A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like 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 and dominate the landscape worldwide. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands. They cover 31–69% of the Earth's land area.
Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas, chaparrals, steppes, and tundras. Rangelands do not include forests lacking grazable understory vegetation, barren desert, farmland, or land covered by solid rock, concrete and/or glaciers.
Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests, have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vitality and renewal. Many plant species in fire-affected environments use fire to germinate, establish, or to reproduce. Wildfire suppression not only endangers these species, but also the animals that depend upon them.
Melilotus officinalis, known as sweet yellow clover, yellow melilot, ribbed melilot and common melilot, is a species of legume native to Eurasia and introduced in North America, Africa, and Australia.
Bouteloua dactyloides, commonly known as buffalograss or buffalo grass, is a North American prairie grass native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a short grass found mainly on the High Plains and is co-dominant with blue grama over most of the shortgrass prairie. Buffalo grass in North America is not the same species of grass commonly known as "buffalo" in Australia.
Koeleria is a common and widespread genus of plants in the grass family, found on all continents except Antarctica and on various oceanic islands. It includes species known generally as Junegrasses.
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial plants, most species live more than one season. Tussock grasses are often found as forage in pastures and ornamental grasses in gardens.
Andropogon hallii is a sod-forming perennial species in the grass family, Poaceae. It is a bunchgrass which grows in tufts and can reach 7 feet in height under favorable conditions.
Sidalcea nelsoniana is a rare species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names Nelson's checkerbloom and Nelson's checkermallow. It is native to the Willamette Valley and Coast Range of Oregon and the southwestern corner of Washington in the United States. It is threatened by the destruction and degradation of its habitat, and it is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.
Opuntia polyacantha is a common species of cactus known by the common names plains pricklypear, starvation pricklypear,. and hairspine cactus, panhandle pricklypear. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in Western Canada, the Great Plains, the central and Western United States, and Chihuahua in northern Mexico. In 2018, a disjunct population was discovered in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario, Canada.
Dalea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known as purple prairie clover. Native to central North America, purple prairie clover is a relatively common member of the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems. It blooms in the summer with dense spikes of bright purple flowers that attract many species of insects.
Liatris punctata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names dotted gayfeather, dotted blazingstar, and narrow-leaved blazingstar. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout the plains of central Canada, the central United States, and northern Mexico.
Potentilla hippiana is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names woolly cinquefoil, horse cinquefoil, and Hipp's cinquefoil. It is native to North America, where it occurs in western Canada and the western United States. It occurs in eastern Canada and the US state of Michigan as an introduced species.
Achnatherum richardsonii is a species of grass known by the common names Richardson's needlegrass, spreading needlegrass, and Canada mountain-ricegrass. It is native to northwestern North America, where it is distributed from Alaska and Yukon through the western Canadian provinces south to Colorado.
Calamovilfa longifolia is a species of grass known by the common names prairie sandreed and sand reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs from the Northwest Territories to Ontario in Canada and as far south as New Mexico and Kansas in the United States. There are two varieties, var. longifolia being widespread in the species' range and var. magna being native to the Great Lakes region.
Carex inops is a species of sedge known as long-stolon sedge and western oak sedge. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs throughout the southern half of Canada and the western and central United States.
Elymus lanceolatus is a species of grass known by the common names thickspike wheatgrass and streamside wheatgrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and abundant in much of Canada and the western and central United States. There are two subspecies, subsp. lanceolatus occurring throughout the species' range and subsp. psammophilus occurring in the Great Lakes region.
Hesperostipa spartea, formerly Stipa spartea, is a species of grass known by the common names porcupine grass, western porcupine grass, short-awn porcupine grass, porcupine needlegrass, and big needlegrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread from British Columbia to Ontario in Canada and through the central and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It is a bunchgrass species in the genus Hesperostipa.
Panicum repens is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedo grass, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. Its exact native range is obscure. Sources suggest that the grass is native to "Africa and/or Asia", "Europe or Australia", "Eurasia", "Australia", "Europe, Asia, and Africa", or other specific regions, including the Mediterranean, Israel, and Argentina. It is present in many places as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has been called "one of the world's worst weeds."
The Altai montane forest and forest steppe ecoregion covers patches of the subalpine forest belt on the Altai Mountains, crossing the border region where Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China meet. The region has high biodiversity, as it is located in transition zones between different ecoregions, altitudes, and climate zones. It is in the Palearctic realm, with a Cold semi-arid climate. It covers 35,199,998 km2 (13,590,795 sq mi).
