Savannah: It’s not a Forest nor a Desert but a Grassland
Savannah is a biome with large patches of grassland and trees and occasional shrubs. It is a mix between a tropical forest and desert.
Located in Brazil, Australia, India and Africa, Savannahs receives quite enough rain to support a forest. They have a warm to hot climate and receive upto 20-50 inches of rainfall a year. However the rainfalls are concentrated for 6-8 months. Then a period of drought comes when fires may occur. These fires kill off enough trees to prevent savannah from being a tropical forest.
There are many types of grasses found in a savannah. It is dominated by grasses such as Rhodes grass, red oats grass, star grass, lemon grass, and some shrubs. Most savannah grass is rough and grows in patches with scattered areas of bare ground.
One won’t see many trees in the savannah because of little rainfall. Occasionally, one can find individual trees or small stands of trees. These mostly live near streams and ponds. The Acacia tree is an interesting plant in the savannah; it has an umbrella shape, with branches and leaves high off the ground that giraffes like to eat. Baobab trees also live in the savannah. They deal with dry conditions by storing water between the bark and meat of the tree. Acacia and Baobab are generally found in Africa and India and can grow up to 80 feet tall. It is also home to some of the largest land dwelling animals like zebra, giraffe, elephants, lions, rhinos etc.
Savannahs are similar to grasslands but they have more rain, trees and a longer period of drought. Savannah is a biome that receives the fair amount of rain but it’s not a forest and is not a desert but grassland.
Post Written By - Gunjan Sharma
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