Ecology
Grassland
1. Explain the physical characteristics of the type of biome you are assigned from the article.
Grassland biomes consist of large open areas of grass and they are generally fairly flat. Tress can be
present, but they are infrequent and they exist on every continent except Antarctica, which makes
them vulnerable to pressure from human populations. Threats to natural grasslands, as well as the
wildlife that live on them, include farming, overgrazing, invasive species, illegal hunting, and climate
change.
There are two main kinds of grasslands: tropical and temperate.
-Temperate grasslands are characterized by having a larger temperature fluctuation during the year.
Meaning that the winters are freezing cold while summers are very hot. Examples of temperate
grasslands include Eurasian steppes, North American prairies, and Argentine pampas.
-Tropical grasslands are characterized by dry and wet seasons that remain warm and hot all
throughout the year. Rainfall does occur mostly during the later spring season ranging between 90-
150 centimeters level per year.It is to be noted that the tropical grasslands not only have grasses but
comprise a mixture of trees and grasses.Tropical grasslands include the hot savannas of sub-Saharan
Africa and northern Australia
Grasslands are found where there is not enough regular rainfall to support the growth of a forest, but
not so little that a desert forms. In fact, grasslands often lie between forests and deserts. Depending
on how they’re defined, grasslands account for between 20 and 40 percent of the world's land area.
2.What are the animals that thrive in grasslands and how they adapt and survive?
The animals that can be found in grasslands are: -Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Coyotes, Gazelle, Prairie
dogs, Badges, Swift foxes and a variety of birds.
Animals in the grasslands are exposed to their predators because of the openness of the landscape. To
avoid being attacked or killed these animals had to adapt to their environments in ways that
protected them, camouflaged them and allowed them to escape predators. Many of the savanna
biome animals are grazing herbivores that migrate through the region. They rely on their herd
numbers and speed for survival, as the vast open areas provide little means of escape from quick
predators.
3. What would be the impact to another ecosystem if one will get impaire?
Characterized by their flat, open pastures and abundance of nutrient-rich soil, more than a quarter of
the world’s land—and about 70 percent of its agricultural land—is covered by grasslands.This biome is
home to a range of flora and fauna, which add to its resilience against natural disasters such as
droughts or wildfires.
Grasslands are threatened by habitat loss, which can be caused by human actions, such as:
-Poor agricultural practices can ruin soil and strip grasslands of life.If crops are not rotated properly,
the soil can become infertile and nothing can be grown for several years.
-Monocropping, or growing only one crop at a time is an agricultural practice that depletes the soil`s
nutrients.
Selective grazing can reduce the competitive nature of the entire ecosystem by weeding out some
plants and allowing others to over-populate.
-Additionally, conventional agricultural croplands often provide few food sources and nesting areas
for birds.
-Invasive species can displace native plants and reduce the quality of a grassland.
-Invasive plants may not be equipped to handle extreme weather, like droughts and wildfires, thus
resulting in further habitat loss.
4.List down some possible ways to minimize the impact of damage that may be caused by human
activity.
The solutions to grassland problems are:
-Continue education efforts, particularly among farmers, on how to protect the soil and prevent soil
erosion.
-Protect and restore wetlands, which are an important part of grassland ecology.
-Rotate agricultural crops to prevent the sapping of nutrients.
-Plant trees as windbreaks to reduce erosion on farmfields (though make sure it is the right species for
the area).
-Conduct controlled dry season burning to stimulate fresh plant growth and to restore calcium to the
soil that builds up in the dry grasses. Some species of native plants need occasional fire to thrive,
while blazes can also help remove invasive species.
