GRASSLANDS

A grassland biome is one where there is not enough rainfall for trees to grow, yet there is enough moisture to keep the area from becoming a desert. Here, grasses are the dominant plant life. Grasses aren’t like other plants that grow from their tips. Grasses grow from the ground up which means that the grazing animals that eat them do not harm their growth. In fact, grazing animals actually help the grasses by eating plants that might compete with the grasses for moisture and space.

An example of a grassland habitat would be the prairies of the mid-western United States, also called the Great Plains. Because grasses have an extensive underground root system, the ground is easier to dig through and becomes a haven for burrowing animals. As a result of the way grasses grow, in a grassland habitat you will find animals like snakes, prairie dogs, rabbits, and black-footed ferrets who live underground and bison, mule deer, elk, and pronghorn who graze on their leaves.