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Grasslands are also known as prairies, pampas, steppes, and savannas.
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Grassland biomes are normally situated between a forest and a desert. In fact, grasslands surround every desert in Asia.
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Twenty-five percent of the Earth is covered by the grassland biome.
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There is a grassland biome on each continent with the exception of Antarctica.
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Tropical and temperate are the two kinds of grasslands. Tropical grasslands experience warm weather all year long while temperate grasslands are warm part of the year and very cold during the other part.
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Grasslands are perfect for cropping and pasturing because its soil runs deep and is extremely fertile.
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Periodic fires, whether they are human induced or occur spontaneously, are very important to the grassland to ensure that invasive plants do not take over.
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Tropical grassland biomes are located in the Southern Hemisphere while temperate grassland biomes are located in the Northern Hemisphere.
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The grasses in the tropical grassland biome tend to be taller than that of the temperate because of the constant warm weather and additional rainfall it receives.
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Since grassland biomes have rich soil, much of them are used for farming. There is only 2% of the original grassland left in North America.
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There are two seasons in the temperate grassland: the growing season and the dormant season. Plants do not grow during the dormant season because the climate is too cold during that time.
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Animals that you can expect to find in a grassland biome are zebras, lions, wolves, prairie dogs, and foxes. The animal diversity is dependent upon the location of the biome.
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Large animals called bison previously ruled the grassland biome and roamed by the millions. During the 1800s, settlers begin to slaughter them for various reasons.
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Since so much of the grassland biome has been utilized for farmland, the United States has made efforts to restore the grassland by planting grasses in areas previously used for farming.
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The grasslands in the United States are known as prairies and are considered to be temperate grasslands.
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