Grassland Biome

Grasslands
Grasslands (also called greenswards) are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica.
Grassland vegetation can vary in height from very short, as in Chalk Downland where the vegetation may be less than (12 in) high, to quite tall, as in the case of North American tall grass prairie, South American grasslands and African savanna. Woody plants, shrubs or trees, may occur on some grasslands - forming savannas, scrubby grassland or semi-wooded grassland, such as the African savannas or the Iberian Dehesa. Such grasslands are sometimes referred to as wood-pasture or woodland.
Grasslands cover nearly fifty percent of the land surface of the continent of Africa. While grasslands in general support diverse wildlife, given the lack of hiding places for predators, the African Savanna regions support a much greater diversity in wildlife than do temperate grasslands.
The appearance of mountains in the western United States during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, a period of some 25 million years, created a continental climate favorable to the evolution of grasslands. Existing forest biomes declined, and grasslands became much more widespread. Following the Pleistocene Ice Ages, grasslands expanded in range in the hotter, drier climates, and began to become the dominant land feature worldwide.
Grasslands are of vital importance for raising livestock for human consumption and for milk and other dairy products.
Grassland vegetation remains dominant in a particular area usually due to grazing, cutting, or natural or manmade fires, all discouraging colonization by and survival of tree and shrub seedlings. Some of the world's largest expanses of grassland are found in African savanna, and these are maintained by wild herbivores as well as by nomadic pastoralists and their cattle, sheep or goats.
Grasslands may occur naturally or as the result of human activity. Grasslands created and maintained by human activity are called anthropogenic grasslands. Hunting peoples around the world often set regular fires to maintain and extend grasslands, and prevent fire-intolerant trees and shrubs from taking hold. The tall grass prairies in the American Midwest may have been extended eastward into Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio by human agency. Much grassland in northwest Europe developed after the Neolithic Period, when people gradually cleared the forest to create areas for raising their livestock.
Tropical and subtropical grasslands
These grasslands are classified with tropical and subtropical savannas and shrublands as the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. Notable tropical and subtropical grasslands include the Llanos grasslands of northern South America.
Temperate grasslands
Mid-latitude grasslands, including the Prairie and Pacific Grasslands of North America, the Pampas of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, calcareous downland, and the steppes of Europe. They are classified with temperate savannas and shrublands as the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. Temperate grasslands are the home to many large herbivores, such as bison, gazelles, zebras, rhinoceroses, and wild horses. Carnivores like lions, wolves and cheetahs and leopards are also found in temperate grasslands. Other animals of this region include: deer, prairie dogs, mice, jack rabbits, skunks, coyotes, snakes, fox, owls, badgers, blackbirds (both Old and New World varieties), grasshoppers, meadowlarks, sparrows, quails, hawks and hyenas.
Flooded grasslands
Grasslands that are flooded seasonally or year-round, like the Everglades of Florida or the Pantanal of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. They are classified with flooded savannas as the flooded grasslands and savannas biome and occur mostly in the tropics and subtropics.
(Mountain) grasslands
High-altitude grasslands located on high mountain ranges around the world, like the Páramo of the Andes Mountains are part of the mountain grasslands and shrublands biome and also constitute tundra.
Tundra grasslands
Similar to mountain grasslands, polar arctic tundra can have grasses, but high soil moisture means that few tundras are grass-dominated today. However, during the Pleistocene ice ages, a polar grassland known as steppe-tundra occupied large areas of the Northern hemisphere. These are in the tundra biome.
Desert and xeric grasslands
Also called desert grasslands, this is composed of sparse grassland eco-regions located in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome.

Climate Notes

Weather is the condition (situation) of the atmosphere (air) outside at a specific moment

The two main factors that weather describes are temperature and precipitation

Weather can change daily or even hourly

Climate is a description of the type of weather that keeps repeating in one area

The Earth has different climate zones (also called biomes).

These are large areas where the precipitation and temperature is the same as well as the type of plants and animals

¡ The SIX climate zones (biomes)
¡ Tundra
¡ Taiga
¡ Temperate Deciduous Forest
¡ Grassland
¡ Desert
¡ Tropical Rainforest


¡ The Tundra
¡ Has no trees
¡ Ground is permanently frozen
¡ Coldest environment
¡ Receives less than 10 inches of precipitation a year

¡ The Taiga
¡ Receives between 10-30 inches of precipitation a year
¡ Main trees are those that are evergreen and that create cones
¡ Cold environment

¡ Temperate Deciduous Forest
¡ Receives plenty of rain spread throughout the year
¡ This is where we live
¡ Has four seasons
¡ Cold winters and warm summers

¡ Grassland
¡ The most common plant is grass
¡ Gets between 20-40 inches of rain per year

¡ Desert
¡ Less than 10 inches of rain per year
¡ Soil is rocky and poor
¡ Temperature is very hot during the day and cool at night

¡ Tropical Rainforest
¡ Gets 100-160 inches of rain per year
¡ No seasons, always warm (around 80 degrees)
¡ Trees are the dominant plant

WHY ARE THERE DIFFERENT CLIMATE ZONES?
All places on Earth do not get an equal amount of sunlight. Places that get direct sunlight (at the Equator) are hotter than places that do not get direct sunlight.

Science Vocabulary Words

1) Compare: To tell how two things are the same
2) Contrast: To tell how two things are different
3) Observe: To watch or study carefully
4) Locate: To find
5) Effect: The result of something
6) Data: A collection of information
7) Region: A large area of land
8) Predict: To guess what is going to happen in the future
9) Elevation: How high something is
10) Meteorologist: Someone that studies the weather (or atmosphere)
11) Climate: Repeated weather patterns
12) Conditions: The current situation
13) Current: Events that are going on RIGHT NOW
14) Precipitation: Water that falls from the sky
15) Characteristics: Terms that describe someone or something
16) Altitude: How high something is
17) Local: Your surroundings
18) Aquatic: Having to do with water
19) Terrestrial: Having to do with land or Earth
20) Uneven: Unequal, unbalanced, not even
21) Degree: A number that tells a unit of measurement. In this case a degree is the number that tells your specific latitude on a map.
22) Latitude: A line on a map that tells your location north or south of the Equator
23) Factor: Something that causes an effect or change
24) Surface: The outside layer
25) Strike: To hit
26) Solar: Related to the Sun
27) Addition: To add
28) Hemisphere: Half of a sphere
29) Maximum: The most possible
30) Minimum: The least possible
31) Trend: Following a general course
32) Pattern: Something that repeats
33) Orbit: To circle around another object
34) Revolution: The path around another object
35) Experience: Something you go through
36) Waning: When the lit side of the moon is getting smaller
37) Waxing: When the lit side of the moon is getting larger
38) Gibbous: Almost a full moon (it can be waxing or waning)
39) Lunar: Moon
40) Solstice: When one hemisphere is receiving the maximum solar rays and the other hemisphere is receiving the minimum
41) Equinox: When both hemispheres are receiving the same amount of solar rays
42) Penumbra: The lighter part of the shadow in an eclipse
43) Umbra: The darkest shadow in an eclipse

Ideas for Project on the Scientific Method

Here are a few ideas. If you want more ask me in class tomorrow.

Does music affect on animal behavior?

Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like them?

Where are the most germs in your school?

Does music have an affect on plant growth?

Which kind of food do dogs (or any animal) prefer best?

Which paper towel brand is the strongest?

What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?

What level of salt works best to hatch brine shrimp?

Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?

How effective are child-proof containers and locks.

Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?

Does acid rain affect the growth of aquatic plants?

What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?

Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?

What plant fertilizer works best?

Does the color of a room affect human behavior?

Do athletic students have better lung capacity?

What brand of battery lasts the longest?

Does the type of potting soil used in planting affect how fast the plant grows?

What type of food allow mold to grow the fastest?

Does having worms in soil help plants grow faster?

Can plants grow in pots if they are sideways or upside down?

Does the color of hair affect how much static electricity it can carry? (test with balloons)

How much weight can the surface tension of water hold?

Can some people really read someone else's thoughts?

Which soda decays fallen out teeth the most?

What light brightness makes plants grow the best?

Does the color of birdseed affect how much birds will eat it?

Do natural or chemical fertilizers work best?

Can mice learn? (you can pick any animal)

Can people tell artificial smells from real ones?

What brands of bubble gum produce the biggest bubbles?

Does age affect human reaction times?

What is the effect of salt on the boiling temperature of water?

Does shoe design really affect an athlete's jumping height?

What type of grass seed grows the fastest?

Can animals see in the dark better than humans?