Savanna Grassland Yousser Louhaichi

Biome Definition: A major ecological community of organisms adapted to a particular climate on a large geographic area in which they occur. Example: The Savanna

Savanna A savanna (savannah), is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the way trees are spaced.

Show distribution It is about five million square miles, that is located generally in central Africa. Along with large areas in Australia and South America

Show climate Climate is the most important factor in creating a savanna. Savannah grasslands have very long, hot, dry seasons followed by short rainy seasons. There is an annual precipitation of 10 to 30 inches (100 to 150 cm) of rain. From December to February hardly any rain falls at all. Animals that live in the savannah climate have adapted to cope with the generally dry conditions and make the most of water when it is available. In summer the average temperature of a savannah grassland is 27oC whilst in winter it is 18oC. There are usually no clouds in the sky above the savannah grasslands so the temperature falls dramatically at night because clouds help reflect heat back to earth and keep it warm.

Fires Seasonal fires play a vital role in the savanna’s biodiversity (verity in a particular ecosystem). In October, a series of violent thunderstorms, followed by a strong drying wind, signals the beginning of the dry season. Fires start around January, at the height of the dry season.

Vegetation structure The vegetation structure of a savanna is flat grass land with occasional trees (scattered individual tree)

NPP The rate at which vegetation grows is known as Net Primary Production (NPP). expressed in grams of dry organic matter per square meter per year. The NPP for the Savanna grasslands are estimated to have a mean NPP of 900g/m2 Per year

NPP

Human Impacts Human had caused a lot of changes to the landscape of and the animals in grasslands since a long time ago. Large areas of grassland have been turned into farmlands for growing crops. Sometimes, fires are started by human and they spread quickly through grasses and damage the soils. Animals have been shot for their valuable body parts. Example elephants are shot for their tusks, lions are killed for their fur.

Bib http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Biome http://www.bornfree.org.uk/wild-crew/habitat-conservation/habitat/savannah-grasslands/ http://www.pupilvision.com/uppersixth/savanna1.htm http://environmentalsciencehh2.wikispaces.com/Savanna+(Tropical+Grassland http://library.thinkquest.org/26634/grass/impact.htm http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/grassland.html#savan