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The Grassland Biome

The Grassland Biome. A Sarah Feinman Presentation. Which of these is a grassland?. B. A. C. D. THEY ALL ARE GRASSLANDS!. B. A. C. D. What is a Grassland?.

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The Grassland Biome

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  1. The Grassland Biome A Sarah Feinman Presentation

  2. Which of these is a grassland? B A C D

  3. THEY ALL ARE GRASSLANDS! B A C D

  4. What is a Grassland? • “A plant community in which the dominant species are perennial grasses, there are few or no shrubs and trees are absent” (Moore, 1964) • “Loose” definition • Trees • Species Dominance • An area where land is dominated by grasses or other herbaceous (non-woody) plants

  5. Temperature and Precipitation

  6. World Distribution

  7. Why are grasslands important? • Wide distribution • Approximately 40% of global land surface (excluding Greenland and Antarctica) • Large carbon sink • Biodiversity • Important source of primary production • Food for humans and animals

  8. Types of Grassland • North American Prairies • Pampas of Argentina • Steppes- between desert and forest (Russia) • Savanna • Every continent except Antarctica

  9. North American Prairies

  10. Pampas of Argentina

  11. Steppes

  12. Savanna

  13. World Distribution

  14. Environmental Factors Effecting Grasslands • Fire • Precipitation • Temperature • Light • CO2

  15. Fire and Grasslands Mayer et al 2011

  16. Fire and Humans Bowman et al 2009

  17. Current Fire Observations Westerling et al 2006

  18. Current Fire Observations Abatzoglou and Kolden 2011

  19. Current Fire Observations Pausas 2004

  20. Fire in the Future Moriondo et al 2006

  21. Future Precipitation IPCC , 2007

  22. Grasslands and Precipitation Grime et al 2000

  23. Grasslands and Precipitation Knapp et al 2002

  24. Grasslands and Precipitation Zavelta et al 2003

  25. Future Temperatures IPCC, 2007

  26. Temperatures and Grasslands Alward et al 1999

  27. Temperatures and Grasslands Zavelta et al 2003

  28. Temperatures and Grasslands Grime et al 2008

  29. Light?

  30. Future CO2 Hansen and Sato 2004

  31. CO2 and Grasslands Huang et al 2001

  32. CO2 and Grasslands Owensby et al 1999

  33. CO2 and Grasslands Zavelta et al 2003

  34. Any Questions?

  35. References Abatzoglou, J. T. & Kolden, C. A. Climate change in western US deserts: Potential for increased wildfire and invasive annual grasses Rangeland Ecology and Management 64, 471-478 (2011). Alward, R. D., Detling, J. K. & Milchunas, D. G. Grassland vegetation changes and nocturnal global warming. Science 283, 229-231 (1999). Bowman, D. M. et al. Fire in the Earth system. Science 324, 481-484, (2009). Grime, J. P. et al. The response of two contrasting limestone grasslands to simulated climate change. Science 289, 762-765, (2000). Grime, J. P. et al. Long-term resistance to simulated climate change in an infertile grassland. ProcNatlAcadSci U S A 105, 10028-10032,(2008). Hansen, J. & Sato, M. Greenhouse gas growth rates. ProcNatlAcadSci U S A 101, 16109-16114, (2004). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassland http://www.bcgrasslands.org/library/world.htm Huang, Y. et al. Climate change as the dominant control on glacial-interglacial variations in C3 and C4 plant abundance. Science 293, 1647-1651 (2001). Knapp, A. K. et al. Rainfall variability, carbon cycling, and plant species diversity in a mesic grassland. Science 298, 2202-2205, 2002). Mayer, A. L. & Khalyani, A. H. Ecology. Grass trumps trees with fire. Science 334, 188-189, (2011). Moriondo, M. et al. Potential impact of climate change on fire risk in the Mediterranean area. Climate Research 31, 85-95 (2006). Owensby, C. E., Ham, J. M., Knapp, A. K. & Auen, L. M. Biomass production and species composition change in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem after long-term exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2. Global Change Biology 5, 497-506 (1999). Pausas, J. G. Changes in fire and climate in the eastern Iberian peninsula (Mediterranean basin). Climatic Change 63, 337-350 (2004). Spedding, C. R. W. Grassland Ecology. (Clarendon Press, 1971). Westerling, A. L., Hidalgo, H. G., Cayan, D. R. & Swetnam, T. W. Warming and earlier spring increase western U.S. forest wildfire activity. Science 313, 940-943, 2006). Zavelta, E. S. et al. Grassland responses to three years of elevated temperature, CO2, precipitation and N deposition. Ecological Monographs 73, 585-604 (2003).

  36. Photo Credits http://africangrasslanddunsieth.blogspot.com/ http://free-photo.gatag.net/en/2010/07/16/010000.html http://www.destination360.com http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/grasslands.htm http://www.destinosdeviagem.com/wp-content/gallery/deserto-savana-floresta-africa/savana.jpg http://www.bcgrasslands.org/library/world.htm http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/biomes.htm http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/grasslnd/types.htm http://morriscourse.com/elements_of_ecology/chapter_23.htm http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/grasslands-landscapes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PAMPAS.png http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/100034/ http://www.westminster.edu/staff/athrock/Australia/Lecture.htm http://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dictionary/Dictionary_S/dictionary_steppe.htm http://teachers.sduhsd.net/hherms/herms/METEOROLOGY/climates/steppe.htm http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/photos/sun-gallery/#/sunspot-loops_1236_600x450.jpg http://www.pawas.com/graphics/grass.htm http://www.keepbanderabeautiful.org/climatechange.html

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