Earth Restoration Project

Definition of grasslands: Areas dominated by grass and grass-like species with fewer than 10-15 trees per hectare, sometimes subjected to periodic drought.

 

In the past, 40 percent of the earth was covered by grasslands. Today the figure is down to less than 20 percent. Overgrazing by domestic animals and other human impacts have contributed to this decline.

Depending on which continent you visit, grasslands have many different names. In Africa they are called savannas, in Australia rangelands, in Eurasia steppes, in North America prairies, and in South America they call them pampas. But each area of grasslands differ slightly from the others by housing different species and having slightly different characteristics. Earth Restoration Service have divided grasslands into three ecosystems that can be found all-round our planet. The ecosystems are savannah, temperate grassland and steppes. With other words, it is possible to visit areas, not only in Africa, but also in Asia and Australia that resemble the classic view of a savannah.

 

 

 

A savannah can be distinguished by its characteristically long grass with scattered individual trees. It also have a warm, dry climate with seasonal droughts. The most biologically diverse type of all the grasslands is the tropical savannah that can be found in Africa. Here you can find the big five (buffalo, elephant, rhino, lion and leopard) and many other remarkable animals, birds, reptiles and insects. Unfortunately, as with several other attractive natural resources, many of the animals on the savannah are threatened by extinction because of poachers, but also because of earlier human activities such as game hunts during the colonial time. The animals are also pushed away from their natural habitats by human settlements.

 

 

Temperate grasslands are dryer and have fewer trees than savannahs. Humans have for centuries over-used the prairies for farming which means that there are very few natural temperate grasslands left. Reasons for the heavy farming are that the soil is fertile, the land is flat, treeless and covered by grass. The wildlife is rich with plenty of mammals, birds, reptiles and insects, although, animals like the American bison that once used to be a common sight on the American prairies are now almost extinct because of human hunters.

 

 

The steppe is the driest of all grasslands. The grass is low and the wildlife is less rich in comparison to savannahs and prairies. Because of its dry climate and low vegetation, steppes are at high risk to be overgrazed and then turn into deserts.