GA Study Notes On Grasslands(Tropical) of World : SSC CGL Tier-1 2017

Tropical grasslands

Tropical grasslands are located near the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

THE SAVANNAS

Location

They cover Africa as well as large areas of Australia, South America, and India.
It is confined to the tropics and is best developed in Sudan, hence its name the Sudan Climate.

Important Features.

The savanna is a rolling grassland with scattered trees and shrubs.
Savanna has two distinct seasons in regards to precipitation. There is a rainy season in the summer with around 15 to 25 inches of rain and a dry season in the winter when only a couple of inches of rain may fall.

Flora and fauna

Tropical grasslands are dominated by grasses, often 6 to 12 feet tall at maturity. The elephant grass may attain a height of even 15 feet.
Many trees are umbrella shaped, exposing only a narrow edge to the strong winds.
The grasslands are also called as ‘bush-veld’.
They have deciduous trees, shedding their leaves in the cool, dry season to prevent excessive loss of water through transpiration, e.g. acacias, the baobab tree, and the jackal berry tree.
Trees usually have broad trunks, with water-storing devices to survive through the prolonged drought.
As the rainfall diminishes towards the deserts the savanna merges into the thorny scrub.
The world's greatest diversity of ungulates (hoofed mammals) is found on the savannas of Africa.
The savanna is known as the ‘big game country’ as thousands of animals are trapped or killed each year by people from all over the world.

Climate

These areas are hot year-round, usually at 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
Although these areas are overall very dry, they do have a season of heavy rain.
Annual rainfall is from 20-50 inches per year which is concentrated in six or eight months of the year, followed by a long period of drought.

Soil

The soil of tropical grasslands is porous, with rapid drainage of water.

Farming

Droughts are long due to unreliable rainfall.
The Sudan Climate, with distinct wet-and-dry periods, is also responsible for the rapid deterioration of soil fertility.
During the rainy season, torrential downpours of heavy rain cause leaching of nitrates, phosphates and potash.
During the dry season, intense heating and evaporation dry up most of the water.
Many savanna areas, therefore, have poor laterite soils which are incapable of supporting good crops.

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