Temperate Grasslands

Jack Davies

Will Meyers

5th Hour

Temperate Grasslands

Temperate grasslands are the land areas that covers vast expanses of plains and gently rolling hills in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

Facts About Temperate Grasslands• Average annual temperature is 14oC.• Temperatures range from 5oC in the winter to

23oC in summer.• Average annual rainfall is 52cm.• Water is the prevalent limiting factor due to

inconsistent rainfall. • The main organism in the biome is grass, which

is a very good water-gatherer. Hence, it out-competes trees for moisture, and many different varieties of grass exist in a grassland, as opposed to little or no trees.

Yellow areas denote temperate grasslands on Earth. Included is the name of the region of congested grasslands.

Grassland Animals

• Hares, mice, rats, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, visachas, cavies, chinchilla, and meadowlarks are all rodents that live and survive in grasslands.

• These rodents have sharp teeth making it easy to gnaw through grass.

• They also have adapted to live underground, forprotection from predators roaming the grasslands.

Grassland Animals (continued)• The large animals that live in the grasslands

are; Bison, Antelopes, Kangaroos, Wallabies.

• These mammals are able to survive in temperate grasslands because they grow a thicker coat in the winter and forage food.

• Animals like the Kangaroo and the Wallabies have sharp incisors to make it easy to cut tips of grass off.

Grassland Animals (continued)

• Some other animals that live in grasslands are; snakes, owls, foxes, hawks, rabbits, bobcats, small birds and coyotes.

• Animals like the snake, owl and hawks, all thrive off of the abundant supply of rodents.

• Wolves and Pumas also live in grasslands, but most have been killed off by farmers.

Plants in the Grasslands

• Plants in temperate grasslands need to adapt to cold winters, hot summers, and dry winds.

• Plants adapt to conserve water, because dryness is always a factor in temperate grasslands.

• One way plants conserve water is by having thin, need-like leaves that expose little of the plant to the sun. 70% of the plant is underground avoiding sun and wind.

Why Grass?

• Grass is very hard to kill!• Grass has extensive roots that prevents

grazing animals from pulling their roots out of the ground.

• Grass also grows upward from its base, making it less likely to be damaged by fires, animals, and humans. (This is why it comes back when you mow the lawn.)

• In the Winter grass finds water from deep underground. (One grass plant in the steppes or prairie may have a network of roots equal to 2 or 3 miles)

Types of Growing

• Perennial Plants- Grow and live for several years.

• Annual Plants- Grow in one season and die in the other seasons– Warm-season annual: sprout in the spring

and grow in the summer.– Cool-season annual: sprout in fall and grow in

the spring.

Reproduction of Plants • Perennial grasses produce flowers that reproduce

by pollen that is used to fertilize a female plant by insects, animals or the wind.

• Perennial grasses also clone themselves by forming a net of connected plants that sprout from the rhizome. (Very few perennial grasses and plants spread seeds)

• Annual plants produce seeds in large quantities. These seeds lie dormant on the soil until they find a favorable time to sprout . Seeds are dispersed through insects, animals, birds, and the wind. Annual plants also grow flowers that reproduce with pollen.

Soils

• The soil is very fertile due to the aboveground parts of most of the grasses die + decompose each year.

• Soil is held in place by a

think network of intertwined

roots. This also helps stop erosion.

PLANTS (PRODUCERS)

RODENTS AND SMALL ANIMALS

LARGE ANIMALS(BUFFALO, ANTELOPE)

LARGE CARNIVORES (COUGARS, BOB CATS,

PUMAS, COYOTES, WOLVES

This link is to a video that further explains temperate grasslands…

http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/grasslands.html

References

• Olsen, Edwin A. "Konza1." Wikipedia. 16 June 2003. 21 Oct. 2008 <https://webaccess.gpschools.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/image:konza1.jpg>.

• Sayre, April Pulley. Exploring Earth's Biomes: Grasslands. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc, 1994, pp.1-57

• Ricciuti, Edward R. Biomes of the World: Grassland. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1996, pp.1-59

• http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/grasslands.html