PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE
Grassland g b n e i o t l t t r o GEXPLORERS BIOME
Laura Perdew
Illustrated by Lex Cornell
Above the ground, the grasses wave and flowers bloom. Below the ground, the roots intertwine and new shoots begin. Above the ground, birds of a hundred species fly and butterflies flutter. Below the ground, earthworms wiggle and soil microbes thrive. Above the ground, herds migrate and the predators follow. Below the ground, prairie dogs tunnel and owls burrow. Above and below, life is everywhere on the grassland.
Hello, biome explorer! We are on our way to explore one of Earth’s great biomes– GRASSLANDS.
Can you predict what we might find there?
A biome is a community of plants and animals that live together in a certain climate.
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YES, LOTS OF GRASS! You might even see wildflowers, but few trees. That’s because the grasslands get enough precipitation for smaller plants to grow, but not enough for trees to survive.
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Grasslands have many different names, depending on where they are in the world. prairie pampas
steppe veldt
savanna cerrado
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To find grasslands, we will travel to the dry inner parts of the continents (except Antarctic!).
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More than 20 percent of Earth’s land area is covered in grasslands.
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Our journey will take us to two different types of grasslands: temperate and tropical.
First stop, a temperate grassland . . .
NORTH AMERICA’S GREAT PLAINS. Here, there are four seasons. Summers can be VERY WARM and winters VERY COLD.
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Depending on where they are, these grasslands get between 10 and 40 inches of rain every year. And because there aren’t any trees, it can be extremely windy!
The largest temperate grassland in the world is the Eurasian steppe, which receives only 10 to 20 inches of rainfall a year.
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Look out across this sea of grass. Can you spot a bison, pronghorn, or black-footed ferret?
Maybe we’ll even be lucky enough to see a male greater prairie-chicken strut, strut,
strutting his stuff!
But watch your step— rattlesnakes live here too!
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On any open grassland there is no place to hide from predators. To stay safe, these animals run, burrow, or travel in large herds. 9
Hundreds of different species of grass and wildflowers can grow in that rich soil beneath your feet. You might also notice that the grass is taller in some places than in others.
The more rain, the taller
the grass
grows! Some of it may even grow
TALLER THAN YOU!
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Milkweed is one of the hundreds of species of wildflowers found on the Great Plains . Migrating monarch butterflies depend on milkweed for survival.
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Now let’s visit a tropical grassland . . .
THE AFRICAN SAVANNA!
These grasslands are warm all year and there are only only two seasons here.
One is the wet season, when it rains, rains, rains and
the rivers swell.
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Savannas are also found in South America, Australia, and India. The other season is— can you guess?— very, very dry! During the dry season,
the rivers dry up.
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Shhhhh…listen. What do you hear? You’re hearing the sound of the hoofbeats of more than a million wildebeests, and the zebras and gazelles that follow them on their search for water.
In Brazil, the cerrado is home to armadillos, giant anteaters, tapirs, jaguars, and hundreds of species of birds. 14
ROAAAAAR! The savanna also has lions on the hunt!
Be on the lookout for giraffes, elephants, and termite mounds, too.
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What do you notice about the plants in the savanna? Among all that grass, there are a few hearty shrubs and trees scattered about!
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You can rest in the shade for a minute under a baobab or acacia tree, like the animals do.
Baobab trees in Africa can grow to more than 80 feet tall. Many live for thousands of years. 17
You might be wondering how those grassland plants survive. All the plants on both types of grassland are welladapted to the climate.
They have underground stems where new growth can begin.
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They also have strong, deep roots that act like an anchor for the plant, and can store water, energy, and sugar.
Grasses have narrow leaves so less water is lost to evaporation. 19
But what about all those hooved herbivores grazing and trampling the grass? That can’t be good for the grassland.
But it actually is! That grazing and trampling keeps the trees from taking over the grassland.
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The poop of those millions of animals keeps the soil healthy, too.
The Australian savanna is home to kangaroos, emus, dingoes, frilled lizards, and Gouldian finches.
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Do you smell smoke?
Fire!
Not to worry! We don’t usually think of fire as a good thing. But natural fires are an important part of the grassland biome—it’s like cleaning house.
The animals are adapted to survive fires—they can run, fly, or burrow.
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Fire destroys dead grasses and trees. It helps keep the grasslands healthy. And those long plant roots can withstand the fires and grow back quickly!
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Yet natural regrowth can’t happen when people dig up the rich grassland soil for farming or when they bring in livestock for grazing. Not only that, climate change is causing longer drought seasons and higher temperatures. That’s hard on plants and animals.
While fire is usually good for grasslands, increased temperatures as a result of climate change have led to larger, out-of-control fires that do harm.
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Plus, illegal wildlife hunting is a problem on grasslands.
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Yet there is hope! Around the world, more and more grasslands and their animals are protected.
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Many people are working to end illegal hunting. Others are trying to bring animal species back to the grasslands.
Bison have been brought back to the Great Plains and saiga and wild horses can be found again on the Eurasian Steppe.
When you visit the grasslands again, you’ll still be able to witness the wide open spaces, great migrations, and biodiversity.
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Activity Time!
Grow a Grassland Like the grasslands around the world, your grassland will need all the right ingredients. WHAT YOU NEED a pan with sides at least 1-inch high, small rocks, grass seed, potting soil, spray bottle, paper and pencil (optional: a few wildflower seeds) WHAT YOU DO Place a thin layer of rocks on the bottom of the pan. Top with layer of soil. Sprinkle grass seed and a few wildflower seeds around the pan. Cover with another layer of soil. Use your water bottle to rain on your grassland. Place the pan in the sun. Check the pan every day. If the soil is dry, add more water. When do you first see grass sprout? Measure the grass and record the height every day. How fast did it grow in a week? Two weeks? How long did it take for the flowers to sprout? After a few weeks, gently pull out a stalk of grass to examine the roots. What do you notice? How are these roots the same and different from the wildflower roots? Populate your grassland with grassland mini-figures. If you don’t have any, draw some and cut them out!
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Glossary adapt: to change to survive in new or different conditions. biodiversity: the range of living things in an area. biome: a large area with a similar climate. climate: the long-term weather patterns in particular area. climate change: a major change to the climate that lasts for a long period of time. evaporation: when a liquid heats up and changes to a gas. grassland: a biome that’s covered with grass. herbivore: an animal that eats only plants. herd: a large group of animals. migrate: to move from one area to another. poaching: illegal hunting or fishing. precipitation: any form of water that falls from clouds. predator: an animal that eats other animals. species: a group of living things that are closely related. temperate: climate or weather that is not extreme. tropical: a hot climate, usually near the equator.
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EXPLORE THE UNIVERSE IN THIS PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE SET!
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