Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Temperate grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands are terrestrial biomes whose predominant vegetation consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to semi-humid.
- Temperature: warm to hot season (often with a cold to freezing season in winter)
- Soil: fertile with rich nutrients and minerals
- Plants: grass; trees or shrubs in savanna and shrubland
- Animals: large, grazing mammals; birds; reptiles
Steppes/shortgrass prairies are short grasslands that occur in semi-arid climates. Tallgrass prairies are tall grasslands in areas of higher rainfall. Heaths and pastures are, respectively, low shrublands and grasslands where forest growth is hindered by human activity but not climate.
Tall grasslands, including the tallgrass prairie of North America and the Humid Pampas of Argentina, have moderate rainfall and rich soils which make them ideally suited to extensive agriculture, and tall grassland ecoregions include some of the most productive grain-growing regions in the world.
Savannas are areas with both grass and trees, but the trees do not form a canopy as they would in a forest.
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregions
| Canterbury–Otago tussock grasslands | New Zealand |
| Southeast Australia temperate savanna | Australia |
| Southwest Australia savanna | Australia |
See also
