Adaptations for grasslands

Animals:

• Most grassland animals are able to run very fast (e.g., gazelles and zebras), which allows them to escape hunting animals.
• This ability also protects them from frequent grassland fires.
• Small animals survive the fire by digging underground.
• The grasses found in dry grasslands are brown most of the times.
• Many grassland animals have skin shades of brown, which makes them hard to spot among the dry, brown grass.

Plants:

• Grassland plants usually have flexible stems, which bend instead of breaking when the wind is strong.
• These plants also have strong roots that prevent winds from uprooting them.
• The baobab tree can survive periods of low water availability by storing water in its huge trunk.

Baobab tree

• Some plants have roots that extend deep into the soil to absorb as much water as possible.
• This also prevents grazing animals from pulling the roots out of the soil.

Acacia tree

• Long roots of the acacia tree allow it to access water that is very deep in the ground.

Grasses on grassland