Fires In The African Savanna Biome

One tropical grassland, the African Savanna, is located on the continent of central/eastern Africa. This biome has two core seasons throughout the year, the wet and the dry. From May to November it is the ‘wet’ season, this is when there 's a lot of rain, about 20 inches per year. In December the dry season begins, there is almost no rain from then until February. During this time, great amounts of vegetation come to near death and streams begin to dry up, just before they do, the wet season comes again. Because of this, few trees grow and grasses typically are most prominent. Throughout the entire year the weather tends to be warm with a small temperature change with the seasons. Fires often occur due to dryness but becuase of plants adaptation of thick roots, they are able to survive.

Trees tend to be scarce and shrubs are seen more often. Grasses known as napier and star are seen frequently and are eaten by herbivores such as giraffes, zebras, and elephants. The most common tree is the umbrella thorn acacia. Because of the months without rain, the plants that can survive, do so by requiring less water than most and have very thick roots to help them survive the rapid wildfires. Napier and star grass grow quickly in the wet season and turn a brown color in the dry in order to preserve water. Acacia trees grow fast in the wet season as well, but they have another adaptation that allows them to survive against their predator. When animals such as giraffes try to eat them, they emit a poor tasting chemical in order to keep them