Savanna Biome

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The Savanna Biome
The planet is divided into major climatic regions referred to as biomes, these regions differ in climate, sunlight received and these regions have different weather patterns. Each biome has a set of plants and animals that can survive in its climate. Savannas are part of the world’s major Earth biomes; they are made of between 10% and 15% of the world’s land surface (Sankaran et al., 2005). Savannas occur in the tropics where there is inadequate rainfall throughout the year, if there was enough rainfall this region could end up being a rainforest. The Savanna has two seasons, the rainy season and the dry season. There are two types of grasslands, the Temperate Grasslands and the Tropical Grasslands which are also known as …show more content…

The Koppen Climate classification is a system that can be used to classify world climates. The Koppen Climate Classification has been established with regards to the empirical relationship between climate and vegetation (Chen D and Chen H, 2013). Savannas experience warm temperatures .Climatic Savannas result due to climatic conditions, Edaphic Savannas result from soil conditions which are not maintained by fire and the Derived Savanna is due to a result of deforestation (Oudtshoorn et al. 2011). The Savanna vegetation is a mixture of trees, grasses, shrubs and the vegetation also includes ground plants but the proportions can change according to a certain area and over a certain period of time. Savanna characteristics include the grass found in the savanna, savanna woodlands, savanna fires or annual fires due to the dry seasons. Savannas mostly have soils that are poor in nutrients and Savannas also have topographic variations, with the lower slopes being nutrient rich compared to the upper and middle slopes. The upper land Savannas usually experience high rainfall and experience better drainage. The grasslands are influenced strongly by the herbivores and fires (Bond & Keeley, …show more content…

(2009). What limits fire? An examination of drivers of burnt area in Southern Africa. A Global Change biology. 15, p. 613-630.
Beerling, D & Osborne, C (2006). The origin of the Savanna Biome. Global Change Biology. 12, p. 2023-2031.
Bond, W & Parr, C. (2010). Beyond the forest edge: ecology, diversity and conservation of grassy biomes. Biological Conservation. 143, p. 2395-2404.
Chen, D & Chen, H. (2013). Using the Koppen Classification to quantify climate variation and change. Environmental Development. 6, p. 69-79.
Oldeland, J., Schmidel, U., Jurgen, N. (2010). Life form along the Biota transects- new perspectives of biomes on Southern Africa. Biodiversity in Southern Africa. 2, p. 136-144.
Parr, C., Lehmann, C., Bond, J., Hooffman, W., Andersen, A. (2014). Tropical grassy biomes: Misunderstood, neglected and under threat. Global Change Biology. 15, p.

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