Unit 1 FRQ Progress Check

Several factors contribute to the maintenance of grassland ecosystems. Explain how seasonal fires benefit grassland ecosystems.

Decaying/dead plant matter burns and turns to ash, which releases nutrients into a useable form for plants. Cleared areas receive more sunlight which stimulates dormant plants to sprout and grow. Trees and shrubs are killed off opening the area for grasses (secondary succession). Heat from fires promote germination from seeds in seed banks.

A climatograph for a tropical grassland or savanna would look different from the climatograph shown for a temperate grassland. Describe one difference in the patterns or trends in the temperature data in a tropical grassland compared to those of a temperate grassland.

Higher average/maximum temperatures is the difference between the two grasslands.

Identify the month with the least amount of rainfall in this temperate grassland.

January

Several factors contribute to the maintenance of grassland ecosystems. Describe one way that grazing animals, such as bison or cattle, help to maintain grassland ecosystems.

They compact the soil with their hooves. Their waste provides nutrients for soil/plants. They open new areas for seed to grow by moving over areas and disrupting grasses. They spread seeds to new areas.

Humans often convert grasslands into farm fields to grow crops. Describe why the conversion of temperate grasslands, such as in the central United States, into agricultural areas is an environmental problem.

Areas of diverse grasses and shrubs replaced by monocultures/less species diversity. Removal of groundcover can lead to desertification/erosion. Need for irrigation depletes groundwater/aquifers. Irrigating soils can lead to soil salinization.

Identify the maximum mean monthly temperature in this temperate grassland.

Between 27 and 28 degrees Celsius