Environmental Chapter 8 Test

List three grass land biomes.

1) steppe 2) prairie 3) savanna

What is a grassland?

an ecosystem in which there is more water than is a desert, but not enough water to support a forest.

What is a vertical feeding pattern?

animals eat vegetation at different heights

What is a desert-grassland boundary, and why is it changeable?

because rainfall is an abiotic factor affecting both deserts and grasslands, long-term changes in climate patterns can change the desert-grassland boundary.

Name some behavioral adaptions of animals to the steppe and prairie.

borrowers and grazers mainly live there, hibernating to save energy. coming out at night to escape the heat.

Short, fine blade grasses that grow in clumps.

bunchgrass

Area that supports some grasses, but can become desert if the climate changes.

desert-grassland boundary

Name some animals that exhibit a vertical feeding pattern.

giraffe and wildebeest

What is the most common organism living in the grasslands?

grass

Biome that receives more rain than a desert, but not enough to support a forest.

grasslands

What is a steppe?

grasslands of short bunchgrasses that get less than 50 cm of rain a year.

Decay organic matter.

humus

Biome that is characterized by rolling hills, plains, and tall grasses.

prairie

What are prairies?

rolling hills and plains with sod forming grasses

Underground stem that ensures a plant's survival despite grass fires.

runner

What is a runner and how does it protect plants from their environmental?

runners are long horizontal stems above or below the ground. they protect the plants from never growing back, they protect the roots from wild fires.

Biome that is characterized by rainy seasons and long periods of drought.

savanna

Explain how bunchgrasses are adapted to the steppe.

short and clumped; can hold lot of water by holding it in the root area.

Organisms that form a mat of soil and roots that helps add organic matter to prairie soils.

sod-farming grasses

Grassland that receives less than 50 cm of annual rainfall.

steppe

What distinguishes a steppe from a desert?

the amount of rainfall

What adaptation of some plants and trees enables them to survive long periods without rain?

they adapt by becoming drought-resistant

What advantage do savanna trees and shrubs that grow thorns have?

they are less likely to get eaten

Describe the climate of the savanna.

they have rainy season and then long seasons of drought.

Explain the important role of grass fires in grasslands.

they keep the number of trees and shrubs there low.

What is the definition of a savanna?

tropical or subtropical grasslands ranging from dry scrub-land to wet, open woodlands

Large clumps of tall, coarse grasses found in savannas.

tuft

Behavior that enables different animal species to feed in the same area without competing.

vertical feeding patterns