Grasslands

Grasslands, or prairies, exist on every continent except Antarctica.  They are home to many unique plants and animals.   In America however, the grasslands are quickly disappearing.  With the expansion of the human population, the grasslands of the midwest are being lost to housing developments and farming.  This loss of grasslands, equates to a loss of habitat for many wild animals, and a loss of plant species which can only be found in grassland ecosystems.  At the current rate of destruction, the American grasslands will be lost within your life time.   visit the link below to begin learning about the types of flora and fauna that call the grasslands home. http://mbgnet.mobot.org/fresh/index.htm

Directions:  Below is a list of questions to help guide you through your web site search.  Answer all questions in complete sentences.

1) What role does rain play in the creation of grasslands?

2) After reading "Types of Grasslands", use the information provided and the map below to hypothesis why the different areas receive such different amounts of rain.

3) How has farming changed the grasslands in the past 150 years?

4)  Based on the animals you learned live in grassland ecosystems, why do you think the predominately larger animals are found in the African safari and not North America?

5)  Why do you think fire is used to help preserve the grasslands?