View source for Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

{{short description|Terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature}}
{{redirect|Tropical savanna|the climate classification|Tropical savanna climate}}
[[File:Biome map 07.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|{{legend0|#ffde55|&nbsp;extent of tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands}}]]

'''Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands''' is a terrestrial [[biome]] defined by the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]].<ref name=wwf/> The biome is dominated by [[grass]] and/or [[shrub]]s located in [[semi-arid]] to semi-[[humid]] [[climate]] regions of [[subtropical]] and [[tropical]] [[latitude]]s. Tropical grasslands are mainly found between 5 degrees and 20 degrees in both North and south of the Equator.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Waugh |first=David |title=Geography : an integrated approach |date=2009 |publisher=Nelson Thornes |isbn=978-1-4085-0407-9 |edition=4th |location=Cheltenham |oclc=318672928}}</ref>

==Description==
[[Grassland]]s are dominated by grasses and other [[herb]]aceous plants. [[Savanna]]s are grasslands with scattered [[tree]]s. [[Shrubland]]s are dominated by woody or herbaceous shrubs.

Large expanses of land in the tropics do not receive enough rainfall to support extensive tree cover. The tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are characterized by rainfall levels between {{convert|90|-|150|cm|in}} per year.<ref name=wwf>{{CC-notice|bysa3}} {{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425205427/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat07.cfm|archive-date=2012-04-25|url=http://wwf.panda.org:80/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat07.cfm|title=Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas and Shrubland Ecoregions|author=World Wide Fund for Nature|access-date=2019-05-29|url-status=live}}</ref> Rainfall can be highly seasonal, with the entire year's rainfall sometimes occurring within a couple of weeks.

African savannas occur between forest or woodland regions and grassland regions. Flora includes [[acacia]] and [[baobab]] trees, grass, and low shrubs. Acacia trees lose their leaves in the dry season to conserve moisture, while the baobab stores water in its trunk for the dry season. Many of these savannas are in Africa.

Large mammals that have evolved to take advantage of the ample forage typify the biodiversity associated with these habitats. These large mammal faunas are richest in African savannas and grasslands. The most intact assemblages currently occur in East African Acacia savannas and Zambezian savannas consisting of mosaics of [[miombo]], [[mopane]], and other habitats.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=McClanahan|editor-first1=TR|editor-first2=TP|editor-last2=Young|year=1996|title=East African ecosystems and their conservation|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York}}</ref> Large-scale migration of tropical savanna herbivores, such as wildebeest (''[[Connochaetes taurinus]]'') and zebra (''[[Equus quagga]]''), are continuing to decline through habitat alteration and hunting.<ref name=wwf/> They now only occur to any significant degree in East Africa and the central Zambezian region. Much of the extraordinary abundance of Guinean and Sahelian savannas has been eliminated, although the large-scale migrations of [[Ugandan Kob]] still occur in the savannas in the [[Sudd]] region.<ref name=wwf/> The Sudan type of climate is characterized by an alternating hot and rainy season, and a cool and dry season. In the Northern Hemisphere, the hot rainy season normally begins in May and lasts until September. Rainfall varies from 25&nbsp;cm to 150&nbsp;cm and is usually unreliable. The rest of the year is cool and dry. Rainfall decreases as one goes either towards North in Northern Hemisphere or South in the Southern Hemisphere. Drought is very common.

==Occurrence==
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands occur on all continents but Antarctica. They are widespread in [[Africa]], and are also found all throughout [[South Asia]] and [[Southeast Asia]], the northern parts of [[South America]] and [[Australia]], and the southern [[United States]].

==Ecoregions==
{{Afrotropical tropical and subtropical grassland, savanna, and shrubland ecoregions}}
{{Australasian tropical and subtropical grassland, savanna, and shrubland ecoregions}}
{{Indomalayan tropical and subtropical grassland, savanna, and shrubland ecoregions}}
{{Nearctic tropical and subtropical grassland, savanna, and shrubland ecoregions}}
{{Neotropical tropical and subtropical grassland, savanna, and shrubland ecoregions}}
{{Oceanian tropical and subtropical grassland, savanna, and shrubland ecoregions}}

==See also==
* [[Tropical vegetation]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons-inline}}

{{Biomes}}
{{Biodiversity of South Africa|ecoreg}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands}}
[[Category:Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands| ]]
[[Category:Terrestrial biomes]]
[[Category:Habitats]]
[[Category:Grasslands]]