Grasslands

Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as true grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and pasture. Poaceae is the most well-known family within the informal group known as grass.

thumb|right|The Kakanui Range dominates the eastern horizon of the [[Maniototo Plain of New Zealand]] In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally has few rapid or steep changes in elevation. Natural vegetation in plains can include prairies/grasslands, forests, savanah, tundra, and desert biomes, among others. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands. Plains are one of the major landforms on earth, being present on all continents and covering more than one-third of the world

thumb|A tree savanna at Tarangire National Park in [[Tanzania in East Africa]] thumb|A grass savanna at Kruger National Park in [[South Africa]] A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. Four savanna forms exist; savanna woodland, where trees and shrubs form a light canopy; tree savanna, with scattered trees and shrub

In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Compare:

thumb|Mountain pasture in Switzerland thumb|Lush lowland pasture

thumb|The Lawn at the [[University of Virginia, facing south]] thumb|The lawn of a small Summer house|summerhouse thumb|A croquet lawn at a club in [[Edinburgh, Scotland]] thumb|San Francisco Botanical Garden lawn, United States

thumb|Poa annua, an annual grass

thumb|upright=1.35|Typical grassland thumb|Setaria pumila, a species of [[Poaceae (the dominant plant family in grasslands)]] A grassland is an area (or ecosystem) where the vegetation is dominated by grasses. Sedges and rushes can also be found along with some of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on Earth, covering 31–69% of the Earth's land area. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural gras

climate with precipitation below potential evapotranspiration

vegetation zone

small group of trees

thumb|upright=1.3|Typical veld near Petrified forest, Khorixas|Petrified forest in [[Namibia]] thumb|Springbok in growing veld; [[Etosha National Park, Namibia]] thumb|Springboks in the burned veld; Etosha National Park, Namibia

thumb|300px|Overgrazed area in western New South Wales ([[Australia), by loss of native flora, in the upper right corner]] thumb|Satellite image of the border between Israel and [[Egypt. The Egyptian side, to the left, is overgrazed.]] thumb|Penned goats in an overgrazed landscape (Norte Chico, Chile) thumb|Huge herd of migratory wildebeest in Masai Mara during their annual migration shows landscape not overgrazed

terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature

habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature

type of wetland

thumb|The machair on Berneray, North Uist|Berneray, [[Outer Hebrides]] thumb|Machair east of Uig,_Lewis|Uig Bay, Lewis thumb|The machair towards West beach, Isle of Berneray, Outer Hebrides

common open area within a village or other settlement, historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock

perennial, strong, dense, clump-forming plant

causes, impact and responses to bush encroachment in different geographical regions

thumb|right|250px|Red Desert (Wyoming)|Red Desert rangeland in [[Wyoming. Water from melted snow pack can be seen on the ground. Such melting is the main source of surface water in Wyoming.]] thumb|right|250px|Weeds are all that remains in [[Idaho after a failed restoration project following wildfire, and subsequent invasion by non-native species. Russian thistle (Salsola tragus) is the only plant species seen in this picture.]]

ecosystem associated with a thin basic soil

Forest in dry regions

a sparse natural stand with a regularly mown herbaceous layer, an ecosystem in temperate forest regions

use of grazing animals to restore and maintain threatened biotopes and cultural heritage landscapes

forest made up of bamboo

plain in Kazakhstan

rangeland where cattle roam freely regardless of land ownership

railway trackbed planted with grass or other vegetation

right|300px|thumb|upright=1.1|Sagebrush