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What are some examples of vegetation in a savanna?
Do savannas have different types of plants and animals?
What plants grow in savannas?
What kind of grass grows in a savanna?
Sep 30, 2021 · Plant life in the African savanna faces harsh periods of dry weather and must utilize unique plant adaptations to overcome those spans of drought and retain water. For this reason, grasses and shrubs dominate the savanna, while only a few trees can take hold and adapt to this harsh lifestyle.
- Overview
- Origin
savanna, vegetation type that grows under hot, seasonally dry climatic conditions and is characterized by an open tree canopy (i.e., scattered trees) above a continuous tall grass understory (the vegetation layer between the forest canopy and the ground). The largest areas of savanna are found in Africa, South America, Australia, India, the Myanmar...
Savannas arose as rainfall progressively lessened in the edges of the tropics during the Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago to the present)—in particular, during the past 25 million years. Grasses, the dominant plants of savannas, appeared only about 50 million years ago, although it is possible that some savanna-like vegetation lacking grasses occurred earlier. The South American fossil record provides evidence of a well-developed vegetation, rich in grass and thought to be equivalent to modern savanna, being established by the early Miocene Epoch, about 20 million years ago.
Climates across the world became steadily cooler during that period. Lower ocean surface temperatures reduced water evaporation, which slowed the whole hydrologic cycle, with less cloud formation and precipitation. The vegetation of midlatitude regions, lying between the wet equatorial areas and the moist cool temperate zones, was affected substantially.
The main regions in which savannas emerged in response to that long-term climatic change—tropical America, Africa, South Asia, and Australia—were already separated from each other by ocean barriers by that time. Plant migration across those barriers was inhibited, and the details of the emergence of savannas on each continent varied. In each region different plant and animal species evolved to occupy the new seasonally dry habitats.
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Ecosystems
In temperate regions, savannas became much more widespread, at the expense of forests, during the long, cool, dry intervals—contemporaneous with the ice ages, or glacial intervals, of the Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago). Studies of fossilized pollen in sediments from sites in South America, Africa, and Australia provide strong support for this view.
Tall spear grass ( Heteropogon) or the shorter kangaroo grass ( Themeda) dominates the understory of large areas of moist savanna. The prickly spinifex grasses ( Plectrachne, Triodia) are prominent in more-arid regions. Most trees and shrubs of the Australian savanna are markedly sclerophyllous.
- Grasses. Savanna is often pictured as a grassy landscape. Hence, we have made them on the list: Bermuda Grass — Like a maintained golf course, the green and short vegetation is perhaps the ground creeper Bermuda grass.
- Trees. Plants that live in savanna include trees scattered in the grasslands. If you happen to visit this unique landscape, be sure to spot these marvelous living landmarks
- Shrubs. Shrubs are a dominant type of vegetation in savanna and safari, armed with spines to deter herbivores. The most exemplary species of short shrubs are the following
- Flowers. Although plants that live in the savanna are grass-dominated, some flowers also bloom along with them: Heath Aster — A sunflower family member, this savanna species display its yellow blossoms mainly in fall.
- Acacias. Acacia is the name of a large genus of shrubs and trees. These plants are present in all terrestrial environments, including savannas. Two of the most common species of Acacia found in savannas are the umbrella thorn acacia (Vachellia tortilis) and Acacia senegal (Senegalia senegal).
- Thatching Grass (Hyparrhenia) Hyparrhenia is a genus of over 50 species of grasses. These are commonly known as “thatching grasses” and most of them are native to tropical Africa.
- Jackalberry (Diospyros Mespiliformis) Jackalberry (Diospyros mespiliformis) is a large evergreen tree found predominantly in the African savannas. It is also commonly known as the African ebony or jakkalsbessie.
- River Bushwillow (Combretum Erythrophyllum) River Bushwillow (Combretum erythrophyllum) is a medium-to-large species of tree found mainly along rivers in the African savanna.
Mar 28, 2022 · Due to frequent fires, grasses are short and close to the ground and some plants are fire resistant. Examples of vegetation in the savanna include wild grasses, shrubs, baobab trees, and acacia...
Feb 19, 2022 · The Savanna biome is characterized by an extensive cover of grasses with scattered trees. It is a transitional biome between those dominated by forests and those dominated by grasses. The Savanna biome is associated with climates having seasonal precipitation accompanied with a seasonal drought.
