Translations:AY Honors/Temperate Grasslands/Answer Key/82/en

Another bilateral categorization of temperate grasslands is based on the percent of shrub and tree cover - prairies have less than 10-20 percent tree cover, savannas have 20-40 percent tree cover. (This is an alternate use of the term savanna, which also often refers to tropical grasslands). A prairie can transition into savanna if there is insufficient grazing or fire, or an increase in available water. A savanna that does not have sufficient fire or grazing can develop into a woodland or forest. A major fire can so damage a forest that it reverts back to a prairie, and significant fire, drought, or new grazers can see a savanna turned back into a prairie. These processes are referred to as ecological succession, where one ecosystem changes into another due to altered circumstances or natural processes.