Page 14 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

Life on the ground The grassland

With a variable and distinctive soil profile, plants of the savannah have to be hardy to

take root. Species must also be well-adapted to withstand extreme temperatures food chain
Prevalence Humus
of grass The thinnest,
The fact that the laterite uppermost layer in
soil layer prevents trees the soil profi le is
from taking root is what known as humus.
favours the prevalence It’s made of the
of so many grasses, organic matter from
which have much decaying plants and
shorter root systems. animals, and
provides vegetation
Laterite with nutrients.
Season upon season of
rain and drought have
caused the layers below
the humus to become
incredibly hard. The soil
is so cemented that long Distinctive
tree roots are unable to red soil
penetrate it. During the wet
season, intense
leaching occurs where
Horizons water draws out

The flow of nutrients head nutrients and chemical
downwards through the soil, which compounds from the
creates horizons, each one differing soil. Iron oxide remains,
in composition from the one above it. which gives the soil its
Below these, the bedrock sits. rusty colour.
Savannah foliage

Acacia tree Rhodes grass Red grass
The Umbrella acacia tree is a This tufty grass has a long root Incredibly, this grass is not only
symbol of the African savannah. system that extracts water from resistant to fire, but regular

Providing a source of food for the soil from over four metres (13 burning enhances the grass’
many creatures, the seedpods feet) deep. This enables the grass prevalence, providing it’s not
actually grow better after passing to withstand short drought and overgrazed. The species is a good
through an animal’s gut! grazing from animals. indicator of a healthy savannah.

able to support the great migration of herds of
herbivorous animals, such as zebra and
wildebeest, which travel en masse, chasing
the rains and spurred on by the growth of new
grass. Hungry predators like lions and
cheetahs anticipate the arrival of these herds.
The savannah temperature remains fairly
select few. When you think of the word Ikorongo Controlled Areas and the Maasai Mara constant, and water holes can be found at
‘savannah’, rolling African grasslands come to National Reserve. So important is the 30,000 various points across the plains (depending on
mind, along with Mufasa’s words to Simba: -square-kilometre (11,580-square-mile) region, the season), where many different types of
“Everything the light touches is our kingdom.” that it contains two World Heritage Sites and two animals will gather to take a drink. The rainy
Disney’s classic cartoon actually portrays an Biosphere Reserves. season stretches from around November to
ecosystem that is very real. Africa’s most famous The savannah biome has two distinct seasons, May, and then the dry season sets in and
savannah regions encompass the Serengeti wet and dry, but there is still too little rain for temperatures remain around 27 degrees
National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, many trees to grow, and so grasses and shrubs Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit).
Maswa Game Reserve, the Loliondo, Grumeti and dominate the ecosystem. These hardy plants are The hoards of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle
aren’t the only animals willing to make a trek
There is still too little rain for many trees to to find water. Elephants, living in their
close-knit familial groups, can locate water
be able to grow, and so grasses and shrubs holes up to 50 kilometres (31 miles) away in a

relatively featureless environment. It’s
dominate the ecosystem thought that they have excellent spatial

14 How It Works