Grassland/Savannah

general characteristics of grasslands

grass (few trees), 10-30 in. rain, rolling/flat, warm summers & cold winters vegetation

grasses

sod-formers and bunchgrasses, cool and warm season grasses

forbs

composites, legumes

stratification

herbaceous, ground, root layers

productivity

high root/shoot, greatest productivity per unit standing crop, enhanced by grazing

grazers

mammals, numerous invertebrates - insects (grasshoppers), nematodes (root consumption)

types of grasslands

cultivated, successional, North American, Eurasian Steppes, South American Pampas, South American Pampas, South African Veldt, Australian grassland

tall-grass prairie

big bluestem (espec. lowlands), needlegrass (dryer upland), legumes, composites (e.g. daisy), squirrels, gophers

mixed-grass prairie

needlegrass, grama grass, bison, pronghorn antelope

short-grass prairie

blue grama, buffalo grass, prairie dogs

desert grassland

southwestern US, northern Mexico, bunchgrasses

annual grassland

San Joaquin valley, CA

Palouse Prairie

between Rocky Mtns. and Cascades, cool-season bunchgrasses, sagebrush

Eurasian steppes

hamster

South African Veldt

antelope, leopard, lion, zebra, hyaena, ostrich

Australian grassland

kangaroos

General features of a Savannah

grass with scattered woody vegetation, wet/dry seasons, tropics/subtropics

central and southern Africa

wildebeest, leopard, lion, zebra, giraffe, elephants, cheetah, rhino, hyaena, termites, bunchgrasses