THE SAVANNA Susana López

Please go to http://savannaes.tumblr.com/

LOCATION The savannas are located in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Australia, India, Thailand and the most popular, Africa. (“What countries are in the Savanna?,” 2016)

POLLUTION The air can be polluted by smoke and exhaust fumes. If this happens, then animals will hardly be able to breath and since they can’t move out of the country they will eventually die out. Carbon dioxide (CO2) increases the heat of the biome, if too much carbon dioxide gets into the air the animals that have adapted to the plains may have to adapt again to fit into an almost desert-like biome. (Burns, n.d.)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS The savanna has a wet season (summer) with some twenty-five inches of rain per month from the beginning of May and ending in November. A dry season (winter) between October and March (in the Southern Hemisphere). Between April and September (in the Northern Hemisphere) there is only four inches of rain.

It has rich volcanic soil, which provides nutrition to the plants and starts great food chains. (Burns, n.d.)

BIODIVERSITY In the African savanna, there’s a lot of characteristic species that contribute to the biodiversity. Ex. Aardvark, African elephant, cheetah, hippopotamus, hyena, lion, rhinoceros, zebra, patas monkey, and many more.

In the Australian savanna, you can find kangaroos, wallaby, wombats.

In the South American savanna, Rodents like the capybara, deer. In the Indian savanna, Asian elephants, tigers, water buffalo. In the Myanmar-Thailand, pygmy hog, Asian elephant. (EnchantedLearning, 2000)

BIODIVERSITY In terms of flora, we can find in the African savanna plants like the Senegal Gum Acacia, Bermuda Grass, Elephant grass, Manketti Tree, Umbrella, Thorn Acacia, River Bushwillow. (“Savanna plants,” n.d.)

PRODUCTIVITY Most savannas have a gross primary productivity of 3000 kcal/square meter/year. Sam McNaughton’s experiments have estimated that there is a 60% Net Primary Productivity Rate in the Serengeti. This is so high compared to most regions because they majority of the animals are in the second trophic level. Most of them are large herbivores so a lot of the nutrients are transferred to these animals. (“African Savanna- Serengeti Plains,” n.d.)

FOOD WEB

(“Wildlife,” n.d.)

HUMAN INTERVENTION Humans affect mainly the biodiversity of the savannas because they have removed vegetation in order to build roads for safari trucks resulting in soil erosion, which affects all the animals. (Name, 2012)

Also, many of the species are being killed for money. For example, African elephants are being poached in large numbers. Tens of thousands of elephants are being killed every year for their ivory tusks. The ivory is often carved into ornaments and jewellery – China is the biggest consumer market for such products. (WWF-International, n.d.)

HUMAN INTERVENTION On the other hand, humans have influenced the establishment of reserves, conservation zones and national parks which help to preserve biodiversity. By these, the government has ownership over national parks and reserves which assures that the habitat is protected and well-cared. (Name, 2012)

PEOPLE The best known people of this habitat are the Masai. The Masai are a number of groups who share the same language and cultural and social similarities and who live scattered between Kenya and Tanzania.

Another people who used to be numerous and is now reduced to few hundreds of individuals is the Bushmen who live in the Kalahari desert.

(“Peoples of the African savannah,” 2011)

HISTORY The savannas of Africa may have become the cradle of human evolution millions of years earlier than thought, researchers suggest. These rolling grasslands would have nurtured our ancestors through pivotal moments in their evolution. (Choi & Contributor, n.d.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY African Savanna- Serengeti Plains. Retrieved September 18, 2016, from Weebly, http://5savanna.weebly.com/productivity.html Burns, A. The African Savanna. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from Planet Patrol, http://www.planetpatrol.info/savannah.html Choi, C. Q., & Contributor, L. S. Savanna, not forest, was human ancestors’ proving ground. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/15377-savannas-human-ancestors-evolution.html

EnchantedLearning. (2000). Savanna animal printouts. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://enchantedlearning.com/biomes/savanna/savanna.shtml

Name. (2012, October 23). Human Intervention… harmful or advantageous to the organisms of the Savanna? Retrieved September 19, 2016, from https://tatianadowhalukbiology.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/human-intervention-harmful-or-afvantageous-to-the-organisms-of-the-savanna/

Peoples of the African savannah. (2011, May 16). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.eniscuola.net/en/argomento/savannah/man-and-savannah/peoples-of-the-african-savannah/

Savanna plants. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://thegreatsavanna.weebly.com/savanna-plants.html What countries are in the Savanna? (2016). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from geography, https://www.reference.com/geography/countries-savanna-acfed5895f796373#

Wildlife. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://5savanna.weebly.com/organisms.html WWF-International. Threats to African elephants. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/african_elephants/afelephants_threats/