Introduction to Savanna

Grassland -- Introduction to Savanna

Savanna is another name for tropical grassland. Most of them are located in the interior part of continents between the tropical rain forests and tropical deserts and the largest area of savanna covers one-third of Africa. The appearances of savannas change seasonally, in which they are green in colour in wet seasons and turn golden-brown in dry seasons.

Climate

The savanna has a tropical continental climate which wet and dry seasons come alternately. The savanna is warm throughout the year and rainfall only occurs in the summer, therefore, drought may occur. As it is a transitional region between the rain forest and the desert, rainfall increases when it is closer to the rain forest areas.

Structure

The savanna is mainly composed of scattered trees and tall uniform grasses that are taller than one metre. There is a wide range of grasses but an area is usually dominated by one to two types of grasses. Trees are only found along rivers in the savanna because only drought-resistant plants can grow well under the long dry season with thin soils.

Animals and Plants

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