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5.4.8: Temperate Grasslands (Prairie)

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    Learning Objective

    Recognize distinguishing characteristics of Temperate Grassland (Prairie) & plant adaptations of the biome.

    Temperate grasslands are found throughout central North America, where they are also known as prairies, and in Eurasia, where they are known as steppes. Temperate grasslands have pronounced annual fluctuations in temperature with hot summers and cold winters. The annual temperature variation produces specific growing seasons for plants. Plant growth is possible when temperatures are warm enough to sustain plant growth, which occurs in the spring, summer, and fall. Annual precipitation ranges from 25.4 cm to 88.9 cm (10–35 in).

    Adaptations

    Temperate grasslands are areas of open grass with few trees, most of which are found growing along rivers or streams. The treeless condition is maintained by low precipitation, frequent fires, and grazing (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)). The vegetation is very dense and the soils are fertile because the subsurface of the soil is packed with the roots and rhizomes (underground stems) of these grasses. The roots and rhizomes act to anchor plants into the ground and replenish the organic material (humus) in the soil when they die and decay. Thus, temperate grasslands contain some of the most fertile soils in the world. Agriculture and development is often associated with this biome due to its rich soil.

    A dark brown bison in a temperate grassland
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\):The American bison (Bison bison), more commonly called the buffalo, is a grazing mammal that once populated American prairies in huge numbers. (credit: Jack Dykinga, USDA ARS)

    Fires, which are a natural disturbance in temperate grasslands, can be ignited by lightning strikes. It also appears that the lightning-caused fire regime in North American grasslands was enhanced by intentional burning by humans. When fire is suppressed in temperate grasslands, the vegetation eventually converts to scrub and dense forests. Often, the restoration or management of temperate grasslands requires the use of controlled burns to suppress the growth of trees and maintain the grasses.

    Attributions

    Curated and authored by Kammy Algiers using Terrestrial Biomes from Biology 2e by OpenStax (CC-BY). Access for free at openstax.org

    This page titled 5.4.8: Temperate Grasslands (Prairie) is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Melissa Ha, Maria Morrow, & Kammy Algiers (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative) .