Grasslands

Grasslands are flat, open habitats covered mainly in grass, but also with other plants, wildflowers and a small number of trees and low shrubs. They receive less rainfall than forests and more than deserts. They contain many different kinds of grass Grasslands contain the most species of plants in Australia.

Grasses are plants that are found in every continent except Antarctica. They can grow from the coast to the tops of mountains. They are successful plants because of the way in which they grow: from the base of the plant rather than from the top. This means if grass is burned or eaten or walked on it is able to grow again easily from the bottom. They have long, thin leaves so they don’t lose moisture quickly, and their deep, thin roots help them to survive dry periods.

Today less than 1% of the native grasslands survives and is now considered one of the most threatened Australian habitats. An endangered habitat means animals as well as plants are threatened, many of the grasslands plant and animal species have become extinct and many more are now rare or threatened with extinction. As well as grasses such as Danthonia sp. and Themeda triandra, endangered grasslands plants include rare native orchids, lilies and pea plant species. A habitat such as grasslands includes animals that depend on the plants or physical environment. Much of the activity of grasslands occurs at or below ground level. Insects, small marsupials, reptiles and ground- dwelling birds live in grasslands. The clearing of huge areas of native vegetation, including grasslands and forests, to convert land for other uses is the main cause of the loss of biodiversity. It is also the main cause of land degradation in Australia. In some places, so much native vegetation has been removed that natural ecosystems are threatened. Some facts about the destruction of all kinds of native vegetation: