describe and explain grasslands biome
...- Plant There isn’t a lot of diversity hear as there is a short growing season. Many grasses bloom annually then die in winter due to the lack of energy. 1. 2. 3 . West East The plants generally decline in height from east to west. Also trees are more common in the east. (See pictures above. 1. Fleabane <50cm. 2. Milkweed 0.6-2.5m. 3. Bluestem 1.5-2.5m) Some are xerophytic (dry adapted) and some are pyrophytic (burn easily) - Soil Chernozem and black earth soils dominate grasslands. These are developed on loess deposits (nice link to periglacial processes, hey) They are rich in calcium carbonate. The soils are browner in the east compared to chestnut to the west. As you can see from the diagram above that the soil level is very thick in grasslands. - Animals The dominant herbivore is the bison (Bison bison). Carnivores include coyotes (also omnivores) and badgers. Prairie Dogs (actually squirrel like) also bury into the deep soil giving habitats to the burrowing owl. Bison graze a lot causing plants to have specific adaptations such causing grasses to grow from there base so they’re not permanently damaged. Function Temperate grasslands have a primary productivity score of 600 (g/m2/yr). This isn’t relatively high as there is such a climate range in these biomes. Grasslands are common to such extremes as freezing temperatures (the temperature can fall as low as -20oc. In some winters! And stay below freezing for 6 months of the year!). Also such extremes like fires and droughts can occur (Usually one or the other every 5 years). All these are going to reduce the biodiversity of the biome therefore causing a low productivity. The biomass is about 1.6 (kg/m2). This is relatively low (epically compared to the Gola hills in Sierra Leone with a score of 45kg/m2). This is likely to because its lack of woody species and most of the nutrients being stored in the soil. Although this is the gersmehl model for Steppes (the grassland biome found in between deserts and forest mainly in Tibet and China) it can be closely related to the temperate grasslands mainly because they’re found on the same latitude (See diagram showing the distribution of grasslands across the world. It has a very large soil store. This is due to the deeply matted root system. This helps them get plenty nutrients and make them self stable because of wind conditions. There is also a thick arrow going from biomass to litter. This is due to the large amount of humus produced as such extreme conditions kill vegetation and anim...