Temperate Grassland/Cold Desert

More info on Grasslands/Cold Desert

Characteristics of Plants (And Specific Examples)

-Dominated by herbaceous plants and grasses.

-They have leaves and stems and die down at end of growing season.

-Grasses are perennial.

-Growth buds are just below the surface.

-Grass can grow back easily after cows graze.

-Well adapted to drought, fire, and cold.

-The narrow, upright stem reduces heat gain in the hot summers

-Roots trap moisture and nutrients

Two Types of Grasses:

-Turf-forming grasses

-New turf-forming grasses form from underground stems

-Bunch Grasses

-Bunch grasses reproduce by seed

Soil Characteristics

•North American Prairie

oEveryone 1-5 years, wild fires occur across the prairies, not penetrating the soil very much, killing saplings and dead grasses to allow flowering species to grow.

oThe soil under the prairie acts as an underground system. It is dense, tangled with roots, rhizomes, bulbs and rootstocks.

o2/3’s of the prairie is located underground.

oDecomposition of some roots yearly adds organic matter to the soil, making the prairie fertile.

oLimiting factor – precipitation during drought season

•The Pampas

oThe soil is richly cultivated and turned into croplands.

oLimiting factor – precipitation during drought season

• The Pampas

o South American plains that cover 300,000 sq. miles located under Buenos Aires, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains (Argentina into Uruguay).

o The word Pampas comes from the Guarani Indian word for “level plain.”

Characteristics

•North American Prairie

Precipitation in the prairies can reach from about 12.6 inches in the short grass prairie to 21.7 inches in the tall grass prairies. East to West, rainfall decreases. Climates are the most moist near mountains; driest in the central portions. Because of rainfall and different location, varied types of prairies are formed. The climate of the prairies is influenced by its mid-continental location, and the sheltering effect of the Rocky Mountains. Being located far from the moderating effects of oceans causes a wide range of temperatures, with hot summers and cold winters. Strong winds blow across the endless plains during both summer and winter.

•The Pampas

The average temperature in the Pampas is 18° C. The pampas has a 'high sun' or dry season in the summer, which in the Southern Hemisphere is in December. The wind blows most of the time. The climate in the pampas is humid and warm.

Temperate Grassland/Cold Desert

By Christiaan Bijlsma, Bryan Veerawat, Miguel Caberito

• North American Prairie

o The North American Prairie is located in the middle of North America ranging from Alberta down to southern Texas and Mexico; approximately 1.4 million square miles.

o The French called the plains “prairies,” from the word for a meadow grazed by cows

Characteristics of Animals (And Specific Examples)

-Very low in diversity.

-Bison and pronghorn are the dominant herbivores

-Bison thick fur coats that protects from cold.

-Pronghorn are able to adapt to a both cold and hot temperatures.

-Their hair protects from both extreme heat and cold.

-Skin muscles allow their hair to “stand on end” to help circulation and cooling.

-Pocket gopher, ground squirrels, and the prairie dog are the rodent herbivores

-Prairie dogs have fur for cold weather.

-Coyote, badger, and the black-footed ferret are the carnivores

-Coyotes thick coat allows them to live in colder environments

-Badgers have thick fur for surviving changes in temperature in a temperate climate.

-Overall, most animals in a temperate grassland biome have fur to protect from cold.

-About 47% of all temperate grasslands have been converted to agricultural or urban development.

-Agricultural due to its rich soil

Specific threats to the ecosystem and their causes.

-Overgrazing by livestock is huge threat

-Plowing is another threat.

Potential solutions to these threats/problems

-Solutions to Overgrazing:

-Improving the productivity of the land using windbreaks to prevent soil erosion.

-Windbreaks are rows of plants or shrubs that prevent wind from blowing away soil.

-Place strict limits on amount of cattle that can graze.

-Solutions to plowing/urbanization:

-Set up a preservation effort to keep certain grasslands from being urbanized or plowed.

-Make some larger grasslands national parks to prevent people from altering the existing environments.

Map of temperate grasslands

Sources:

https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/?page_id=173

http://www.defenders.org/grasslands/temperate-grasslands

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/pampas.htm

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/prairie.htm