Ecology-and-environment / Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems / Grasslands
Grasslands
- Distribution: Grasslands are areas dominated by grasses. They occupy about 20% of the land on the earth surface. Grasslands occur in both in tropical and temperate regions where rainfall is not enough to support the growth of trees. Grasslands are known by various names in different parts of the world.
| Place | Name of the grassland |
| North America | Prairies |
| Eurasia (Europe and Asia) | Steppes |
| Africa | Savanna |
| South America | Pampas |
- Grasslands are found in areas having well defined hot and dry, warm and rainy seasons. Tropical grasslands are commonly called Savannas. They occur in eastern Africa, South America, Australia and India. Savannas form a complex ecosystem with scattered medium size trees in grass lands.
- Flora and fauna: Grasses are the dominating plants with scattered drought resistant thorny trees in the tropical grasslands. Badgers, fox, ass, zebra, antelope are found grazing on grasslands support the dairy and leather industries. Grasslands also support large population of rodents, reptiles and insects.
Grasslands in India
- Grasslands are one of the intermediate stages in ecological succession and cover a part of the land on all the altitudes and latitudes at which climatic and soil conditions do not allow the growth of trees.
- In India, grasslands are found as village grazing grounds (Gauchar) and extensive low pastures of dry regions of western part of the country an also in Alpine Himalayas .
- Perennial grasses are the dominant plant community. In some regions grasslands also support a variety of other herbaceous plants like sedges, legumes and members of the sunflower family Grasslands support a large number of herbivores from minute insects to very large mammals.
- Rats, mice, rodents, deer, elephant, dog, buffalo, tiger, lion, ferrets are some common mammals of grasslands.
- In the north east India, one horned rhinoceros is amongst the threatened animal of grassland is this region. A large number of avian fauna makes the grassland colourful
