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Revision as of 23:14, 4 December 2005

This article is about grasslands. For other possible meanings, see savannah.

Savanna is a grassland dotted with trees, and occurs in several types of biomes. In savannas, grasses form the predominant vegetation type, usually mixed with herbs and shrubs, with trees scattered individually or in small clumps. Savannas are sometimes a transitional zone, occurring between forest or woodland regions and grassland regions.

Although the term savanna is believed to have originally come from an Amerindian word describing "land which is without trees but with much grass either tall or short" (Oviedo y Valdes, 1535), by the late 1800s it was used to mean "land with both grass and trees". It now refers to land with grass and either scattered trees, or an open canopy of trees.

Native Americans created subtropical savannas by periodic burning in some areas of the US southeastern coast where fire-resistant Longleaf Pine was the dominant species. Most other tree species were killed, resulting in widely-spaced longleaf pines with grassland between the trees. Savannah, Georgia is named after such an area. Farther north, as in between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes of New York, such burning killed all the trees and created prairie instead.

Savanna ecoregions are of several different types:

Tropical and subtropical savannas are classified with tropical and subtropical savannas and shrublands as the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. The savannas of Africa, including the Serengeti, famous for its wildlife, are typical of this type.

Temperate savannas are mid-latitude savannas with wetter summers and drier winters. They are classified with temperate savannas and shrublands as the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome.

Mediterranean savannas are mid-latitude savannas in Mediterranean climate regions, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub biome. The oak savannas of California, part of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, fall into this category.

Flooded savannas are savannas that are flooded seasonally or year-round. They are classified with flooded savannas as the flooded grasslands and savannas biome, which occurs mostly in the tropics and subtropics.

Montane savannas are high-altitude savannas, located in a few spots around the world's high mountain regions, part of the montane grasslands and shrublands biome. The highland savannas of the Angolan scarp savanna and woodlands ecoregion are an example.

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