Donna Latham - Savannas and Grasslands

Scientists dont agree on how many biomes there are. Some divide the earth into five biomes. Others argue for 12.

biome: a large natural area with a distinctive climate, geology, and set of water resources. A biomes plants and animals are adapted for life there.

climate: average weather patterns in an area over many years.

geology: the rocks, minerals, and physical structure of an area.

biodiversity: the range of living things in an ecosystem.

adapt: changes a plant or animal makes to survive in new or different conditions.

ecosystem: a community of living and nonliving things and their environment. Living things are plants, animals, and insects. Nonliving things are soil, rocks, and water.

environment: everything in nature, living and nonliving.

Each biome has its own biodiversity, which is the range of living things adapted for life there. It also contains many ecosystems. In an ecosystem, living and nonliving things interact with their environment.

Teamwork keeps the system balanced and working. Earths biomes are connected together, creating a vast web of life.

Trek through the earths grasslands and youll find yourself walking across every continent except Antarctica. Grasslands are huge areas of open land with few trees or large shrubs. Grasses cover the vast hills and plains.

About one quarter of the earths land is covered with temperate or tropical grasslands.

Temperate grasslands are usually in the middle of continents, north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn. They have a growing season in the hot summers and a dormant season during the cold winters. Tropical grasslands, near the equator, have a rainy season and a dry season.

plains: a large, flat expanse of land.

temperate: climate or weather that changes with the seasons but is generally not too extreme.

tropical: climate or weather that is hot and humid all year.

Tropic of Cancer: a line north of the equator. It marks the farthest north that the sun can appear directly overhead at noon.

Tropic of Capricorn: a line south of the equator. It marks the farthest south that the sun can appear directly overhead at noon.

dormant: when plants are not actively growing during the winter or when it is very dry.

Temperate grasslands receive 10 to 35 inches of precipitation a year (25 to 89 centimeters). Most of it falls in the late spring and early summer. Summer temperatures can be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). Winter temperatures can be as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 degrees Celsius).

Grasslands in different places have different names. The United States and Canadas temperate grassland is known as the prairie.

precipitation: any falling moisture, such as rain or snow.

prairie: the temperate grassland of North America.

pampas: the temperate grassland of South America.

veldt: the temperate grassland of southern Africa.

Eurasia: the land that includes Europe and Asia.

steppe: the temperate grassland of Eurasia.

The prairie is generally covered with tall grasses and fills in the land east of the Rocky Mountains.

South Americas largest grassland is called the pampas. It covers parts of Argentina, southern Brazil, and most of Uruguay. The temperate grasslands of southern Africa are called the veldt.

Eurasias temperate grassland is called the steppe. It is the largest grassland in the world, crossing Mongolia, Siberia, Tibet, and China. The steppe is generally covered in short grasses.