SAVANNA

Selena Torres and Kimberly Breitenbach

Biome: Savanna

Savannas are the tropical version of temperate grasslands. Most savannas are caused by climate-involved patterns where there is a long dry season for a major part of the year. Few trees survive here, but most savannas have some form of trees that scatter the plains.

Savanna: A grassy plain in trop ical and subtropical regions with few trees



Life in the savanna: The vegetation in a savanna consists mostly of grasses and small forbes (ex. wildflowers that grow with the grasses). Usually one or more dominant grasses make up the better part of the vegetation. Since savannas are spread all over around the world, there are many different types of animals that have become known and are thriving. For example, in Australia you can find different types of kangaroos and wallabies that mingle with emus and frilled lizards. In South America you can see the large rhea, which is the flightless twin of Africa's ostrich. But, it is the African animals that most people think about when they hear the word savanna. Many large herbivores live in the vast habitats of savannas. The common ones include quite a few species of zebra, lions, giraffes, rhinos, elephants, hyenas, gazelles, and more. They all play an important roll in "gardening" and keeping the grasslands safe and comfortable. Because the large herds eat the seeds and leaves from trees and stomp all over the ground, grasslands are protected. A large population of elephants can quickly turn a forest into a savan na as the elephants end up breaking branches and toppling over trees. The annual rainfall in a savanna is from 50.8 to 127 cm of rain a year (20-50 inches). The rain has to be concentrated in one season with a long period of drought in between. The drought creates a dry, arid habitat that is good for using kindle for fires. These fires burn through the region and kill trees that may be trying to invade the grasslands.

The largest source of money that generates on a daily basis in tropical savannas is mining. Shocking though it may seem, savannas are a very good and popular place for mining. You never know what you are going to dig up and how much money you can make by it.