Tropical grasslands of the world
Also called: Savanna, Llanos, Campos · Topic: World Physical Features and Natural Regions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Tropical grasslands are areas of grass with scattered trees. They lie between the rainforests near the Equator and the hot deserts. They have one wet season and one dry season (Koeppen type Aw). Fire and grazing animals stop forests from growing, so the land stays open. They have different names in different continents.
Example
- Savanna: the African savanna, such as the Serengeti, known for the wildebeest migration and for Maasai herders.
- Llanos: Venezuela and Colombia.
- Campos and Cerrado: Brazil. The Cerrado is now being cleared for soya bean farms.
- Northern Australia: also has tropical grassland.
Don't confuse with
- Temperate grasslands (Prairies, Pampas, Steppes, Velds, Downs): these lie in the middle latitudes, inside continents, and have cold winters. A common exam trap says the Llanos and Campos are temperate. That is false, because they are tropical.