Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial
Description
Grasslands are dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants. Savannas are grasslands with scattered trees. Shrublands are dominated by woody or herbaceous shrubs.
Large expanses of land in the tropics do not receive enough rainfall to support extensive tree cover. The tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are characterized by rainfall levels between 90–150 centimetres (35–59 in) per year.[1] Rainfall can be highly seasonal, with the entire year's rainfall sometimes occurring within a couple of weeks.
African savannas occur between forest or woodland regions and grassland regions. Flora includes
Large mammals that have evolved to take advantage of the ample forage typify the biodiversity associated with these habitats. These large mammal faunas are richest in African savannas and grasslands. The most intact assemblages currently occur in East African Acacia savannas and Zambezian savannas consisting of mosaics of
The Sudan type of climate is characterized by an alternating hot and rainy season, and a cool and dry season. In the Northern Hemisphere, the hot rainy season normally begins in May and lasts until September. Rainfall varies from 25 cm to 150 cm and is usually unreliable. The rest of the year is cool and dry. Rainfall decreases as one goes either towards North in Northern Hemisphere or South in the Southern Hemisphere. Drought is very common.Occurrence
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands occur on all continents but Antarctica. They are widespread in Africa, and are also found all throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia, the northern parts of South America and Australia, and the southern United States.
Ecoregions
Arnhem Land tropical savanna | Australia |
Brigalow tropical savanna
|
Australia |
Cape York Peninsula tropical savanna | Australia |
Carpentaria tropical savanna | Australia |
Einasleigh Uplands savanna
|
Australia |
Kimberley tropical savanna | Australia |
Mitchell grass downs
|
Australia |
Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands | Indonesia, Papua New Guinea |
Victoria Plains tropical savanna | Australia |
Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands | Bhutan, India, Nepal |
Western Gulf coastal grasslands | Mexico, United States |
Beni savanna
|
Bolivia |
Campos rupestres | Brazil |
Cerrado | Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay |
Clipperton Island shrub and grasslands | Clipperton Island is an overseas territory of France |
Córdoba montane savanna
|
Argentina |
Guianan savanna | Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela |
Humid Chaco | Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay |
Llanos | Venezuela, Colombia |
Uruguayan savanna | Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay |
Hawaiian tropical high shrublands | Hawaiʻi |
Hawaiian tropical low shrublands | Hawaiʻi |
Northwestern Hawaii scrub | Hawaiʻi, Midway Atoll |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d This article incorporates text available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. World Wide Fund for Nature. "Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas and Shrubland Ecoregions". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- OCLC 318672928.
- ^ McClanahan, TR; Young, TP, eds. (1996). East African ecosystems and their conservation. New York: Oxford University Press.
External links
- Media related to Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands at Wikimedia Commons