- Savanna biome, which is a type of grassland biome, consists of areas of open grassland with very few trees.
Distribution:
- Grasslands are located on every continent except Antarctica.
- The largest savannas are in Africa near the equator.
- One of the most famous African savannas is Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, which is known for its large wildebeest and zebra populations. The park is also home to lions, leopards, elephants, hippos, and gazelles.
- Other locations of savannas include:
- Africa: Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia
- Australia
- Central America: Belize and Honduras
- South America: Venezuela and Columbia
- Southern Asia
Climate:
- It has a tropical wet and dry climate.
- In wet season, weather is warm, and a savanna receives as much as 50 inches of rain.
- But during dry season, weather can be extremely hot, and rainfall will amount to only four inches each month.
- This combination of high temperatures and little precipitation makes savannas perfect areas for grass and brush fires during their dry seasons.
Natural Vegetation:
- Savanna biome is often described as an area of grassland with dispersed trees or clusters of trees.
- Lack of water makes the savanna a difficult place for tall plants such as trees to grow.
- Grasses and trees that grow in the savanna have adapted to life with little water and hot temperatures.
- Grasses, for example, grow quickly in the wet season when water is abundant and turn brown in the dry season to conserve water.
- Some trees store water in their roots and only produce leaves during the wet season.
- Due to frequent fires, grasses are short and close to the ground and some plants are fire resistant.
- Examples of vegetation in the savanna include wild grasses, shrubs, baobab trees, and acacia trees.
- It has three distinct layers: (i) ground layer of grasses and herbaceous plants, (ii) middle layer of shrubs and stunted woody plants and (iii) Canopy layer of trees.
- Some of the Savana trees are fire resistant (pyrophytic) as they have thick bark and thick bud scales. For e.g. – Giant sequoia.
Animal life:
- The savanna is home to many large land mammals, including elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinoceroses, buffalo, lions, leopards, and cheetahs.
- Other animals include baboons, crocodiles, antelopes, meerkats, ants, termites, kangaroos, ostriches, and snakes.
- Many of the savanna biome animals are grazing herbivores that migrate through the region.
- They rely on their herd numbers and speed for survival, as the vast open areas provide little means of escape from quick predators.
