Grasslands

Goods and Services• Food (meat) — Domestic and wild animals sustained by grassland

forage provide vital sources of meat, milk and other products. • Biodiversity — Grasslands comprise 35 of 136 terrestrial

ecoregions identified as outstanding examples of diverse ecosystems.

• Food (cereals) —Wheat, rice, rye, and other major crop grains originated in grasslands, a prime source of crop genetic resources.

• Carbon storage — Grasslands store about 34% or the terrestrial global stock of carbon, most of it in the soil rather than in vegetation.

• Energy — Fuelwood and windfarms are important sources of energy originating in grasslands.

• Tourism — Developing countries with vast grasslands reap substantial economic gains from grassland recreation and tourism.

Different Opinion on Grassland and Beef

• http://www.stosselintheclassroom.org/index.php?p=video_grassfed_beef.html&l=3

Carbon Sink

• Grasslands store about one-third of terrestrial ecosystems' global stock of carbon.

Konza Prairie Biological Station

Carbon Sink

Unlike forests, where carbon is stored primarily in vegetation, in grasslands most of the carbon stock is in the soil.

What are the primary pressures threatening grassland ecosystems? • Outright conversion to other uses such as

building roads--infrastructure

• Desertification

• Fire

• Overgrazing

Ecosystem Services from Grasslands

• purification of air and water• preservation of soil and renewal of soil fertility• prevention of flood and drought• regulation of climate• maintenance of biodiversity• movement and cycling of nutrients• detoxification and decomposition of wastes• aesthetic beauty

Why no trees?

• The precipitation is so eratic that drought and fire prevent large forests from growing.

• Grasses can survive fires because they grow from the bottom instead of the top. Their stems can grow again after being burned off. The soil of most grasslands is also too thin and dry for trees to survive.

Tall, Mixed and Short• There are three different types

of grasslands;

tall-grass, which are humid

very wet

• short-grass, which are dry, with hotter summers and colder winters than the tall-grass prairie.

• Mixed –a combination of tall and short grasses

North American Prairie

Where are they located?

• The prairies form a triangular area from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Great Plains to southern Texas and Mexico, They cover about 1.4 million square miles.

• As you move from east to west, the rainfall in the prairies decreases.

Bluestem Grass• This grass is also called

Turkey feet because the shape of the seed heads look like turkey feet. It is also called beard grass.

• The name big bluestem grass comes from the fact that this grass can grow to very big, 3 to 10 feet as a matter of fact. It blooms from June through September.

Flint Hills of Kansas

Fire is important to the Flint Hills

Animals of the Prairie

An endangered biome

A true natural grassland is

becoming harder and harder

to find because people are

taking them over.

They are plowing the grass

for farming and digging

holes in search of oil.

Dry, Cold Grassland

• The Steppe biome is a dry, cold, grassland that is found in all of the continents except Australia and Antarctica.

• It is mostly found in the USA, Mongolia, Siberia, Tibet and China.

• There isn't much humidity in the air because Steppe is located away from the ocean and close to mountain barriers.

Steppe Location

• found between

the desert and

the forest.

• average rainfall is 10-30 inches per year. But in May, June, and August, the Steppe can get up to 4-5 inches a month.

Grasses of the Steppe

The grasses are separated into 3 different groups,depending on how much rain they get:• The tall grasses grow up to 4 1/2 feet because

they live closer to the forest. • The short grasses can be less than 1 1/2 feet.

They are closer to the dessert. 1 1/2 feet is a small amount, considering that people don't cut the grasses.

• The last group is the mixed grasses. They grow 2-3 feet high and get 15-20 inches of rain per year.

Is it a good place to live?

Very few people live in the Steppe climate because it's only grass

Farmers would have a hard time growing crops because the soil is so poor and its so cold.

There is also a lot of wind.

Steppe Climate

• Steppe has warm summers and really cold winters. There is often a lot of snow in the northern Steppes.

• All the Steppes experience long droughts and violent winds.

• Sometimes the summers are so hot that the grasses catch on fire. That is more dangerous then usual because the grass is so dry that it spreads quickly

Animals of the Steppe

• Grazing animals, such as rabbits, mice, antelopes, horses, etc. Smaller animals have little defense from predators.

• Since it is such an open environment and predators can find animals fast, they either form herds or make burrows.

• The Corsac fox is a long legged, reddish gray fox with large ears and a short, pointy face

• The Corsac Fox is slightly smaller than the red fox, about 50-60 cm, and as tall as an average sized dog.

Mongolian Gerbil

is light brown with black tipped hairs and its under fur is gray. They are the size of any pet gerbil.

live in burrows with sandy soil

eat seeds, roots, vegetables and drink water.

Saiga Antelope

• The Saiga antelope once roamed from western Europe, across the Eurasian continent and into Alaska. It now only lives in areas of the dry steppes and semi deserts of Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Kalmykia.

Northern Lynx

• The northern lynx is basically a very large cat with a powerful body, short sturdy legs, and a very short tail.

Saker Falcon

• The saker falcon is a big, strong bird of prey with large feet and pointed wings.

• It is larger than the peregrine falcon, and has a very wide wingspan for its size.

Soon to be extinct

• Because the birds have become scarce, both adult and juvenile birds are now being caught throughout Asia and sold to the Middle Eastern falcon market. Without breeding adults in the wild, the Saker Falcon's population is in danger of declining

• There are only about 200 pairs of Steppe Saker Falcons left and they may become extinct in the next 10 to 15 years.

Plants of the Steppe

• Fringed Sagebrush

• Milk Vetch Rhubarb

• Tumbleweed

Also known as African Velt

Climate

• Very, very wet

• Or

• Very, very dry

Vertical Feeding Patterns

Grasslands and Land Use

Urbanization and Land Use

• In central North America, tall-grass prairie has decreased by nearly 97%, converted to urban and agricultural areas.

Conversion to croplands has been as high as 76% in South America and from 20% to 40% in other regions.

Land Cover Type

• Rangeland

• Forest land

• Cropland

• Parks and preserves

• Wetlands, mountains, deserts, other

• Urban land

Aldo Leopold

• Founder of Wilderness

Society

Formed the Land Ethic

Father of native grass

Restoration and wilderness management and presersvation

Urban Land Use

• Urbanization

• Infrastructure

• Urban Sprawl

Heat Island

• Sun traps (buildings) radiate heat at night increasing the temperatures and impacting weather in the grassland biome