Cool Savannah Earth’s Biomes

World Distribution Africa Australia Madagascar India South America There are many areas out there where you will find the savanna biomes: Africa Australia Madagascar India South America the Southeast part of Asia.

Climate/Temperature Savannas have two seasons, a wet and dry season: During the rainy season, (May and ending in September) they get 15- 25 inches of rain a month. In the dry season they only get about four inches of rain. The dry season occurs from October to March in the southern hemisphere and April to September in the northern hemisphere. The dry season comes in the low sun period and the wet season comes in the high sun period. They have a wet-dry tropical climate. During the dry season the average daily temperature is 93 degrees. During the rainy season it drops to a more comfortable average of 61 degrees.

Rain/Snowfall

Temperature

Geology & Elevation the geological history of northern Australia. But hills, which tend to be eroded mountains, are a pretty rare sight in the tropical savannas (let alone mountains) as even they have eroded away. Australian savanna is low and flat. the driest of the continents. Australia covers almost 7.7 million square kilometers (sq. km) and compared to other countries is quite flat. Less than 1% of the country is above 1000 meters in elevation and most of the savanna region is less than 500 meters above sea-level. This is because most mountains and hills that Australia may once have had have eroded away over time. Since the super-continent Gondwanaland broke up around 100 million years ago, there has been little geological activity like mountain building in Australia, and consequently Australian geology is relatively old and weathered.

Biodiversity Animals Plants There are 45 species of mammals, almost 500 species of birds, and 55 species of acacia in the Serengeti Plains. Lions, Black Mambas, African Elephants, African Wild Dogs, Grant Zebra's, Crocodiles, African wildcats, klipspringer, steenbok, Burchell-zebra, and puff adders. The Savanna has the largest diversity of hoofed animals in the world including antelopes, wildebeest, buffalos, zebras, and rhinoceros. Acacia Senegal, candelabra tree, jackalberry tree, umbrella thorn acacia, whistling thorn, Bermuda grass, baobabs, and elephant grass. Many plants have developed long tap roots to be able to reach down to water. Certain types of trees have thick, fire resistant bark and trunks that are able to store water.

Indigenous people/Threats Savanna areas are popular with nomads (people who move from place to place) such as: Massai tribe of Kenya. People letting their cattle overgraze in times of serious drought animals can remove the scarce vegetation cover. This leaves the soil prone to erosion. Leading to Desertification (land turning to desert) in extreme cases. Large areas of Australian and South American savannas have been cleared of trees, and this clearing is continuing today. For example until recently 480,000 ha of savanna were cleared annually in Australia alone primarily to improve pasture production.Subst antial savanna areas have been cleared of woody vegetation and much of the area that remains today is vegetation that has been disturbed by either clearing or thinning at some point in the past.

Threats Continued During dry spells herders aren’t letting their animals graze in these areas and during grazing period they use multiple areas of this land so the resources can replenish before they come back. As far as clearing trees go, there is a limit on how much land can be altered and plowed because this destruction of habitat can distort and deplete the biodiversity of the ecosystem.

Works Cited "The Savanna." The Savanna. UVM, July 2007. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.uvm.edu/~inquiryb/webquest/sp09/lstacey/The Savanna.html>. "Savanna." Savanna. Learn on the Internet, 2009. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/savanna.ht ml>. Savanna Biomes." Savanna Biomes. Blueplanet, Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna.htm>. "Early Savanna Geology." Savanna Explorer. NAIR, 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.savanna.org.au/all/geology.html>.