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Canadian
prairie
The main plants
that grow on grasslands are grasses. There are thousands of types
of grasses. Grasses are plants that are found from the edge of
the sea to high up in mountains. They are a very successful plant
because they survive the harshest conditions.
There are many wildflowers in grasslands. Flowering plants grow amongst the grassses, generally flowering in spring and summer.
Plant Adaptations
Unlike
most plants, grasses grow from the base, not the top. Creeping
stems above the ground are called stolons, and below the ground
are called rhizomes. As these creeping stems spread out, shoots
grow up and produce leaves. These often mat together thickly.
Grass can be cut quite close to the ground, and new leaves (blades of grass) sprout from the base of the plant. This means that grasses can be eaten and walked on by animals and are not killed.
Grassland Animals
Many animals live in grasslands.
There are different animals in different countries. Some of them
are very small such as mice, prairie dogs, snakes and insects.
These animals can hide easily in the grasses. There are also large
grasslands animals such as elephants, lions, zebra, giraffes,
cheetah and white rhinoceros in Africa, bison in North America,
kangaroos in Australia. These animals are too large to hide in
the grasses, so they must protect themselves in other ways, such
as speed or camouflage.
Many grasslands animals live in large groups, often called herds. Living in groups means that there is protection from predators for the weaker members. There are more eyes to spot danger, and strong members surround weaker ones.
elephants, lions, zebra, giraffes, cheetah , rhinoceros , bison, kangaroos
Australian grasslands
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If you use any part of this
in your work, acknowledge it in your bibliography like this:
Grasslands Biome
(2002). [Online],
Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
updated July 2002