Grassland is one of the four chief kinds of natural vegetation. The other three types are forest, desert shrub, and tundra. Most grasslands lie between very arid lands, or deserts, and humid lands covered with forests. Some grasslands occur in humid climates.
The two types of grasslands are (1) steppes with short grasses, and (2) prairies with tall grasses. Some biologists consider tropical savannas, which have coarse grasses and scattered trees, to be a third type of grassland. The word steppe refers to semiarid grasslands. Well-known steppes include the Great Plains of North America, the western part of the Pampas of Argentina, and the veld of South Africa. In the driest parts of the steppes, grasses are short and occur as scattered bunches. On the humid edges of steppes, grasses grow taller and are more closely spaced. See Pampas ; Steppe .
Loading the player...Animals of the grasslands
Prairies are grasslands in more humid climates. Prairies have a thick cover of grasses and often occur with patches of forests. Large prairies include much of the American Midwest, the Pampas of eastern Argentina, and parts of Hungary and northeastern China. Much of the prairie grasslands have been turned into farms and ranches. In some areas, overgrazing by livestock has killed many of the taller grasses. See Prairie .
Tropical savanna areas have a dry season in winter and a rainy summer. Most grasses in these areas grow in clumps. Tropical savannas include the Llanos of Venezuela; the Campos of southern Brazil; much of central, southern, and eastern Africa; the northwestern part of the Deccan of India; and parts of eastern Australia. See Savanna .
