What is a Grassland?
Grasslands have many names, prairies, steppes, savannahs, veldts, pampas, llanos, and cerrados, these ecosystems often receive enough rain to support grasses and shrubs but trees are scarce because the amount of annual rainfall is not enough to support lots of trees. Grasslands are home to many species, the mammals are primarily grazers and feed on the plethora of grasses that grow in these areas.
Human Impact on Grasslands
When settlers came to North America and began to settle in and around the Midwest, the grasslands changed drastically. Humans hunted the once great bison population to a mere thousand or less. This had a huge impact on the grasslands and the primary grazer of the Midwest was nearly extinct. Farming the grasslands also caused large problems, in the 1930s farmers throughout the Midwest did not realize that they were leaving the topsoil completely exposed to the elements and this caused the Dust Bowl. This event caused many deaths and caused a lack of North American grains production.