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Grasslands are some of Earth's largest ecosystems, covering just over 40% of the world's land area.
Grasses evolved over 65 million years ago, and are some of the most versatile plants in the world. With meristems at their bases, they can easily grow back after being cropped. They evolved this way because of grazing animals, who trample and kill seedling trees but don't kill grasses. Otherwise, trees would outcompete grasses nearly every time.
Image credit: Dustin V. S. @ Wikimedia Commons
(This post is mostly for @maloki!)
@InvaderXan wildfires are natural and helpful in grasslands, and some trees are adapted to survive them, giving us bootiful savannas
Grasses capture c4 carbon more efficiently than broadleaf plants, they're so cooool
@glitterwitch
I’ve still never visited a savanna. It’s on my list of biomes to see someday...
@InvaderXan Elephants are, I think, a special case for an animal grazer. They are one of the few animals that are capable of uprooting mature trees, so they can open up spaces in woods for grasses to grow.
@sohkamyung
I didn’t realise this, but it makes perfect sense. It’s interesting how some animals are like forest caretakers.
@InvaderXan And they're prime bunny fuel. Win-win!
I get to explore these for the next 5 months looking at forbs and butterflies.
@SolanumGF
Oh wow, that sounds fun!
It's going to be a lot of restored sites. Grasslands are one of my favorite habitats.