Vast treeless areas spanning KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, the Free State and Eastern Cape make up the Grasslands biome. North America’s Great Plains, Africa’s savannas, Asia’s steppes, Australia’s rangelands and South America’s pampas, llanos and cerrados are all examples of grassland ecosystems. There are many eco-tourism and economic opportunities for those dependent on the land, such as valuable grass rangelands for rural communities to rear cattle. part may be reproduced without the written permission. This page will tell you all about this amazing area, such as facts … WWF’s work thus contributes to government’s national strategy for a network of protected areas.WWF works in partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), provincial conservation agencies, private landowners and rural communities, local agriculture and water authorities and partner NGOs.WWF Nedbank Green Trust provided seed funding over 15 years ago to conduct systematic conservation planning in a flagship area known as the Enkangala Grasslands focal region. grassland is an area of land that mostly contains grasses.There are wild grasses, and there may be some trees. Some of our country’s key water sources are located in the Grasslands. The story of why C4 photosynthesis came about is pretty interesting and has to do with the earth's climate history over the last 30 to 40 million years. This document is subject to copyright.

Over time, the Enkangala Grasslands Programme evolved into the WWF Grasslands Programme.Since the programme started, more than 130 000 hectares of vital Grasslands land has been incorporated into WWF’s Grasslands biodiversity stewardship initiative within KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and the Free State. Grasslands are located all over the world.

Thus, fire, aridity and rainfall are interconnected. We do not guarantee individual replies due to extremely high volume of correspondence. The Grasslands are in desperate need of conservation, mostly because they are currently under-protected and contain the majority of South Africa’s water source areas and rivers that feed our major cities and provide water for food production.WWF works with rural communities and commercial farmers in the Grasslands to ensure that biodiversity-rich land is well-managed under voluntary agreements.

by Kevin Krajick, Between 10 million and 6 million years ago, vegetation across much of the world underwent a transformation, as warmth-adapted grasses displaced previously dominant plants, shrubs and trees.

As a result of this work, the first protected environment in South Africa (and the first in Mpumalanga) was declared in 2010. But as to the exact connection to human evolution, we still don't have a clear answer yet.A leading hypothesis is that aridity and declining rainfall are major drivers.

When and why they spread, particularly in Africa, is still a very active area of research, and the major focus of our study. We might not have those iconic grasslands, and zebra, gazelles and other mammals without them. They are found in North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa as well. What are the implications for C4 vegetation, other plant life, and us?The rise in carbon dioxide is much more rapid than anything scientists have observed in the geologic record, including the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum of about 56 million years ago.