What is Grasslands Biomes? | Types, Definition, Structure, Function & Facts

What is Grasslands Biomes?

Grassland biomes can be divided into temperate grasslands and tropical grasslands. On this page, we will discuss temperate grasslands. Tropical grasslands are also known as savannas. You can read more about this biome on the savannah biome page.

What are Grasslands?

Grassland are large areas of lowland vegetation such as grasses and wildflowers. Rainfall is not enough to grow tall trees and form forests, but enough to not form deserts. Temperate grasslands have seasons that include hot summers and cold winters.

Where are the Major World Grasslands?

Grasslands are often located between deserts and jungles. The main temperate grasslands are located in central North America in the United States, in southeastern South America in Uruguay and Argentina, and in Asia along the southern part of Russia and from Mongolia.

Types of Temperate Grasslands

Each major grassland area in the world has its own characteristics and is often referred to by other names:

Prairie – Grasslands in North America are called grasslands. They cover about 1.4 million square miles of the central United States, including parts of Canada and Mexico.

Steppes – Steppes are grasslands that cover southern Russia to Ukraine and Mongolia. The steppe stretches 4,000 miles from Asia, including much of the legendary Silk Road from China to Europe.

Pampas – The grasslands of South America are often referred to as swamps. They cover an area of ​​about 300,000 square miles between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean.

Animals in the Grasslands

Many kinds of animals live in the grasslands. These include prairie dogs, wolves, turkeys, eagles, ferrets, lynx, foxes, and geese. Many small animals hide in the grass such as snakes, mice and rabbits.

Plants in the Grasslands

Different types of grass grow in different grassland areas. There are actually thousands of different types of grass growing in this biome. Where they grow often depends on how much rain the area receives. In wetter savannas, there are tall grasses that can grow up to 6 feet tall. In drier areas, grass grows shorter, perhaps only a foot or two tall.

Grasses that grow here include buffalo grass, blue grama grass, needle grass, big bluestem and switchgrass.

Other plants that grow here include sunflowers, sagebrush, clover, asters, honeysuckle, butterfly grass, and butterfly grass.

Fires

Wildfires can play an important role in grassland biodiversity. Scientists believe that regular fires help remove old grass from the soil and allow new grass to grow, bringing new life to the area.

Farming and Food

Grassland biomes play an important role in agriculture and human nutrition. They are used to grow food crops such as wheat and corn. They are also good for grazing livestock such as cattle.

The Shrinking Grasslands

Unfortunately, agriculture and human development have led to a continued decline in grassland biomes. Conservation efforts are underway to try to save the remaining grasslands and endangered plant and animal species.

Facts about the Grassland Biome

Forbs are plants that grow in grasslands that are not grass. They are leafy, soft-bodied plants resembling sunflowers.

Prairie dogs are rodents that live in burrows in grasslands. They live in large groups called towns, which can sometimes cover hundreds of acres.

It is believed that there were over a billion prairie dogs on the Great Plains at one time.

Other grassland animals need prairie dogs to survive, but the population is dwindling.

Only about 2% of North America’s original grasslands still exist. Much of it has been turned into farmland.

Grassland fires can move as fast as 600 feet per minute.