THE SAVANNA

Now I have studied the savanna at GCSE level and believe it to be another extreme landscape. Yet again, this is another area I do not remember in much detail due to studying it so long ago.

So, what is a savanna?

Now a savanna is not a desert. A savanna is a large area/space of grassland that comprises of widely spaced trees. Savannas can occur in several types of biomes and consist of a range of flora and fauna. They are enormous plains that are found between moisture equator forests and tropical deserts, and consist of various layers.

Savannas have a wet season (summer) and a dry season (winter) so only certain vegetation can grow there, however the conditions are suitable for a range of animal types. In the wet season savannas can receive on average between 15 and 25 inches of rainfall, however only around 4 inches of rainfall is received in the dry season.



African savanna



Savannas can be found in areas of Africa, in South America (mainly Brazil) and Northern Australia with the largest being found in Africa. It is Africa’s savannas that boast the most wildlife species and it is these savannas we often refer to. In Eastern African savannas such as the Serengeti Plains of Tanzania, lions, zebras, elephants, giraffe and many types of ungulates (which I have learnt today means  animals with hooves) inhabit the area. These animals migrate in the dry season to areas where more rainfall occurs due to the lack of vegetation available to graze on in the dryer areas.




Savanna transect

 

The type and density of the vegetation changes with latitude. Closer to the equator is the ‘closed’ savanna, with just a short drought season and therefore there is a greater amount of trees. Closer to desert areas, it is known as the ‘open’ savanna. This has a much longer drought season, little can grow here so shrubs and clumps of grass dominate these areas. Students may find the transect (see diagram)useful to understand how the types vegetation can vary across a savanna.

I think it is important for students to know this diagram and how the land and vegetation changes as you move away from the equator. It is particularly important as I have already covered the desert, I am currently covering the savanna and I will be posting about tropical rainforests shortly. Therefore this diagram is useful to use and refer back to.

Links:

http://www.worldstory.net/en/savana/the_savana.html

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna.htm

http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/savanna.html