Savanna (hot semi-arid grassland

    Cards (23)

    • Where is the Savanna biome located
      between the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn
      small areas can be found in Mexico
      over half of Africa is covered in Savanna eg. Sudan and Madagscar
      located in North of India and North West of Australia
    • What is vegetation like
      ecosystem is dominated by grass with varying amounts of scattered trees and shrubs
      all plants have adapted to cope with long periods of little/no rain
    • Examples of vegetation
      acacia trees, baobab tree. eucalyptus tree, grass
    • How has acacia trees adapted
      long tap roots to reach deep ground water and fire resistant trunk
      long thorns to prevent animal grazing - ants live there so if eaten animals have stining ants
      giraffes eat leaves so tree pumps poisonous alkalised in leaves, which makes them taste bad
      shade encourages animals to have droppings - nitrogen
    • How has baobab tree adapted
      thick bark to prevent water loss
      water stored in trunk to use in dry season
      but elephants can break into trunk to get water supply
      leaves only grow in wet season to reduce water loss in transpiration = leaves are too small to reduce transpiration
    • How has eucalyptus tree adapted
      leaves hang down to reduce transpiration
      trees lose leaves in dry season to reduce transpiration
      longtap root to reach water deep underground
      trees can withstand fire - fire triggers release of seeds to encourage regrowth
    • How has grass adapted
      stores water and nutrients in its roots which can survive fire
      can grow quickly to over a metre in height in wet seasons
      goes brown and dyes back during dry season to limit water loss
    • How has zebras adapted
      a migatory animal so moves to freshest grass - moves quite quickly + good stamina
      has stripes = lion (main predator) is colourblind so zebra blends in when they stand in tall grass, live in herds so makes it confusing for lion when they run around (disorganised )
    • How has giraffes adapted
      reach leaves on acacia trees - long neck
      camouflage coat which helps stay hidden
      hoofs = tough to protect feet
      tough lips = protects skin from thorns
      long tongue = tip of leaves from treeshorms to spare against other giraffes
    • How has lions adapted
      territorial animal - don't migrate out of territory
      big noses to smell prey
      manes - protects neck in fights - intimidate opponent
      light brown fur to blend with the grass - to camouflage as less prey in drier months so they need food
      soft paws to sneak
      when grown = have 3 inch long fangs
    • Where is the Serengeti
      located in Eastern Africa, just South of equator
      North East of Tanzania and South West of Kenya
      also located to the East of Lake Victoria
    • What is the Serengeti National Park
      a UNESCO conservation and world heritage site
      it covers over 2 million acres and it's known for its vast array of animals including wildebeast, lions, elephants
      the Massai Tribe on the Kenyan Serengeti and they are nomadic farmers - this means that they move around with their animals to allow vegetation to recover
    • Uses of Serengeti: How do the Massai use the land
      they undertake a traditional form of farming where they graze animals and then move them on to allow the vegetation to recover
    • How could the Maasai's activities lead to desertification
      Maasai cut down the trees for fuel for cookers and to provide heat to their homes at night when it's cold
      deforestation -> soil erosion -> desertification
    • Why's collecting firewood a problem
      when collecting firewood, trees/vegetations are removed as so there's more soil erosion, leading to desertification
      no more food for animals eg/ giraffes eat bark
    • Uses: why do tourists visit the Serengeti
      people go to see safaris (National Park)
      provides education for tourists
    • Uses: what problems do tourists cause
      increase in people has environmental impacts - more vehicles on road, causing air and noise pollution
      local water supplies can also be drained as water is diverted to hotels and safari lodges - takes water away from locals
      traditional culture could be lost as Maasai can be reliant on tourism rather than nomadic lifestyle
      occasionally, tourist hotels dump waste in rivers - no sewage treatment
    • Uses: what is poaching and problem?
      poaching = illegal killing of animals
      increased demand (dramatic fall in wildebeast pop.) meaning that food that wildebeest eats will be more abundant and predators will have to adapt or eat another prey
      animals close to extinction - white rhino (horns worth lots of money and used in Chinese medicine)
    • Why has an increased population led to poaching
      increased population = increased demand for meat poaching
    • Which animal species has dramatically decreased
      wildebeest = killing around 150k a year
    • How is farming leading to desertification
      when a lot of same crop has been planted, nutrients aren't being cycled through soil as much and so it's always the same nutrients instead of vital new ones for healthy soil
      when land has lost nutrients, farmers will move on, leaving nothing planted in soil, which causes soil to blow away in wind - leading to desertification
    • How is the Serengeti area managed and conserved
      National Park:
      • tourism = provides valuable revenue used to support conservation of park, wildlife research, education and livelihood of local communities
      • comitted to low impact, sustainable tourism and human activity is closely monitored - buildings must be unobtrusive
      • Frankhurt Zoological Society helps coordinate anti-poaching patrols and there are aircraft which reports incidents back to a control centre so that poaching can be stopped
    • Why and How do people managing semi-arid grasslands
      fragile ecosytem:
      • without careful management, there will be further soil erosion and this will lead to widespread desertification
      • part of savanna are already at risk of becoming desert or already
      can be managed by = drip irrigation schemes, planting acacia trees, bunds
    See similar decks