1. WELCOME TO OUR PRESENTATION….

2. Temperate Grasslands Sonia Nazneen
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3. Temperate Grasslands Introduction: Temperate grasslands are composed of a rich mix of grasses and forbs and underlain by some of the world’s most fertile soils. Since the development of the steel plow most have been converted to agricultural lands. Grasslands: Grassland comprise association made up of more than one species. Grasslands are characterized as lands dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or trees . The great grassland of the world form communities in which grasses are dominant , this is because the precipitation is either too small or too strictly seasonal to permit trees or shrubs to grow. Types of Grasslands Three Main Types of Grasslands ●Tropical ●Temperate ●Polar (tundra) A short description of temperate grasslands is shown here-

4. Temperate Grasslands: Temperate grasslands are a division of a larger biome grouping of grasslands. Temperate grasslands have trees and shrubs absent. Temperate grasslands are characterized as having grasses as the dominant vegetation .So a temperate grassland summed up has fertile soils that are able to support quick cover of grasses. Location: Temperate Grasslands are found throughout the globe, generally in the interiors of the continents and north or south of the tropic of cancer/caper corn.  The following major regional expressions of grasslands recognized are ●Veldts of South Africa ●Puszta of Hungary ●Pampas of Argentina/Uruguay ●Steppes of Russia / China ●Plains and Prairies of North America ●Downs of Australia ●Steppes of Russia

5. Fig: Temperate Grassland

6.   Climate: Temperate grasslands have warm, humid summers with an average temperature of 18° C and cool, dry winters with an average temperature of 10° C. Rainfall: Rain usually falls in temperate grasslands in the late spring and early summer. There is an average of 20 – 35 inches of rainfall a year. The amount of rainfall however determines the height of grasses in the grassland. Drought: Drought plays a large role in keeping trees from taking over the grasslands. Some years receive less rain than others, just as certain seasons receive significantly less rain than others. Trees generally cannot stand the lack of water as easily as grasses and thus grasses remain dominant.

7. Soils: Calcification is the dominant soil-forming process in temperate regions. Mild leaching, high organic content, and concentration of calcium carbonate in the B horizon type the dark brown mollisols developed under the temperate grasslands. When this process works on a loess that itself is rich in calcium. Grasses: Perennial grasses, with their growth buds at or just below the surface, are well adapted to drought, fire, and cold. The tiller or narrow, upright stem reduces heat-gain in the hot summers; the intricate root systems trap moisture and nutrients. Two basic types are: ●Turf- or sod-forming grasses, with rhizomes or underground stems from which new plants spring forth; associated with the more humid grasslands ●Bunch grasses, without rhizomes, that reproduce by seed; associated with the drier parts of the biome.  

8. Vegetation: Perennial grasses and perennial forbs [especially Compositae (or Asteraceae, depending on the taxonomic system used) and Leguminosae--the sunflower and pea families, respectively] are dominant growth forms. Two or more strata of grasses (erect grasses and recumbent species) are recognized in the more humid expressions of the biome. Some common flora are: ●Monkey Flower ●Gravel Ghost ●Cat Tails ●Black eyed susan ●Milk Weed ●Sun Flower ●Corn Silver puffs

9. Plants of the Temperate Grassland
Acacia tree
Baobab tree

10. Animals All grasslands share a lack of shelter from predators, and an abundance of grass for food; therefore, grassland animal populations are similar throughout the world.Mites, insect larvae, nematodes and earthworms inhabit deep soil, which can reach 6 metres (20 ft) underground in undisturbed grasslands on the richest soils of the world. Mainly found species are: Buffalo, Rabbit, Weasel, Wolves, Prairie Dog, Burrowing owls a vast variety of mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects. Typical large mammals include the Blue Wildebeest, American Bison, Giant Anteater and Przewalski's Horse.

11. Animals of the Temperate Grassland
Black Rhinoceros
Cheetah
Wild Dog
African elephant
Giraffe
Animals of the Temperate Grassland
Zebra
Ostrich
Hippopotamus
Hyena
Lions
ogwarth

12. Classification In the world, there are six types of Temperate grassland. These are □ Prairies □ Eurasian Steppes □ Veld □ Pampas □ Australian Grassland □ The grassland of New Zealand

13. Fig : The world distribution of Temperate Grassland (source: mapsworld
Fig : The world distribution of Temperate Grassland (source: mapsworld.com)

14. Prairie Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type. Location Temperate "prairie" grassland regions include the North America extend from approximately 53°N in Canada to 32°N in Texas. Characteristics A wide range of association, genera , and species are found in these grassland area The prairie forms a single plant formation but several distinct associations can be identified. Eyre recognize three general types i.e: the tree prairie , the mixed prairie , and the pacific and Palouse prairie The tall-grass prairie(5 to 8 feet) now almost entirely removed by tillage Agropyron , Boutelova , Elymus , Poa , Sporobolus , Stipa are the major grass genera of these grassland.

15. Fig: Temperate Prairies Grasslands

16. Fig: Flora
Fig: Fauna

17. Eurasian Steppe The Eurasian Steppe, also called the Steppe or the Steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the Temperate grasslands. Location The steppe has connected Europe, Central Asia, China, South Asia, and the Middle East Characteristics These grassland receive inches rainfall of a year Plants growing in steppes are usually greater than 1feet tall They include blue grama , buffalo grass, cacti, sagebrush, spear grass & small relatives of sunflower Steppe fauna includes badger, hawk, owls, snakes Today, people use steppes to graze livestock & to grow wheat & other crops.

18. Fig: Temperate Steppes Grasslands

19. Fig: Fauna
Fig: Flora

20. Pampas Location The natural grasslands, or pampas stretch for some 350 to 400 miles north, west & south of Buenos Aires, covering an area about half million square miles. About half of the pampas lies in the Argentinean province of Buenos Aires & half in Uruguay . Characteristics Climatically the pampas have hot summer & warm winters, frosts & snow are rare The soil is a deep, stone less loam mainly developed on loess deposits Stipa , Melica were dominant species of humid pampas.

21. Fig: Temperate Pampas Grasslands

22. Fig: Flora
Fig: Fauna

23. Veld The term veld, sometimes spelled veldt in English, is a generic term used to define certain wide open rural spaces of Southern Africa. It is used in particular to refer to flatter areas or districts covered in grass or low scrub. Location It found in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. A certain sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa has been officially defined as the Bushveld by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Characteristics: These grassland have climatic conditions marked by seasonal drought, keen night frosts and fairly wide daily variation in temperature Three types of grassland-sweet grass veld, mixed grass veld and sour grass veld are seen in this grassland Red grass, Tristachya hispida, Aristida juniformis are the species of this grassland.

24. Fig: Temperate Veld Grasslands

25. Fig: Fauna
Fig: Flora

26. Australian grasslands the Australian grasslands are surrounded at lower elevations by the Southeast Australia temperate forests ecoregion. The Australian Alps occupy less than 0.3% of the Australian landmass . Location The Australian grasslands is a Montana grassland ecoregion of south-eastern Australia, restricted to the Montana regions above 1300 meters . Characteristics This grassland area is difficult to categorize Changes in climate are gradual The grasses grow to heights of 2 to 3 feet The species vary regionally Mitchell grasses and flinders grasses are dominant in north but in the south dominant species are kangaroo grass , Wallaby grasses and corks crew grasses .

27. Fig: Temperate Australian Grasslands

28. Fig: Fauna
Fig: Flora

29. Environmental concerns: There is a great concern for remaining grasslands in temperate regions →The soil in these areas is incredibly rich and the land is flat and treeless, most of this biome has been turned into farms or ranches →The result of this overuse and consumption of the grassland by agricultural practices is a fragmentation of once large tracks of grassland →Fragmentation decreases biodiversity →Plowing of grasslands, combined with wind has lead to huge dust storms, such as those which created the Great Dust Bowl →Finally, in dryer areas, overgrazing and salt build-up from irrigation of the land have turned these areas into near-wastelands.

30. The grassland of New Zealand Location Last area in the southern hemisphere possessing significant areas of natural grsslands is New Zealand, more particularly south Island. Characteristics Its dominant grasses have marked xeromorphic characteristics In places it extented into areas with more than 60 inches mean annual rainfall Grasses divided into two major communities The or short tussock steppe The tall tussock grassland.
Fig: The grassland of new zealand

31. Fig: The grassland of New Zealand

32. Human Impacts ●Humans have caused a lot of changes to the Temperate Grassland Biome. Large areas of grassland have been turned into farmlands for growing crops and for grazing cattle. ●Sometimes, fires are started by humans and can spread quickly through grasses and damage the soils. ●A large number of animals have been hunted for their valuable body parts. For example, elephants were shot for their tusks, lions were killed for their fur and bison were hunted for their meats.      
Fig: Human Impacts

33. Fig: Threatened Species
Threatened Species ●Buffalo and bison were hunted to near extinction for their meat, fur, horns, etc. ●Fortunately, the hunting of these animals had been banned. Today, only about 1% of grasslands is officially protected but governments are now more aware of this issue. ●National parks have been set up to preserve the grasslands and grasses are replanted in some other places where grasses have been cleared for farming. This increasing awareness for protecting the grassland biome has become more apparent over the years.
Fig: Threatened Species

34. Biodiversity and Conservation ─→Grasslands dominated by unsown wild-plant communities can be called either natural or 'semi-natural' habitats. ─→The majority of grasslands in temperate climates are 'semi-natural'. ─→Although their plant communities are natural, their maintenance depends upon anthropogenic activities such as low-intensity farming, which maintains these grasslands through grazing and cutting regimes. ─→These grasslands contain many species of wild plants – grasses, sedges, rushes and herbs – 25 or more speerican prairie grasslands or lowland wildflower meadows in the UK are now rare and their associated wild flora equally threatened. ─→ Associated with the wild-plant diversity of the "unimproved" grasslands is usually a rich invertebrate fauna; also there are many species of birds that are grassland "specialists", such as the snipe and the Great Bustard.

35. Importance of Grassland Grasslands are of vital importance for raising livestock for human consumption and for milk and other dairy products. Grassland vegetation remains dominant in a particular area usually due to grazing, cutting, or natural or manmade fires, all discouraging colonization by and survival of tree and shrub seedlings. Some of the world's largest expanses of grassland are found in African savanna, and these are maintained by wild herbivores as well as by nomadic pastoralists and their cattle, sheep or goats. Grasslands may occur naturally or as the result of human activity. Grasslands created and maintained by human activity are called anthropogenic grasslands. Hunting peoples around the world often set regular fires to maintain and extend grasslands, and prevent fire-intolerant trees and shrubs from taking hold.

36. Importance of temperate grassland Grasslands were essential to provide a habitat for the evolution of grazing animals.the temperate grassland is different from savannah because of having different climatic condition,species & other different characteristics.temperate grassland is widely distributed in the world having special characteristics.so we can can mention some significance of this temperate grassland such as;

37. Conclusion: The Temperate grasslands of the world, known variously as the prairie in North America, the pampas in South America, the steppes in eastern Europe and northern Eurasia, and the grassed in South Africa, are among the most diverse and productive of all the earth’s terrestrial biomes. Yet, without exception, temperate grasslands have received very low levels of protection. According to the 1993 United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas, only 0.69% of the temperate grasslands biome is under some kind of protective status.

38. THANKS TO ALL…..