About a quarter of the land on earth comprises of grasslands. The grassland biome, in fact, exists in every continent, apart from Antarctica. The grassland biome lies on both sides of the two belts of desert that encircle the earth. The tropical grassland biome, which is nearest the equator, is hot all through the year. The grasslands that are located farther away from the equator, like the prairies in the United States, known as temperate grasslands, have more varied temperatures, being hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter.
At one time the temperate grasslands covered a large part of the interior region of North America, and this grassland biome was also quite common in South America and Eurasia. When converted to agricultural purposes, these temperate grasslands prove to be highly productive. In fact, most of the fertile agricultural lands in the US as well as the southern part of Canada were originally temperate grassland biomes, which are known as prairies.
The prairies of North America were once home to large herds of bison and American antelopes, which used to be hunted by bears, wolves, and other predatory animals. These animals have largely disappeared now, and most of these grasslands have been transformed into the most productive agricultural areas of the world, which is the reason they are often referred to as the ‘breadbasket of the world.’ Although they remain grasslands, they are not wild any longer.
So, What Exactly is a Grassland Biome?
Grassland biomes are made up of great, rolling tracts of land comprising of grasses, herbs and flowers. The annual rainfall they receive is between 10-30 inches. If they get any more, they would turn into forestlands, and any less rain would turn them into desert areas. Grassland biomes, in fact, are usually regions that are a transition between the desert and the forest.
Grassland biomes are of two types: areas that are humid and wet, where tall grass grows; and areas that are dry, with colder winters and hotter summers, where short grass grows. For instance, the settlers of North America found both types of grasslands as they journeyed west. On crossing the Mississippi River, they found grass that was very tall, some of them reaching up to 11 feet in height. This region received frequent rainfall and was also very humid. However, on approaching the Rocky Mountains, further west, they came across grasses that were much shorter, because here the winters were colder and there was less rain during the summer season. Hence, these came to be known as short-grass prairies.
Generally, shrubs do not grow in grassland biomes, while trees only grow in stream and river basins. The most striking features of grassland biomes are its continuity and openness, almost seeming like an endless sea of grass. Since the soil in grassland biomes are rich in nutrients, when they are converted to agricultural purposes they prove to be very productive.
Grassland Biomes of the World
Apart from the prairies of North America, there are other grassland biomes in the other parts of the world. For instance, the grasslands of South America are known as the Pampas, and in Africa it’s called the Serengeti. Then there are the steppes of Europe, which is another grassland biome that has been converted into an agricultural area that is highly productive.
There is also a vast grassland area that stretches from Ukraine to Siberia, which has a very dry and cold climate, since there is no ocean nearby, and there are no mountains in the vicinity to block the arctic winds. This grassland biome is called the Asian and Russian steppes.
Plant and Animal Life in Grassland Biomes
When the first settlers in North America began moving westward, they discovered that the prairies, as was the term they used for the grasslands, were not just flat grassy areas. That in fact they consisted of many plant life species, 300 bird species, and about 80 animal species.
Grassland Animals: Grasslands around the world are home to unique kinds of animal life that can survive in these biomes. Large sized grazers like the bison, as has been mentioned above, used to roam the grasslands of North America, until the settlers hunted them nearly to extinction as they moved west.
All grasslands have the common features of having plenty of grass as food and lacking cover from predators. Hence the types of animals that inhabit the grasslands around the world are similar, being predominantly plant eating or herbivorous ungulates, which are animals that have long legs and hoofs, like deer and horses, which enable them to outrun their predators.
Some of the animals that belong to the temperate grasslands of North America are: coyotes, prairie dogs, gophers, antelope, bison, eagles, wild turkey, Canadian geese, bobcats, the gray wolf, fly catchers, and various types of insects. There are similar animals that inhabit the steppes, such as foxes, falcons, antelopes, and the lynx.
Grassland Plants: Grasses are the type of plants that predominate the temperate grasslands. Shrubs and trees occur very rarely in this biome. There are several types of grasses that grow in the grassland biome, such as buffalo grass, ryegrass, foxtail, wild oats, and purple needlegrass. Although animals feed on these grasses, they can survive because the point of growth of the grasses is very near the surface of the ground. Besides, they survive even fires due to the underground buds and stems. The trees and shrubs that grow in the grassland biome, on the other hand, are easily destroyed in fires.
There are also many types of wildflowers that grow in temperate grasslands, such as wild indigos, clovers, sunflowers, goldenrods, blazing stars, and asters.
The world’s major habitats, characterized by the dominant forms of plant and animal life that exist in them, are known as biomes. Each biome’s location is defined by the climate of the region.
What are the Types of Tundra Biome?
Extremely cold temperatures and frozen, treeless landscapes characterize the tundra biome. While some sources claim that the word ‘tundra’ originates from the Kildin Sami term ‘tundar’, which means ‘treeless mountain track’ or ‘uplands’, others say that it has been derived from the Finnish ‘tunturia’, meaning ‘barren land’. The tundra is divided into two types: The Arctic Tundra, which is also present in Antarctica, and Alpine Tundra. The ecological boundary region, or ecotone, which demarcates the tundra and the growth of forest, is referred to as the timberline or tree line.
Where is the Tundra Biome found?
The Arctic tundra lies between the North Pole and the taiga or the coniferous forests. In North America, it occurs in Greenland, Canada and Northern Alaska, in northern Europe, it is mainly found in Scandinavia, and in northern Asia, it is found in Siberia.
The Antarctic tundra occurs on various Antarctic as well as sub-Antarctic islands, which include the Kerguelen Islands, the South Sandwich Islands, and South Georgia.
The Alpine tundra can be found at very high elevations on frozen mountaintop regions. In North America, it occurs in Mexico, U.S.A., Canada, and Alaska. In South America, it is found in the Andes Mountains. In northern Europe, it is found in Sweden, Russia, Norway, and Finland. In Africa, it can be found in Mt. Kilimanjaro. And in Asia, it occurs in the Himalayan Mountains, which is located in Southern Asia, and in Mt. Fuji, in Japan.
What are the Conditions in the Tundra Region?
The Arctic Tundra is considered to be the youngest biome in the world, having been formed 10,000 years ago. Located in the latitudes 55 degrees to 70 degrees north, this vast and treeless territory covers approximately 20 percent of the surface of the Earth, encompassing the North Pole. Of all the biomes in the world, the tundra is considered to be the coldest. With less than 10 inches of rain in a year, it is also the driest.
The main seasons of the tundra region are winter and a short summer. The summers in the tundra sometimes last just for 6-10 weeks, while the winters are long. Spring and fall are just brief interludes that occur between the winter and summer. In the winter, the nights can go on for weeks, with the sun barely rising, and the temperature often plummeting as low a -94 degrees F.
Due to the Arctic tundra being as close as it is to the North Pole, the days in the summer are 24 hours long, which is the reason the Arctic is also referred to as the ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’. The temperature in the summer rarely rises above 50 degrees F, which is just sufficient enough to thaw the top layer of the ground, which is referred to as permafrost. Due to the rain and melting snow in the summer, the soil on the surface gets very soggy. The permafrost, which lies about six inches below the surface, remains frozen throughout the year.
Another characteristic feature of the Arctic tundra is that it is very windy, with winds blowing at 30-60 miles per hour (48-97 kilometers).
What are the Plants that Grow in the Tundra Biome?
Considering the extremely inhospitable conditions of the tundra biome, there are as many as 1,700 different plant species that grow here. The tundra plants consist mostly of mosses, grasses, lichens, sedges, and shrubs. About 400 types of flowers bloom in the growing season, which lasts just for 50-60 days. Except for a few birches in the lower altitudes, no trees grow in the tundra. Because of the permafrost, trees cannot send their roots into the ground. Although in some parts of the tundra willows do grow, but only up to about 8 cm, or 3 inches, high. Developing over thousands of years, most of the vegetation have adapted to the conditions in the tundra by growing in a dense mat of roots. Except where the soil is fertilized by animal droppings, the soil is low in minerals and nutrients.
Being too dry and cold for vegetation to grow, the Antarctica tundra is mostly covered by large expanses of ice fields. However, in some parts of the region, especially the Antarctic Peninsula, there are areas where there is rocky soil which can support vegetation. The plant species that exist here are aquatic and terrestrial species of algae, which occur in the exposed soil and rock areas around the shore, liverworts, mosses, and lichens. The two flowering species of plants, the Antarctic pearlwort and Antarctic hair grass can be found in the western and northern parts of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Do any Animals live in the Tundra Region?
Even though there is not much biodiversity, with only about 48 species of land mammals occurring in the tundra biome, there are surprisingly large numbers of each species. The tundra animals mainly are slightly modified forms of deer, bears, foxes, wolves, rodents, hares, and shrews. In North America, there are large caribou herds, which are called reindeer in Eurasia, which feed on plants and lichens. Smaller musk-oxen herds also roam about the frozen regions. The predators of the tundra biome are polar bears, arctic foxes, and wolves. Some of the smaller mammals are lemmings and snowshoe rabbits.
Although there are not too many types of insects to be found in the tundra, however, tiny midges that bite, mosquitoes, deer flies, and black flies do occur, which can make the summers in the tundra quite miserable. The mosquitoes that occur in the tundra prevent themselves from freezing by substituting the water in their bodies with glycerol, which acts like an anti-freeze. The marshy regions of the tundra are where migratory birds like plovers, sandpipers, and harlequin flock to in the summers.
Due to it being isolated from other continents, the Antarctic tundra, in contrast with the Arctic tundra, is devoid of large mammal species. Sea birds and sea mammals, such as penguins and seals, however, do occur in areas close to the shore, while small mammals like cats and rabbits have been introduced by humans on some of the sub-Antarctic islands.
As is evident, the Tundra Biome is not a useless and cold wasteland. In fact, its very nature makes the environment very fragile, and the animals and plants that have made the tundra their home have adapted themselves incredibly intricately to its short, although abundant, summers and cold, long winters. They exist on a precarious edge, hence, the most minor of stresses can lead to their destruction.
Tropical rainforests balance the global ecosystem and human existence. They are unparalleled in terms of their biological diversity, they not only play a role in regulating global weather, but sustain within themselves nearly half of the world’s plants and animals species. Rainforest have supported centuries of traditional preparation of medicines because of their rich medicinal plant life. Through this article, I would like to inform you about a few rainforest plants used for medicine.
Medicinal Rainforest Plants
For thousands of years, rainforest medicinal plants have been used to improvise health conditions. The ancient medicinal branches of Ayurveda, Chinese traditional medicine, etc. have used over a thousand plant species between them to cure many diseases, and promote longevity. Today, on an average, over 7,000 medical compounds prescribed by doctors world over are derived from plants that grow in the rainforest. Some of the rainforest plants used for medicines have been listed below.
Cinchona Tree: This tree is found in the Latin American and African rainforest and prominently figures in the list of rainforest plants used for medicine. An alkaloid, Quinine is extracted from the bark of the tree and is used to cure malaria.
Curare Lianas: This large poisonous vine is full of alkaloids used for treating bruises, fever, edema and kidney stones. As it also helps to relax muscles, and thus, is used as an anesthetic agent.
Saw Palmetto: Extracts from Saw Palmetto’s berries is used to treat certain urinary problems. This was first used by people in Florida. The fruit contains 5-alpha reductase that inhibits the production of prostaglandins (related to prostatic treatment).
Wild Yams: Extract of the tubers of Dioscorea wild yam, diosgenin is an active ingredient used in birth control pills. It is also used in many steroidal products like pregnenolone, progesterone, etc.
Trumpet Tree: A popular medicinal tree used extensively in traditional medicine in Central and South America. All parts of the tree; leaves, fruits, flowers, bark and roots are used to treat respiratory illnesses and rheumatism.
Pacific Bleeding Heart: This delicate plant comes from the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Tincture is extracted from its roots and used to provide relief from external bruises and sprains, and when taken internally, it is known to sooth frayed nerves.
Cocoa Tree: The cocoa tree is one of the few trees that is extremely high in medicinal value, thus, making it one of the most important rainforest plants used for medicine. This one tree alone produces over 150 chemicals that can be extracted from its leaves, seeds, fruit and bark. The extracts are used to treat anxiety, fatigue, fever, coughs, kidney stones, and external cuts and bruises.
Clavillia: This perennial herb contains vital active compounds like proteins, triterpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc. used to treat infections caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
Mammosa: Member of the eggplant family, mammosa is used to treat sinus infections, and lesions caused by various skin cancers.
Periwinkle: Extracts of the periwinkle plant have two of the most active tumor fighting agents. It is used widely and very successfully in treating leukemia and Hodgkin’s Disease.
Sorosi: Sorosi is a vine whose extract is used to treat ticks or lice when used externally, and is used as an internal remedy for treating delayed or painful menstruation, and dysentery.
Lemongrass: Lemongrass has antibacterial and antifungal properties which aid is treating fevers, colds, and coughs. Lemon grass tea is a very popular herbal tea.
Annatto Tree: Oil extract of the Annatto tree contains carotenoids bixin, used for protection against UV rays. It also helps to lower blood pressure and serves as a powerful insect repellent
Despite the role they play in ensuring a healthy life for us, humans have shown a complete disregard to rainforests around the world. Today, less than 5% of the earth’s surface is covered with these forests. With the number of ever increasing diseases and infections that are now prevalent among us, rainforest plants used for medicines are more needed than ever. Hence, it is up to us, to save the rainforests from turning into barren land.