Added: 02/19/2006 |
Grassland climate is one of terrestrial biomesGrassland is one of several types of terrestrial biomes, where grasses form the predominant vegetation, usually mixed with herbs and sometimes with shrubs, but usually without trees. Grasslands dotted with trees are called savanna. Grassland climate usually implies 25-75 cm (10-30 inches) of rainfall annually. Fires, natural and human-caused, are important in the maintenance of many grasslands.
Grasslands may occur naturally or as the result of human activity. Grasslands created and maintained by human activity are called anthropogenic grasslands and human activities may influence grassland climate. Hunting peoples around the world often set regular fires to maintain and extend grasslands, and prevent fire-intolerant trees and shrubs from taking hold. The tall grass prairies in the American Midwest may have been extended eastward into Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio by human agency. Other anthropogenic grasslands include pasture, where forest or shrub lands were cleared to create land for intensive grazing.
There are tropical and subtropical grasslands with tropical and subtropical savannas and shrub lands which characterise by grassland climate. Notable tropical and subtropical grasslands include the Llanos grasslands of northern South America. Temperate grasslands are mid-latitude grasslands, including the Prairie of North America, the Pampa of Argentina and the steppes of Eurasia. Flooded grasslands are grasslands that are flooded seasonally or year-round, like the Everglades of Florida or the Pantanal of Bolivia and Paraguay. They are classified with flooded savannas as the flooded grasslands and savannas biome, which occurs mostly in the tropics and subtropics with specific grassland climate. Montane grasslands are high-altitude grasslands located on high mountain ranges around the world, like the P?ramo of the Andes Mountains. They are part of the montane grasslands and shrub lands biome. Xeric grasslands or desert grasslands are sparse grasslands located in deserts and xeric shrub lands ecoregions.
In ecology, a biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the region's physical natural environment, latitude, altitude and terrain factors. A biome is composed of the climax vegetation and all associated sub climax, or degraded, vegetation, fauna and soils, but can often be identified by the climax vegetation type.
Taiga is a biome characterized by coniferous forests. Covering most of inland Canada, northern Russia and Siberia, taigas are one of the world's major sources of oxygen. In Canada, boreal forest is the term used to refer to the southern part of this biome, while taiga climate is used to describe the more barren northern areas south of the Arctic tree-line. The taiga is the most northerly zone in which trees and species which require them can survive. The key limiting factor is the very long and low winter temperature limiting plant and animal life, and the prolonged exposure to the sun in the summer.
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