Our Living World: Earth's Biomes - Volume 6: Grasslands

92 Pages·2004·11.05 MB·English

by  Barbara A. Somervill

6
OUR LIVING WORLD: EARTH’S BIOMES
Barbara A.
Grasslands Somervill
T R A D I T I O N B O O K S ® , M A P L E P L A I N , M I N N E S O T A
A N E W T R A D I T I O N I N C H I L D R E N ’ S P U B L I S H I N G TM
volume
Grasslands
In gratitude to George R. Peterson Sr. for introducing me to the beauty of creation
®
—George R. Peterson Jr., Publisher, Tradition Books
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Published in the United States of America by Tradition Books® and distributed to the school
Barbara A. Somervill is the author and library market by The Child’s World®
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
of many books for children. She loves For Editorial Directions, Inc.: E. Russell Primm, Editorial Director; Dana Meachen Rau, Line
Editor; Katie Marsico, Associate Editor; Judi Shiffer, Associate Editor and Library Media
Specialist; Matthew Messbarger, Editorial Assistant; Susan Hindman, Copy Editor; Lucia
learning and sees every writing
Raatma, Proofreaders; Ann Grau Duvall, Peter Garnham, Deborah Grahame, Katie
Marsico, Elizabeth K. Martin, and Kathy Stevenson, Fact Checkers; Tim Griffin/IndexServ,
project as a chance to learn new Indexer; Cian Loughlin O’Day, Photo Researcher; Linda S. Koutris, Photo Selector
For The Design Lab: Kathleen Petelinsek, design, art direction, and cartography;
information or gain a new under- Kari Thornborough, page production
[PHOTOS]
standing. Ms. Somervill grew up in
Cover/frontispiece: Layne Kennedy/Corbis.
Interior: ABPL/Animals Animals/Earth Scenes: 81 (Richard Du Toit), 82 (Keith Begg);
New York State, but has also lived in Animals Animals/Earth Scenes: 11 (Dominique Braud), 26 (Erwin & Peggy Bauer), 34
(McDonald Wildlife Photography), 41 (Bruce Davidson), 42 (Mike Holmes), 43 (Michael
Gadomski), 47 (D. Allen Photography), 49 (Bertram G. Murray), 52 (C. C. Lockwood), 58
Toronto, Canada; Canberra, Australia; (Richard Shiell), 59 (Mago World Image), 63 (J. & B. Photographers), 68 (Mark Chappell),
74 (Norbert Rosing), 86 (Lynn Stone), 89 (Azure Computer & Photo Services); Fred
Atwood: 17, 54; Brand X Pictures/Punchstock: 4; Corbis: 6 (Tim Wright), 12 (Hubert
California; and South Carolina. She
Stadler), 15 (Charles O’Rear), 18 (W. Perry Conway), 31 (Nigel J. Dennis; Gallo Images),
36 (Eric and David Hosking), 38 (Galen Rowell), 39 (Clive Druett; Papilio), 44 (D. Robert &
currently lives with her husband in Lorri Franz), 45 (Doug Wechsler), 50 (Macduff Everton), 53 (Karen Tweedy-Holmes), 65
(Theo Allofs), 71 (Layne Kennedy), 72, 78 (Craig Lovell), 79 (Tom Brakefield), 85 (Reuters);
E. R. Degginger/Color-Pic: 35, 69, 83; Phil Degginger/Color-Pic: 90; Digital Vision: 24, 28,
Simpsonville, South Carolina. 29, 32, 37, 48, 61, 64, 70, 88; Frank Lane Picture Agency/Corbis: 66 (Martin B. Withers), 87
(Terry Whittaker); Wolfgang Kaehler/Corbis: 51, 80; Tom & Pat Leeson: 91; Joe
McDonald/Corbis: 30, 33, 76; Photodisc: 19, 62; Fritz Prenzel/Animals Animals/Earth
Scenes: 9, 22; James P. Rowan: 8; Paul A. Souders/Corbis: 46, 57; David Watts/Tom
Stack & Associates: 21.
CONTENT ADVISER
[LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA]
CIP data available
Susan Woodward, Professor of
Geography, Radford University,
Radford, Virginia
✹
Table of Contents
[ C h a p t e r O n e ]
4 Defining Grasslands
[ C h a p t e r T w o ]
15 Focus on Key Species
[ C h a p t e r T h r e e ]
26 Predators
[ C h a p t e r F o u r ]
39 Prey
[ C h a p t e r F i v e ]
49 Flora
[ C h a p t e r S i x ]
59 Herbivores
[ C h a p t e r S e v e n ]
69 A Cycle of Life
[ C h a p t e r E i g h t ]
76 The Serengeti National Park
[ C h a p t e r N i n e ]
86 The Human Touch
9 2 [ C h a r t o f S p e c i e s ]
9 3 [ I n d e x ]
✹
Table of Contents
[ C h a p t e r O n e ]
1
in Kruger National Park,
Defining South Africa. The rhino
senses danger. He smells
Grasslands the scent of man in the air.
Rhinos have only three
✹ A black rhinoceros enemies: old age, disease,
gnaws on tough grasses and humans.
A black rhino can charge at speeds up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour.
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Defining Grasslands
[ D e f i n i n g G r a s s l a n d s ]
? WORDS TO KNOW . . .
On this day, two poachers in 1971. Since then, biome (BYE-ohm) a large ecosys-
are hunting the endangered both populations tem in which the plants and ani-
beast. They do not want the have increased. mals are adapted to a particular
hide or the meat. They want Poaching killed climate or physical environment
only the rhino’s horn. The many rhinos. Strict ecosystem (EE-koh-siss-tuhm)
horn is ground up for medi- laws against poach- a community of plants and ani-
cine in Asia or is used to make ing have allowed mals and their relationship with
knife handles in Yemen. herds to increase. the surrounding environment
Once, black rhino and From 1999 to 2001, endangered (en-DAYN-jurd)
white rhino populations were the total white rhino on the edge of being complete-
wiped out in Kruger Park. In population grew by ly wiped out; few members of a
1961, scientists reintroduced 1,265 animals. species still surviving
white rhinos into the ecosys- Black rhinos poachers (POHCH-urz) people
tem. Black rhinos were added increased by nearly who hunt or fish illegally
400 animals. Still,
scientists and park rangers con-
stantly battle poachers to save
A F R I C A these magnificent beasts.
What Are Grasslands?
Atlantic Ocean
✹ Rhinos are just one of
Kruger
0 1000 Miles National many species that thrive in
Park Indian
0 1000 KM Ocean
grasslands. A grassland biome
Africa’s Kruger National Park
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Scattered white clouds will not bring rain to the dry grasslands of Bushveld Kruger
Park, South Africa.
? WORDS TO KNOW . . . is one in which there are distinctly seasonal
precipitation (pri-sip-i-TAY- grass covers most of precipitation patterns—wet and
shuhn) all the rain, snow, sleet, the land. Grasslands dry seasons. Temperate grass-
hail, or other moisture falling can be tropical or lands have few large mammal
on a region temperate. Tropical species, usually fertile soil, and
grasslands in Africa a semiarid climate, which
host many grazing animals. means it receives 10 to 20
The soil is often poor, and inches (25 to 51 centimeters)
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[ D e f i n i n g G r a s s l a n d s ]
of precipitation a year. Fire has when humans clear ! WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
been important in both types forests or fill in wet- Elephants can also create grass-
of grasslands. Few trees grow lands with soil. Usu- lands. Elephants eat huge
in grasslands, but wildflowers ally, the land amounts of leaves, twigs, and
prosper. becomes crop fields. branches. They knock over trees
Grasslands can form natu- When the soil no and clear land as efficiently as
rally or can be man-made. longer supports workers with bulldozers. Within
Glaciers, or huge sheets of ice, crops, farmers aban- a short time, grass takes over
paved the way for some grass- don the fields. Wild the land cleared by elephants.
lands 12,000 years ago. The grasses take over,
glaciers flattened the land and and grasslands READ IT!
plowed down trees. As the appear. Uncover the basics of the
glaciers melted, they left grassland biome. Read
The Grass
behind a flat, open plain. Grassland by Edward R.
Grass began to grow. ✹ If people Ricciuti (Benchmark, 1996).
Salt seas once covered allowed their lawns
other land that today is grass- to grow, the grass might reach
land. As the land rose and the 2 feet (.61 meters) tall or more.
seas disappeared, high plains Their lawns would sprout flow-
appeared. Grasses soon cov- ers and produce seeds.
ered the plains. In the wild, grasses don’t
Man-made grasslands, get mowed weekly. They grow
called derived grasslands, result to their natural heights, which
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[ D e f i n i n g G r a s s l a n d s ]
can reach 10 to 12 feet (3 to es (25 to 102 cm) yearly.
4 m) high. Grasses can be Rainwater soaks into the soil.
divided into tallgrass and The roots suck in the water
short-grass varieties. Tallgrass and feed the grass. The roots
species include bamboo, sugar- spread underground, sending
cane, and big bluestem. Short- up new shoots and leaves. A
grass species include buffalo broad root system helps grass
grass and grama. Usually, one survive fires, grazing animals,
or two grass species dominate freezing weather, and drought.
a grassland region.
Tropical Grasslands
Wild grass develops strong,
deep root systems. Grass ✹ Tropical grasslands lie
thrives in areas where precipi- just north and south of the
tation measures 10 to 40 inch- equator. These grasslands,
Only tufts of scrub grasses survive in this Australian grassland.
called savannas, grow in the North American tallgrass
warm to hot climates. They prairie came into being only
are found in Australia, about 6,000 to 8,000 years
South America, Africa, ago, after the last glacial peri-
and India. Savannas cover od. Origins of the African
nearly half of Africa. The High Veld—the highest and
tropical savannas of Africa innermost of South Africa’s
are ancient and have plateau areas—are unknown.
expanded and contracted Fire and grazing are believed
with climate changes. to have been important to the
Most experts believe that High Veld’s creation.
The short-grass prairie of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is lush
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and green in the spring.
[ D e f i n i n g G r a s s l a n d s ]
Arctic Ocean
of rain-drought-burn keeps the
Arctic Ocean
land clear of trees. Without the
dry season, tropical grasslands
Atlantic would become woodlands and
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
forest.
Pacific Ocean Africa’s tropical grass-
Indian
Ocean
lands teem with animal life.
Tropical Savannas
Australian savannas are home
The world’s tropical savannas
to kangaroos, wallabies, wom-
Savannas have two basic bats, and bandicoots. South
seasons: wet and dry. The sea- American savannas support
sons each last about half the rheas, capybara, and maned
year. The dry season is critical wolves. The African savannas
for savannas to sur- contain many large animals
LOOK IT UP! vive. During this recognized throughout the
Check out the species that slith- season, fire from world. These include lions,
er, gallop, and trample through lightning strikes cheetahs, zebras, giraffes,
the world’s grasslands. Visit burns the grasses elephants, and wildebeests.
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org and clears the land.
Temperate Grasslands
and choose from interesting New grass growth
animal profiles to discover comes when the ✹ Temperate climates feature
more about these creatures. rainy season returns. hot summers and cold winters.
The constant cycle Temperate grasslands have
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