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Temperate grasslands PERIOD 4

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Michael McGraw

Temperate grasslands are located between the Tropics and include prairies, steppes, and pampas. They have hot summers and cold winters with 10-35 inches of annual precipitation. The soil is nutrient-rich due to deep grass roots. Characteristic plants include grasses like needlegrass and foxtail grass that support herbivores like bison and deer, which are preyed on by carnivores like cheetahs and badgers. Humans have converted much of the land to agriculture, damaging the ecosystem, but conservation efforts include restricting development and restoring degraded areas.

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TemperateGrasslands Marissa Berio LeBeau Brian Chico Jamesia Henderson
TemperateGrasslandsArealsoknownas... -Prairies in the U.S. Midwest -Pampas in South America -Veldts in Africa -Steppes of Eurasia Pampas Prairie Savanna
LocationLocated in the United States, the Russian steppes, veldts of Africa, South America (Argentina and Uruguay, Eurasia, and Asia. Temperate grasslands are located north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees North) and south of the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees South). If the area is bordered by a desert and a forest it is considered as a grassland
Climate ● Hot summers(tend to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit) and Cold winters(temperature can get as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit) ● It receives about 10 – 35 inches of precipitation a year in the late spring and early summer and much of it falls as snow in the winter. ● Seasonal droughts
Soil ● Soil is nutrient-rich from the growth and decay of deep grass roots ● This organic matter on the surface and in the dead roots provide a great degree of nourishment for the living plants. ● The world's most fertile soils underlie the eastern prairies of the U.S., the pampas of South America, and the steppes of Ukraine and Russia.
NutrientFlowDiagram
CharacteristicAnimalsandPlants Cheetahs Buffalo Deer Purple Needlegrass Foxtail grass Rye grass Badgers Ferrets Owls Biodiversity The biodiversity of this biome is relatively minimal in comparison to rainforests, for example, but very diverse compared to other biomes such as desserts.
CharacteristicAnimals Cheetahs niche: to consume tertiary consumer; using its speed in order to eat Buffalo niche: to graze the land; herbivore; apex consumer Ferrets niche: to consume other consumers; carnivores Badgers niche: to consume other consumers; carnivores Owls niche: to consume primary consumers; carnivore Antelopes niche: to be prey for larger carnivores such as cheetahs and consume producers
CharacteristicPlants Purple Needlegrass Niche: to be the producers of the ecosystem Foxtail grass niche: an autotroph which helps feed animals Rye grass Niche: another of the autotrophs that are eaten by herbivores
FoodWeb
PrimaryProductivity ● Gross primary productivity is the rate at which photosynthesis or chemosynthesis occurs in an ecosystem. ● In grasslands, GPP is between 3.1 - 5.0 kg/cm^2yr ● Net primary productivity is the net flux of carbon from the atmosphere into green plants per unit time. ● The NPP of a temperate grassland is 2000 kilometers per square meter per year. ● Photosynthesis is the process that makes up the base for the energy flow through the grassland ecosystem.
Succession ● Much of the land is being used and cleared for farming. ● This is known as secondary succession, since the land is not completely destroyed. ● Much of the the animals’ and plants’ environments in the area are destroyed by the farmers, who use them to grow wheat, corn and other grains. ● The the american “Breadbasket” is largely in temperate grassland areas.
HumanImpact LDCs ● The temperate grassland has been less affected by these countries but over hunting and farming still damage the biome ● Examples of these are Angola and Mongolia MDCs ● The temperate grasslands in the United States have been greatly damaged by urbanization. ● Canada has also degraded this biome by over-hunting the Buffalo, nearly to extinction.
HowHandled? Solutions to the threats to temperate grasslands include: ● For MDCs, they can continue/increase education on the protection and conservation of the soil/soil erosion, rotate agricultural crops planted so all the nutrients aren’t ruined, and protect/restore wetlands (important for grassland ecology). ● For LDCs, they can plant trees that can serve as windbreaks to protect the soil, and conduct burning during the dry season to promote fresh growth/restore calcium in the soil.

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Temperate grasslands PERIOD 4

  • 2. TemperateGrasslandsArealsoknownas... -Prairies in the U.S. Midwest -Pampas in South America -Veldts in Africa -Steppes of Eurasia Pampas Prairie Savanna
  • 3. LocationLocated in the United States, the Russian steppes, veldts of Africa, South America (Argentina and Uruguay, Eurasia, and Asia. Temperate grasslands are located north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees North) and south of the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees South). If the area is bordered by a desert and a forest it is considered as a grassland
  • 4. Climate ● Hot summers(tend to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit) and Cold winters(temperature can get as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit) ● It receives about 10 – 35 inches of precipitation a year in the late spring and early summer and much of it falls as snow in the winter. ● Seasonal droughts
  • 5. Soil ● Soil is nutrient-rich from the growth and decay of deep grass roots ● This organic matter on the surface and in the dead roots provide a great degree of nourishment for the living plants. ● The world's most fertile soils underlie the eastern prairies of the U.S., the pampas of South America, and the steppes of Ukraine and Russia.
  • 7. CharacteristicAnimalsandPlants Cheetahs Buffalo Deer Purple Needlegrass Foxtail grass Rye grass Badgers Ferrets Owls Biodiversity The biodiversity of this biome is relatively minimal in comparison to rainforests, for example, but very diverse compared to other biomes such as desserts.
  • 8. CharacteristicAnimals Cheetahs niche: to consume tertiary consumer; using its speed in order to eat Buffalo niche: to graze the land; herbivore; apex consumer Ferrets niche: to consume other consumers; carnivores Badgers niche: to consume other consumers; carnivores Owls niche: to consume primary consumers; carnivore Antelopes niche: to be prey for larger carnivores such as cheetahs and consume producers
  • 9. CharacteristicPlants Purple Needlegrass Niche: to be the producers of the ecosystem Foxtail grass niche: an autotroph which helps feed animals Rye grass Niche: another of the autotrophs that are eaten by herbivores
  • 11. PrimaryProductivity ● Gross primary productivity is the rate at which photosynthesis or chemosynthesis occurs in an ecosystem. ● In grasslands, GPP is between 3.1 - 5.0 kg/cm^2yr ● Net primary productivity is the net flux of carbon from the atmosphere into green plants per unit time. ● The NPP of a temperate grassland is 2000 kilometers per square meter per year. ● Photosynthesis is the process that makes up the base for the energy flow through the grassland ecosystem.
  • 12. Succession ● Much of the land is being used and cleared for farming. ● This is known as secondary succession, since the land is not completely destroyed. ● Much of the the animals’ and plants’ environments in the area are destroyed by the farmers, who use them to grow wheat, corn and other grains. ● The the american “Breadbasket” is largely in temperate grassland areas.
  • 13. HumanImpact LDCs ● The temperate grassland has been less affected by these countries but over hunting and farming still damage the biome ● Examples of these are Angola and Mongolia MDCs ● The temperate grasslands in the United States have been greatly damaged by urbanization. ● Canada has also degraded this biome by over-hunting the Buffalo, nearly to extinction.
  • 14. HowHandled? Solutions to the threats to temperate grasslands include: ● For MDCs, they can continue/increase education on the protection and conservation of the soil/soil erosion, rotate agricultural crops planted so all the nutrients aren’t ruined, and protect/restore wetlands (important for grassland ecology). ● For LDCs, they can plant trees that can serve as windbreaks to protect the soil, and conduct burning during the dry season to promote fresh growth/restore calcium in the soil.