1 / 11

Temperate Grasslands

Temperate Grasslands. 1) Temperate Grasslands 2) Introduction 3) Formation of Temperate Grasslands 4) Temperature Range (1) 5) Temperature Range (2) 6) Precipitation 7) Altitude 8) Wind direction 9) Ocean Currents 10) Special Characteristics of Organisms 11) Bibliography.

armande
Download Presentation

Temperate Grasslands

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Temperate Grasslands 1) Temperate Grasslands 2) Introduction 3) Formation of Temperate Grasslands 4) Temperature Range (1) 5) Temperature Range (2) 6) Precipitation 7) Altitude 8) Wind direction 9) Ocean Currents 10) Special Characteristics of Organisms 11) Bibliography By Emilio P and Martín L 9A Biology

  2. Introduction • Temperate grasslands are biomes located in several parts of the world (mainly United States, Argentina, and Russia). • They are characterized by their short grass, shrubs and their lack of tall trees. • Temperature in temperate grasslands significantly fluctuates during the year. • Due to the abundance in grass, the majority of living organisms are herbivores. • Precipitation is scarce in temperate grasslands, thus causing droughts which don´t allow trees to grow tall.

  3. Formation of temperategrasslands • The domination of short grass in this biome is due to a continuous process. • Thunderstorms gather due to low pressure, thus creating rainfall. • Lightning strikes the grasslands resulting in fire. • Fire burns the vegetation of the land. • Wind brings high pressure, causing sunshine and numerous days of drought. • Tall trees are harmed the most by droughts, since as big plants, they require more water than short grass. Therefore grass and shrubs prevail in the biome of temperate grasslands.

  4. Temperature range (1) • Temperature in temperate grasslands greatly varies throughout the course of the year. • All temperate grasslands are located leeward in relation to large mountain ranges. These mountain ranges oblige clouds to pass from the top of the mountains. Thus, the clouds dissipate and become high pressure air, causing sunshine and often droughts in temperate grasslands. • In the U.S. Prairies (also known as the Great Plains), the temperature range is of approximately 35OC during summer, to -5OC in winter. • The Rocky mountains retain the weather (windward) and clouds are forced to pass over the mountains. After doing so, the clouds dissipate and become high pressure air. They are situated far way from ocean.

  5. Temperature RANGE (2) • In the Eurasian steppes, the temperature range is of 42OC during summer, to -52OC in winter. • The Ural mountains and the Himalayas are located windward, thus clouds are forced to pass the mountains. As a result, high pressure is created. They are also situated far away from the ocean. • In the Pampas, the temperature range is of 40OC during summer, to -10OC in winter. • The Andes mountains are located windward, and clouds pass the top of the mountains. Therefore, high pressure is created.

  6. precipitation • Precipitation is scarce in the biome of temperate grasslands. • This is due to mountain ranges situated near temperate grasslands, thus causing high pressure in grasslands. Therefore, precipitation in this biome is a rare phenomenon. • In the U.S. Prairies, annual precipitation is of 51 cm. • In the Eurasian steppes, annual precipitation is of 33 cm. • In the Pampas, annual precipitation is of 46 cm.

  7. Altitude • Temperate grasslands are mostly located in areas of low altitude, which are relatively near to elevated mountain ranges. • The U.S. Prairies have a maximum altitude of 2000 m. • The Eurasian steppes have a varied altitude due to their great extension and diverse location. • The Pampas have a maximum altitude of 500 m.

  8. Wind direction • Wind direction is what causes high pressure in temperate grasslands. • Wind direction mostly blows from west to east, due to the biome’s position between 30O and 60O North or South latitude. • Mountain ranges are usually located west in relation to the grasslands (Rocky mountains, Andes mountains etc.) and therefore they contribute to the creation of high pressure air in the biome.

  9. Ocean currents • Ocean currents mainly affect the U.S. Prairies and the Pampas. • The cold ocean currents at the west of the U.S. Prairies and the Pampas, create more low pressure air which reaches the mountain ranges and becomes high pressure air. Cold ocean currents result in more low pressure air than warm ocean currents. Therefore, resulting in more high pressure air on temperate grasslands.

  10. Special characteristics of organisms • The continuous fires in temperate grasslands result in the adaptation of the flora. • The plants have created an underground root system, which allows them to survive every time a fire burns the land. Therefore, the fire burns only the top part of the plant, leaving the roots alive. • The fauna has adapted to the dry and warm climate of the biome. • Some animals have learnt how to burrow holes, through adaptation, in order to avoid fires and predators. • In addition, most animals are grazers.

  11. bibliography • http://en.wikipedia.org/ • http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/grassland/grassland.shtml • http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/prairie.htm • http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/grasslands.html

More Related