GrasslandsBy: Courtney Lewis and Josh England

Climate

•In the winter grasslands temperatures can be as low as 40 degrees.

•In the summer it can get up to at least 70 degrees

•Growing season is when plants are able to grow because there is no frost

•Not growing season (dormant) season is when nothing can grow from the coldness

Graphs

GrasslandIngeniera White, Argentina

Locations

In the northern hemisphere the main grasslands are the prairies of the Midwestern United States and Canada.

In Eurasia the maker grasslands are the steppes of Russia and the grasslands of the Mideast extending from Turkey to India.

Grasslands are also found in South America. Africa certainly has grasslands, but the majority of them are classified instead as savannas.

Biotic Factors

•Grasslands support 81 species per 1000 miles squared.

•Out of every six plants found in South Africa only one is grass.

Food Web

Animals in the Grasslands

Grassland reptiles and InvertibratesSpecies Common Name Elaphe vulpine gloydi Eastern Fox Snake Thamnophis butleri Butler's Garter Snake Tenodera aridiflora Chinese Mantid (a Praying Mantis) Mantis religiosa European Mantid (a Praying

Mantis) Malanoplus femur-rubrum Red-Legged Locust Schistocerca americana American Bird Grasshopper Danaus plexippus Monarch (a butterfly) Papilio polyxenes asterius Eastern Black Swallowtail (a butterfly) Nymphalis antiopa Mourning Cloak (a butterfly)

Grassland mammals and birdsSpecies Common Name Sylvagus floridanus Eastern Cottontail Vulpes vulpes Red Fox (common) Canis latrans Coyote (common) Microtus sp. Voles (common) Zapus hudsonii Meadow Jumping Mouse Buteo jamaicensis Red-Tailed Hawk (common) Falco sparverius American Kestral (common) Asio flammeus Short-Eared Owl (uncommon)

Grassland destruction

Causes of grassland destruction Wildfires Lightning Destruction by humansNatural destruction

Interesting Grassland facts

Crops grow well in the rich soil.Grasslands receive about 10 to 30 inches of

rain per yearIf they received more rain, the grasslands

would become a forest. If they received less, they would become a desert.

Trees are found only by rivers and streams. The grassland seems like an endless ocean of grass.

The wild prairie has disappeared, for the most part, from the United States. Only a few spots of wild prairie remain.

Tourist attractions

grassland tourist area is located in Zhongwei County Tengger Desert hinterland, 30 kilometers away from the city of Zhongwei County

Questions

1. What are some decomposers in the grassland?2.What are some plants found in temperate grasslands?3.What types of animals live in a grasslands ecosystem? 4.How much of the earth’s surface is grassland? 5.What is the climate like in grassland?

Work cited

•http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/grass.htm

•earthobservatory.nasa.gov/.../biograssland.php

•http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/grasslands.htm

•http://www.hamiltonnature.org/habitats/grasslands/grass_animals.htm

•http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/grasslnd/index.htm