certain geographic location. The most familiar savanna is the African savanna which is home to a variety of animals like: elephants, zebras, hyenas, rhinos, and lions.

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Geographic Distribution Large regions of the tropical savanna extends throughout the nations of Botswana, Namibia, and southern Brazil, India, and Australia.

Interesting Facts Savannas are tropical grasslands that contains scattered trees normally along the border of tropical rain forest. Annual rainfall is 40 to 60 inches. Almost half of Africa is considered a savanna.

Questions? What type of animals are found in the savanna? What type of trees are found in the savanna? What is the temperature range in the savanna? Is this animal part of the savanna?

Resources sysflr/savannah.html Prentice Hall Biology Miller Levine