- tropical and subtropical grassland biome with scattered trees
- characterized by distinct wet and dry seasons
- covers ~20% of Earth’s land surface, primarily in Africa, South America, and Australia
- dominated by grasses adapted to fire, drought, and grazing
- supports large herbivore populations: ungulates, elephants, kangaroos
- fire is a key ecological process maintaining the grass-tree balance
- soils range from nutrient-poor laterites to fertile volcanic substrates
- the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem hosts the largest terrestrial mammal migration
- carbon cycle dynamics differ from forests: more carbon stored belowground in roots
- transitional biome between tropical rainforest and desert
- evolution of grasses (C4 photosynthesis) enabled savanna expansion in the Miocene