SS1 Biology Lesson Note on Grassland

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GRASSLAND

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants. In West Africa, savannah vegetation is about the most important types of vegetation. In Nigeria, over 80% of the vegetation is one type of savannah or another.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GRASSLAND

1. The savanna vegetation is typified by tall grasses and scattered trees and shrubs. The species of grasses in the sudan and sahel savannah are annuals which often have cylindrical leaves to reduce transportation. During the dry season, the leaves of the grass turn yellow and die but the roots remain dormant. The grasses are deciduous.
2. Savannah trees have thick barks which protect them from the effect of fire. Most of the trees are deciduous, they shed their leaves in dry season to reduce loss of water by transpiration and because of annual fire. The trees have long roots (e.g. acacia) to search to search for ground water.
3. Savannah vegetation is usually not as luxuriant as the forest vegetation. This is because the trees are fewer, smaller in structure and scattered within the savannah habitat.
4. The annual burning and fire in the savanna reduce the quality of the humus in the soil, while the ash retains some minerals salts which are washed into the soil during rains.
5. Rainfall is usually moderate (1000 -1500 min per year) distributed over 6 to 8 months of the year. The dry season is longer in the savanna than the forest region.
6. Savannah soil is usually sandy, shallow of relative lower fertility than the forest soils.
7. Dry seasons bush fires and livestock grazing are common in the tropical savannah.

Fouta Djallon Savanna

While most of the Fouta Djallon region in Guinea is a rugged mountain plateau cut by deep valleys, the eastern portion is gently sloping land covered in part by savanna. The largest ethnic group of the region is the Fulani, many of whom raise cattle on the grasslands. The Fulani arrived in the region in about the 10th century, and later established a series of kingdoms throughout the area which stood until defeated by colonial powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

TYPES OF GRASSLANDS

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