BY: HEIDI SMITH AND MIRANDA SMART Temperate Grasslands
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Location Temperate grasslands are located in North America,
Eurasia, Argentina, Southern Africa, and the Australian/New Zealand
South Island.
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Climate The climate in the temperate grasslands are adapted to
recurring drought. Temperate grasslands appear homogenous but
important structural and floristic differences have developed in
response to regional and local conditions. Temperate grasslands are
characterized by increasing latitude (warm to cold and moist to
dry) and longitude (moist to dry and warm to cold.)
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Climatogram
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Producers Broomsedge grass Wild Cane Grassland plants can
survive in both cold and dry weather conditions as grassland biomes
have mostly hot summers and rainfalls; also many a time, with
falling snow. The plants reserve the moisture during rainfall and
snow which helps them in growing season. The plants adapt to this
condition and they grow and survive accordingly.
African Wild Dog The African wild dog is an endangered animal
residing in central sub-Saharan Africa. The size of a small German
shepherd, the African wild dog possesses rounded, rather than
pointy ears and mottled or spotty coats that range in color from
beige to black. Kids' Planet places the population of African wild
dogs at between 2,000 and 5,000, with many in captivity. Population
losses for the African wild dog come from reduction in habitat size
and infectious poisoning by humans.
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Northern Bald Ibis According to Bird Life International, the
majority (95 percent) of the northern bald ibis's population is
centered in Morocco. Identifiable by its long and spiky ruff, the
northern bald ibis is a quiet, mostly-black bird with a red,
featherless face and head. Bird Life International placed the bird
on its "critically endangered" list, meaning extinction is
practically inevitable for the bird if there is no intervention to
save it. In fact, Bird Life International estimates the 2010
northern bald ibis population to be 210.
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Human impact Large areas of grassland have been turned into
farmlands for growing crops and for rearing cattle. A large number
of animals have been hunted for their valuable body parts. For
example, elephants were shot for their tusks, lions were killed for
their fur and bison were hunted for their meats.
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Actions to protect the Grasslands To protect the grasslands,
humans can promote ecotourism to show the true beauty of the nature
instead of the farmlands. One thing government officials have done
is enacted laws against the hunting of endangered animals. In
particular, the U.S. National Parks Service has preserved land to
foster the American bison population. While poaching still exists
in many areas, there are efforts to stop it.