Amazing world of savanna. Animal World of African Savannan Print World Savanna Animals

Savannah - unusual worldwho lives in its unique rules and laws. Surprisingly everything in it: in winter it is called no cold season, and a dry period, when there is a sharp shortage of water, and in the summer it rains can go non-stop for all weeks. Such sudden weather changes affect nature, subordinating its rules. It is completely different in such periods of landscapes, and even animals behave differently.

Sometimes here you can see the landscapes of amazing beauty, and at another time they become sad and desperate. These contrasts have always attracted people and forced them to return to the unknown world of Savannah, in order to again see amazing animals and plants with which you can get acquainted only in this natural zone.

Amazing animals

In conditions of lack of moisture and food, animals need to be exercised to be much stamina and be able to overcome huge territories to get meal. Savannah is an ideal place for predators, since a low grass allows you to browse everything around and see where the prey is hiding. However, there are also interesting representatives of the fauna that feed on plant food.

The biggest animal

It is in savanna that the biggest land animal on Earth lives - African Savan Elephant. His weight on average is 5 tons, but in 1956 the largest representative weighing 11 tons was recorded! On the face there are huge curved tails that are formed from the front teeth. Their weight averages 100 kg. The beer was always very valued by a person, so the lifetime of the elephants was mercilessly destroyed, and this process was not stopped even now.

Elephants - social animals. It is believed that their herds are the most cohesive in the entire kingdom of fauna. They carefully take care of patients or wounded family members, help them take food and support if weak relatives are hard to stand.

There is such an opinion that only elephants from the whole animal world there is a rite of burial. Understanding that their fellow merchandise, they cover it from top of branches and earth. It is surprising that they "bury" therefore not only representatives of their family, but also unfamiliar elephants from other families, and even people. Similar and other, no less interesting facts about the life and death of these animals are described in detail in the book of the famous zoologist and Writer-Naturalist Bernard Hirmac "Among the animals of Africa."

Another similarity similar to people is a love for sex. These african inhabitants We have sex all year round, although it is capable of fertilization only a few days in the rainy season. The males show cavering so that the female was favorable to them. Pregnancy at the elephants is the longest on Earth and continues for almost 2 years - 22 months. The elephants feel the approach of childbirth and can accelerate them by entering the special grass grade, causing contractions.

The cubs appear on the light blind, so they are funny to hold the mother's tail, so as not to be lost.

Creeping fear

Black Mamba is painted in a brownish gray color, which makes it be surprised by her name. In fact, the word "black" has no reason: this color can be seen on the inner surface of the mouth, when the snake rushes per person to bite it. This amazing representative of reptiles reaches impressive sizes, turning up to 4 meters, and it can move with a speed greater than the speed of running many people - 20 km / h.

Snakes possessing such a strong poison, not so much in the world: after bite black Mamba Departures for a while and expects the poison paralyzes the victim. Previously, after the bite of this snake, people could not escape and died in torment, but now a special antidote was developed, capable of preventing death. The only difficulty lies in the fact that the serum must be introduced during the first minutes after the bite, otherwise it will not save the busting person.

Hunting skills from these snakes are manifested from birth: after half an hour after the kids hatched from eggs, they are able to attack the sacrifice and injected the deadly poison in it.

Unlike other types of mamba, this type does not live in trees. Nevertheless, she found for himself a less exotic house in the form of empty fracthers.

The owner of Savannah

The first picture that arises in the head at the thought of Savannah, this is a graceful king of animals - a lion, resting after hunting. This predator is pretty lazy: he will never make an extra movement, if not hungry.

During marriage period The female and the male leave the pride and the week they indulge with love joy. All this period they do not hunt and starve, very losing weight. At the same time, the copulation occurs with the frequency once every 15 to 20 minutes. Sometimes the number of mating reaches 100 times a day. After the love period ends, the lions restore their weight for a long time.

Sleep these cats amazingly a lot: 20 hours a day, like homemade cats. In a good mood, they can purrab and not fall in the sun, but when the lion comes into rage, he publishes a roar that is 10 km away in the district. Only with the help of a roar, he can scare the animals representing the danger for females or cubs.

Most often, the lions hunt at night. This is caused by very sharp night vision, which is practically not inferior to eyesight in the light of the day. Since most of the victims do not boast universal vision, the chances of the success of the lion's night hunting increase repeatedly.

The tallest

Savannah became a homeland for many record holders. These include giraffes - the highest animals of the planet. Their growth ranges from 4.6 to 6 meters, most of which falls on the neck.

The females of giraffes are often suitable for children's gardens, in which several adults look after kids, and the rest are sent at this time. After the first to be found, they replace the nanny "Nyanka."

Giraffes are sleeping only 60 minutes a day, sometimes they can do it standing. Despite this short duration Sleep, spotted inhabitants of the savannah never yawning: they are the only animals who do not know how to do this.

Bird proud

Ostrich is not able to fly because of his impressive weight, but it runs so fast that he is a little inferior to the flight of some birds. At a speed of 70 km / hour, he exhibits amazing mobility: if desired, it can dramatically change the direction of the run, absolutely not slowing down and not reducing the pace.

It was this kind that a record is belonging to the size of the eggs: 2.5 dozen chicken would be easily placed in a semi-third-kilogram ostrich egg. The nest places the male, and the eggs are laid there all females whom he feared. In the afternoon, they sit on the nest, and at night the caring dad admises the relay and heats the eggs with her body.

When the chicks threaten danger, ostriches can be trembling and showing amazing acting data, depicting the wounded and weak creature, leading the predator away from the kids. Children at this time rapidly run to someone from adults and hide their heads under a big wing. Then the ostrich leaves an amazed predator and returns to his herd.

Freaky set

Kapsky tubes with its appearance causes bewilderment: such a feeling that the parts of the body of different animals arranged in it. He resembles a musical body, long ears - rabbit, the Piglet is borrowed from piglets, and the tail got from Kangaroo.

An amazing animal has such an original nose shape in order to eat termites that hunt at night. He has a great sense of smell, thanks to which the tubing is unmistakably finds member and empty them. Overnight, he can overcome about 50 km in search of delicious insects. Thermites are not terrible with pipes, as he has such fat skin that it is not able to contact her insects. They stick to the sticky tongue and are sent straight into the stomach.

The size of the body of the pipe-break is quite impressive: it can grow to 2.3 m. If he drives the natural enemy, then exhibits huge powerWith which the enemy can be used by claws, beats the rear legs and very quickly tumbling forward.

Amazing plants

The main characteristic of Savannan is a long arid months, changing rain periods. It is this parameter that determines the life of plants in this strip. Most of them are perfectly adapted to frequent fires and are able to recover in a short time.

Millennial elders

One of the main symbols of Savannah are amazing trees - Baobabs. Establish the age of the oldest copies is difficult, because these trees have no annual rings, so it will not be possible to establish their age in the standard way. For general estimates of scientists, Baobabs can live about a thousand years, but radio carbon analysis gives other numbers - 4500 years. For their lives, they manage to grow a huge spreading crown. For the winter they drop their leaves, but not from the cold, but from drought.

Baobab blossom - an amazing spectacle. The process lasts for several months, but each flower lives only one night, so you can not see the blooming Baobab afternoon. Since most insects sleep at night, they pollinate these flowers are not them, but bats inhabiting here.

Baobaba has another amazing property, which is rarely found among the trees: after spilling the main trunk, Baobab is able to launch new roots and rebuilt. Often thus survive the trembling races of trees, which forever remain in the lying position.

Bleeding dragons

Previously, the aborigines considered dragon trees enchanted monsters. The reason for this was amazing property DRATSENES: When her bark was scratched or cut off with a knife, the red resyanous juice, resembling blood, began to be frozen. The name of the "DRACEEN" itself is translated as a Dragon Female.

Previously, the integrated liquid was used for embalming, and now this juice is used on an industrial scale to prepare the production of red pigments, paints and varnishes. Found drasenas and in medicine and cosmetology: it is used as a component for the treatment of gastric diseases and skin problems.

The dragon tree is characterized by very slow growth, but for decades, some representatives achieve huge sizes. An amazing "umbrella" form of the crown is formed only after flowering, and before the drazes grows with a single barrel. The foliage is very thick in the crown, so the foot of the dragon tired of the heat and animals often find rest in a solid shadow. The plant from the natural habitat has spread throughout the world as indoor plantSince it is very undemanding in care, but it looks attractive and exotic.

Savannah is filled mainly by pampas herbs. But there are absolutely among them amazing representatives. This also includes an ivory grass. This plant can reach a height of 3 meters, creating obstacles for large animals, and for small performing the role of reliable shelter and at home.

Ivory grass grows near small reservoirs. When they dry, she can massively fly from the lack of moisture, breaking the flow of streams or small rivers. She is afraid of coolness, so the ground part die immediately with the first cooling. Root system This creek penetrates very far into the soil, launching roots to a depth of 4.5 meters, where water draws. After droughts with the arrival of the first rain, it rapidly increases again and serves as a feed for many animals: ZEBR, antelope, giraffes and other herbivores.

Do not bypass her attention and people using elephant grass to prepare some dishes using it in construction and growing as a decorative plant.

The savannahs of the world keep a lot of secrets. The traveler who decided to visit these edges is waiting for many amazing discoveries that will allow to understand the romance of safaris and evaluate this stern, but the attractive world.

The animal world of Savannah is a unique phenomenon. None in any corner of land in the memory of mankind there was no such abundance of large animals, as in African savannas. Even at the beginning of the XX century. Countless herds of herbivore animals were nomocated on the Savannan expanses, moving from one pasture to another or in search of water pipes. They were accompanied by numerous predators - lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs. Behind the predators, the devours fell fell - vultures, jackals.

Seasonal and dry tropical areas of Africa from light deciduous forests and a steady to low-grade barbed forests and a sparse sahal savanna differ from evergreen forests, first of all, the presence of a well-pronounced adverse dry period for animals. This determines the clear seasonal rhythm of most forms, synchronous with the rhythm of moisturizing and vegetation vegetation.

At dry season, most of the animals stop the reproduction. Some groups, mostly invertebrates and amphibians, during drought are hidden in shelters and fall into hibernation. Others make food reserves (ants, rodents), conjugate (locust, butterflies, birds, elephants and hoofs, predatory beasts) or focus on small areas of the territories - the stations of the experience (vicinity of water bodies, drying the beds with close soil waters, etc. P.).

In large quantities, animals constructing solid shelters appear. Strong cone-shaped fracthers are striking, which are height more than 2 m. The walls of these structures seem made from cement or burned clay, and they can hardly break through the scrap or pick. The above-ground dome protects the numerous cells and moves below both from dried in a hot season and from a rainstorm in a wet time. The moves of termites are deeply achieved by aquifer of soil, while drought in the meter, a favorable moisture mode remains. Here the soil is enriched with nitrogen and ash elements of plant nutrition. Therefore, often trees are resumed to destroyed and near residential fracthers. From vertebrate animals, a number of rodents and even predators build holes, terrestrial and wood nests. The abundance of bulbs, rhizomes and seeds of herbs and trees allows them to harvest these feeds in the future.

The longline structure of the animal population inherent in the evergreen forests, in seasonal and dry forests, gentlemen and especially in Savannes are somewhat simplified by reducing the share of wood forms and increasing living on the surface and in herbal tier. However, substantial inhomogeneity of vegetation caused by mosaic of woody, shrub and herbaceous phytocenoses causes corresponding inhomogeneity of the animal population. But the latter, is dynamic. Most of the animals are alternately connected with one, then with another plant grouping. And the movement is not only on the scale of the seasons, but even within a day. They cover not only the herd of large animals and flocks of birds, but also small animals: mollusks, insects, amphibians and reptiles.

In savannahs with their huge feed resources, many herbivore animals, especially the antelope, which has more than 40 species. Until now, in some places, the herds of the largest antelope GNU with a large mane, a powerful tail and bent down the horns; Antelopes were also common with beautiful vintage horns, cannes, etc. There are also dwarf antelopes reaching a little more than half a meter.

The animals of African savannah and semi-detention are remarkable from extinction, the giraffes are preserved, mainly in national parks. A long neck helps them to get and add young shoots and leaves from trees, and the ability to quickly run - the only means of protection against pursuers.

In many areas, especially in the east of the continent and south of the equator, African wild horses of Zebra are common in Savannah and Steps. They are hunting mainly due to durable and beautiful skins. In some places, domesticated zebras replaced horses, as they are not susceptible to the bites of the tsets fly.

Until now, African elephants have been preserved - the most wonderful representatives of the fauna of the Ethiopian region. They have long been exterminated due to valuable legs, and in many areas they completely disappeared. Currently, the hunt for elephants is prohibited throughout Africa, but this prohibition is often violated by poachers trading by ivory. Now elephants are found in the least populated mountain areas, in particular on Ethiopian Highlands.

In addition, they live in the territory of Eastern National Parks and South Africawhere their livestock even increases. Nevertheless, the existence of an African elephant as a biological species in recent decades was under a real threat, to prevent only active team work National I. international organizations. An endungent animals include rhinos inhabited in the eastern and southern parts of the mainland. African rhinos have two horns and are represented by two species - black and white rhino. The latter is the largest of modern species and reaches 4 m. Now it has been preserved only on protected areas.

Hightots living along the banks of rivers and lakes in different parts of Africa are much wider. These animals, as well as wild pigs, are exterminated due to edible meat, as well as because of the skin.

Herbivores serves food for numerous predators. In the savannas and semi-deserts of Africa, lions are found, represented by two varieties: Berberian, living north of the Equator, and Senegalsky, common in the southern part of the mainland. Lions prefer open spaces and almost do not enter the forest. The hyenas, jackals, leopards, cheetahs, carakala, servals are common. There are several representatives of the Viceve family. In the plain and mountain steppes and savannas there are many monkeys belonging to the group of Pavians: Real Paviana Raigu, Gelad, Mandrill. Of the thin-robbed monkeys are characteristic of Grevsky. Many of their species inhabit only in the cool mountain climate, as they do not tolerate high temperatures of lowlands.

Among rodents should be noted mice and several types of protein.

Numerous in the savannas of the birds: African ostriches, Turachi, Marabu, weaver, is very interested in a bird-secretary that feeds on snakes. The reservoirs nest chibises, herons, pelicans.

Reptiles no less than in the northern deserts, they are often represented by the same kinds and even species. Many different lizards and snakes, land turtles. Some types of chameleons are also characteristic. Crocodiles are found in the rivers.

Great animal mobility makes Savannah high productive. Wild hoofs are almost constantly on the go, they never knock the pastures as it makes domestic cattle. Regular migration, i.e., movement, herbivores of African savanna, covering hundreds of kilometers, allow vegetation to fully recover for a relatively short time. Not surprisingly in last years The idea of \u200b\u200bthe idea that reasonable, on a scientific basis, the operation of wild hoofs, great prospects, rather than traditional cattle breeding, primitive and low-productive. Now these issues are intensively developed in a number of countries in Africa.

Thus, the animal world of savannah has developed for a long time as a single independent integer. Therefore, the degree of fitness of the entire complex of animals to each other and each individual species to specific conditions is very high. Such adaptations are primarily a strict separation by the method of nutrition and the composition of the main feed. Savanna's floral cover only therefore can feed a huge number of animals that some species use grass, others - young shoots of shrubs, third - bark, fourth - kidneys and buds. Moreover, the same shoots different types Animals are taken from different heights. Elephants and giraffes, for example, feed on the height of the tree crown, the giraffe gazelle and the big smoke are reached up to shoots located in one and a half or two meters from the ground, and the black rhino, as a rule, breaks down the shoots itself. The same separation is also observed in pure herbivores: what I like the GNU, does not attract Zebra at all, and Zebra, in turn, with pleasure, plump the grass, by which Gazelles pass indifferently.

Introduction

Nowadays, grassy plains occupy a quarter of all sushi. They have a lot of different names: steppes - in Asia, Llanos - in the pool Orinoco, Veld - in Central Africa, Savannah - in the eastern part of the African continent. All these areas are very fertile. Separate plants live up to several years, and, dying, turn into humus. Among the high herbs are hidden bean plants, vika, daisies and small flowers.

The name "Grass" combines many a variety of plants. This family is hardly the largest in the entire plant kingdom, it includes more than ten thousand species. Herbs - a product of long evolution; They are able to survive fires, drought, flood, so need only in the abundance of sunlight. Their flowers, small and nondeshable, are collected in small inflorescences on the top of the stem and are pollinated by the wind, without requiring services from birds, bats or insects.

Savannah is a community of high cereals and parel with low or medium-sided, resistant to trees. It is the result of the interaction of two factors, namely soil and precipitation.

Savannan value is to preserve rare species Animals and plants. Therefore, the study of African savannah is relevant.

The object of research is African savanna

The subject of the study is the study of natural features of African Savann.

The purpose of this course work is a comprehensive study of the types of Savannnes Africa.

The main tasks of the work are the following:

1.Consider the geographical location of African savannah.

2.Examine the animal and vegetable world of Savann.

.Consider features different types African savannah.

.Consider modern environmental problems and ways to solve them in the territory of Savann.

Chapter I. General Characteristics Savannan Africa

.1 geographical position and climatic features Savannan Africa

Savannah is a zonal type of the landscape of tropical and subequatorial belts, where the change of the wet and dry season of the year is clearly expressed at consistently high air temperatures (15-32 ° C). As it removes from the equator, the period of the wet season from 8-9 months decreases to 2-3, and the precipitation is from 2000 to 250 mm per year. The rainy development of plants in the rainy season is replaced by droughts of a dry period with a slowdown in the growth of trees, burning the grass. As a result, a combination of tropical and subtropical drought-resistant xerophyte vegetation is characteristic. Some plants are able to store moisture in the barrels (baobab, bottle tree). In herbs, high cereals are prevalent to 3-5 m, among them rarely growing shrubs and single trees, the occurrence of which increases towards the equator as the wet season eliminates to the steady.

Extensive spaces of these amazing natural communities are in Africa, although the savanna is also in South America, and in Australia, and in India. Savannah is the most widespread and most characteristic landscape of Africa. Savannan zone with a wide belt surrounds Central - African rain a tropical forest. In the north with the rainforest, the Guinea-Sudanese Savannas, stretching by a strip of 400-500 km, almost 5,000 km from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, are interrupted only by the White Nile valley. From the river Tana Savanna, the belt to 200 km is descended to south to the Valley of the Zambezi River. The Savannan belt then turns to the West to the West and, then narrowing, extending, extends 2500 km from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic coast.

The forests in the border strip are gradually being dissolved, the composition of them becomes poorer, Savann spots appear among solid forest arrays. Gradually, the wet tropical forest is limited only by river valleys, and on watersheds they are replaced by forests dropping the leaves for dry season, or savannahs. The change in vegetation occurs as a result of a reduction in the wet period and the appearance of the dry season, which, as it removes from the equator, it becomes more and more prolonged.

Zone Savannan from Northern Kenya to the sea coast Angola The largest area of \u200b\u200bthe plant community of our planet, which occupies at least 800 thousand km 2. If you add another 250 thousand km2 of the Guinea-Sudanese savanna, it turns out that more than a million square kilometers of the surface of the earth are occupied by a special natural complex - an African savanna.

A distinctive feature of Savannan is the alternation of arid and wet seasons, which occupy about six months, replacing each other. The fact is that for subtropical and tropical breadthwhere savannahs are located, characterized by a change of two different air mass - wet equatorial and dry tropical. Significantly affect the climate Savannn Mussonny winds bringing seasonal rains. Since these landscapes are located between the very wet natural zones of equatorial forests and the deserts are constantly experiencing the impact and those and others. But the moisture is not enough for a long time in Savannah, so that multi-tiered forests grow there, and the arid "winter periods" in 2- 3 months do not allow the savanna to turn into a harsh desert.

The annual rhythm of the life of Savannan is associated with climatic conditions. In a wet period, the auspices of herbal vegetation reaches a maximum - the entire space occupied by the savannas turns into a lively carpet of the dispersion. The picture is disturbed only by the corrugated low trees - acacia and baobabs in Africa, the fan palm trees in Madagascar, cacti in South America, and in Australia - bottle trees and eucalyptus. Soil savannah fertile. In the rain period, when the equatorial air mass, and the Earth, and the plants receive enough moisture to feed the numerous animals living here.

But the monsoon leaves, and his place occupies a dry tropical air. Now the tests begins. The grass grown into the human growth is drained, they are pulled out by numerous animals moving from place to place in search of water. Grands and shrubs are very susceptible to fire, which often burns significant areas. This "help" and indigenous people, hunting hunting: Specially firing grass, they chase their prey in the right direction. Thus, people acted for many centuries and strongly contributed to the fact that the vegetation of Savannan acquired modern features: an abundance of fire-resistant trees with thick bark, like baobabs, widespread plants with a powerful root system.

Thick and high herbal covers provide abundant feed in the largest animals, such as elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, zebras, antelopes, which in turn attract such large predatorslike lions, hyenas and others. The largest birds live in Savannah - Ostrich in Africa and South American Condor.

Thus, the savannahs in Africa occupy 40% of the continent. Savannes framing forest arrays of Equatorial Africa and extend through Sudan, Eastern and South Africa for the southern tropic. Depending on the duration of the rainy season and the annual sums of precipitation, they distinguish highly old, typical (dry) and deserted savanna.

In savannah zones:

the duration of the rainy period ranges from 8-9 months in the episcopal boundaries of the zones up to 2-3 months at the external borders;

water rivers hesitate sharply; In the rainy season there is a significant solid drain, sloping and plane washed.

parallel to a decrease annual number The precipitation changes floral cover from highly harvested savannahs and savannah forests on red soils to deserted savannes, xerophilic chopsticks and shrubs on brown-red and red-brown soils.

savannah Africa Climate Geographical

1.2 Plant World Savann

The abundance of high herbs, gold-plated sun, rare trees and shrubs, occurring more often or less often depending on the area, is such a savanna that occupies most of Africa south of the Sahara.

Savannan zones are quite extensive, so vegetation varies somewhat in their southern and northern borders. Savannes bordering the desert zone in the north of the zone in Africa, rich in drought-resistant low herbs, milk, aloe and acacia with a very branched root. By the south, the moisture-boring plants are replaced, and there are gallery forests with evergreen shrubs and liaans on the shores of rivers in the Savann zone, similar to Wet Equatorial. In the rift valley of East Africa are the most large lakes Mainland - Victoria, Nyas, Lake Rudolf and Albert, Tanganyika. The savannahs on their shores alternate with wetlands, where the papyrus and cane grow.

In African savannas there are many famous reserves and national parks. One of the most famous - Serengeti, located in Tanzania. Part of its territory occupies a crater highlands - a well-known plateau with ancient craters of extinct volcanoes, one of which - NGoronoro has an area of \u200b\u200babout 800 thousand hectares.

The vegetation of the savanna corresponds to a hot, with long dry periods of climate, which prevails in tropical places. Therefore, savanna and distributed in different parts of the world, including in South America and Australia. But it takes the most extensive territories, of course, in Africa, which is presented in all its variety.

The overall appearance of Savannes is different, which depends on the one hand, from the height of vegetation cover, and on the other hand, from the relative number of cereals, other perennial herbs, semi-stairs, shrubs and trees. Grassy cover is sometimes very low, even pressed against the ground.

The special shape of Savannan is the so-called Liańnes, where trees are or completely absent, or found in a limited number, with the exception of only raw places where palm trees (Mauritia Flexuosa, Corypha Inermis) and other plants form whole forests (however, these forests do not belong to the savannah ); There are sometimes single Rhopala copies of Rhopala (trees from the ProteaCeaE family) and other trees; Sometimes cereals in them form covers in human growth; Between the cereals, complex, legumes, licable, and others are growing, and others. Many bays on the rainy time of the year are flooded with the spills of the Orinoco River.

Savannan vegetation is generally adapted to a dry continental climate and to periodic droughts, which is in many savannas for the whole months. Grands and other herbs rarely form creeping shoots, and usually grow by turns. The leaves of the cereals are narrow, dry, tough, volosters or covered with a wax. In cereals and dies, young leaves remain rolled into the tube. In the trees, the leaves of the shallow, the hairstone, shiny ("lacquered") or covered with a waxy chalk. Savannan vegetation has a sharply pronounced xerophytic character. Many species contain a large number of essential oils, especially the types of family of verbenal, lubber and myrth flaming continent. Especially peculiar to the growth of some perennial herbs, semi-stares (and shrubs), namely, the fact that the main part of them, located in the ground (probably, stem and roots), greatly grow into an incorrectly tuberous bodily body, from which the numerous, mostly unbranched or weakwell, siblings. On a dry season, the vegetation of Savannan freezes; Savannes are yellowing, and dried plants are often subjected to fires, due to which the bark trees are usually laid. With the beginning of the rains of Savannah come to life, covered with fresh greens and making numerous various flowers.

In the south, on the border with equatorial tropical forests, the transition zone begins - Forest Savanna. The grass is not a lot there, the trees grow thick, but they are small. Then there is a tall savanna - extensive spaces, high herbs, with groves or detached trees. Baobabs are dominated here, as well as palm trees, milk and various types of acacia. Gradually, trees and shrubs are becoming increasingly rare, and herbs, especially gigantic cereals, thick.

Finally, near the deserts (sugar, Kalahari) Savannah is inferior to the scene of the wrapped steppe, where only the bundles of dry grass are growing and the low-spirited spiky shrubs.

.3 animal world Savann

In addition, they live in the territory of National Parks of Eastern and South Africa, where their livestock is even increasing. Nevertheless, the existence of an African elephant as a biological species in recent decades has been under a real threat, to prevent which only active joint activities of national and international organizations can be prevented. An endungent animals include rhinos inhabited in the eastern and southern parts of the mainland. African rhinos have two horns and are represented by two species - black and white rhino. The latter is the largest of modern species and reaches 4 m. Now it has been preserved only on protected areas.

Among rodents should be noted mice and several types of protein.

Numerous in the savannas of the birds: African ostriches, Turachi, Marabu, weaver, is very interested in a bird-secretary that feeds on snakes. The reservoirs nest chibises, herons, pelicans.

Great animal mobility makes Savannah high productive. Wild hoofs are almost constantly on the go, they never knock the pastures as it makes domestic cattle. Regular migration, i.e., movement, herbivores of African savanna, covering hundreds of kilometers, allow vegetation to fully recover for a relatively short time. It is not surprising that in recent years an idea of \u200b\u200bthe idea that reasonable, on a scientific basis, the exploitation of wild hoofs, great prospects, rather than traditional cattle breeding, primitive and unproductive. Now these issues are intensively developed in a number of countries in Africa.

Thus, the animal world of savannah has developed for a long time as a single independent integer. Therefore, the degree of fitness of the entire complex of animals to each other and each individual species to specific conditions is very high. Such adaptations are primarily a strict separation by the method of nutrition and the composition of the main feed. Savanna's floral cover only therefore can feed a huge number of animals that some species use grass, others - young shoots of shrubs, third - bark, fourth - kidneys and buds. Moreover, the same shoots of different types of animals take from different heights. Elephants and giraffes, for example, feed on the height of the tree crown, the giraffe gazelle and the big smoke are reached up to shoots located in one and a half or two meters from the ground, and the black rhino, as a rule, breaks down the shoots itself. The same separation is also observed in pure herbivores: what I like the GNU, does not attract Zebra at all, and Zebra, in turn, with pleasure, plump the grass, by which Gazelles pass indifferently.

Chapter II. Features of the types of African savannas

.1 high-level wet savanna

High-retard savannahs are various combinations of grassy vegetation with the islands of the forest or separate specimens of trees. Soils forming under these landscapes are called red or ferallotic soils seasonally wet tropical forests and highly old savannah.

High-retard savanna wet. They grow very high cereals, including an ivory grass, reaching 3 m in height. Among such savannas, arrays of park forests are scattered, gallery forests stretched along the river bed.

Highlyranded savannahs occupy space where the annual precipitation amount is 800-1200 mm, and the dry season lasts 3-4 months, they have a thick cover of high cereals (ivory to 5 m), groves and arrays of mixed or deciduous forests on watersheds, gallery evergreen Forest moisturizing in valleys. They can be called the transition zone from forest vegetation to a typical savannah. Among the solid cover of high (up to 2-3 m) cereals rose trees (usually leaf falling rocks). For highly harvested savannahs are characterized by Baobabs, Acacia, Terminal. Here are the most common red latice soils.

It is believed that the widespread distribution of wet high-retarded savannes, which change the leaf-old-evergreen forests is associated with the activities of a person who survived the vegetation during the dry season. The disappearance of the closed wood tier contributed to the emergence of countless herds of ungulates, as a result of which the resumption of wood vegetation was impossible.

Sabel savanna and to a lesser extent spiky forest Somalia and Kalahari faunistically depleted. Many of the animals close or common with forest are disappeared here.

2.2 Typical cereal savanna

From the border of the guilt begins the zone of cereal savanna. Typical (or dry) savannah replace high-colored in areas where rainy season lasts no more than 6 months. Herbs in such savannas are still very thick, but not very high (up to 1 m). Herbatous spaces alternate with gentlemen or individual groups of trees, among which are particularly typical of numerous acacias and giant baobabs, or monkey bread trees.

Typical cereal savannas are developed in areas with an annual amount of precipitation 750-1000 mm and a dry period of 3 to 5 months. In typical savannas, a solid cereal cover is not higher than 1 m (types of bearded, dwarfs, etc.), from woody rocks are characterized by palm trees (fan, hyphena), baobabs, acacia, in eastern and South Africa - Mokhodi. Most of the wet and typical savannas of secondary origin. In Africa north of the Equator Savannah extend a wide band atlantic coast To Ethiopian Highlands, south of the Equator is held by the North Angola. The height of wild creeks reaches 1-1.5 m, and they are represented mainly by hyperaenia and beardes.

A typical cellane savanna is space, completely covered with high herbs, a predominance of cereals, with rarely worthy of individual trees, shrubs or groups of trees. Most plants have a hydrophic character in view of the fact that during the rain period, the humidity in the savannas resembles a rainforest. However, plants and xerophytic nature appear, adapting to the transfer of dry trigger. In contrast to hydrophorts, they have smaller leaves and other devices to reduce evaporation.

In the arid grass, the grass will be burned out, some types of trees are discharged by foliage, although others lose it only shortly before the appearance of a new one; Savannah acquires yellow color; Dried grass is burned annually for soil fertilizer. Harm that bring these fires of vegetation is very large, as it violates the normal cycle of winter rest of the plants, but at the same time he causes their livelihoods: after the fire, a young grass quickly appears. When rainy time comes, cereals and other herbs grow rapidly quickly, and the trees are covered with foliage. In the cereal savanna of herbal cover reaches a height of 2-3 m , and low places 5 m .

From the cereals here typical: ivory grass, types of Andropogon, etc., with long, wide, topped with leaves of xerophytic appearance. From the trees it should be noted oil palm 8-12 m heights, Pandanus, Oil Tree, Bauhinia Reticulata - evergreen tree With wide leaves. Often there is baobab and various types of palm trees. According to the valleys of rivers, Gallery forests resembling guilles are drawn by several kilometers, with many palm trees.

Grand Savannes are gradually replaced by acacia. They are characterized by a continuous cover of cereals less height - from 1 to 1.5 m ; from trees in them, various types of acacias having a dense umbrella-shaped crown are dominated, for example: Acacia Albida, A. Arabica, A. Giraffae, etc. In addition to acacia, one of the characteristic trees in such savannas is Baobab, or the monkey bread, reaching 4 m.in diameter and 25 m heights containing a significant amount of water with a loose meatsel of the trunk.

In Zlakova Savannah, where the rain period lasts 8-9 months, cereals are growing 2-3 m high, and sometimes up to 5 m: an ivory grass (Purpureum pennisetum), a bearded with long hairy leaves and others. Among the solid seas of cereals are rising separate trees : Baobaba (Adansonia Digitata), Duma Palm (Hyphaene Thebaica), oilseed palms.

North of the Equator, cereal savannahs reach about 12 ° S.Sh. In the southern hemisphere, the Zone Savannan and the head fabric is significantly wider, especially from the coast of the Indian Ocean, where it extends to the tropic. Difference of moisture conditions in northern and southern parts The zones suggest that mesophilous leafy forests have grown in the wetal northern regions, and Xerophytic gentlemen with the predominance of representatives of the Bobov family (Brachystegia, Isoberlinia) occupied only the southern regions of their modern distribution. South of the equator, this plant formation was named the headquarters of Miombo. Expansion of its range can be explained by stability to fires, high speed renewal. In the east of South Africa, the parelsia is found in conjunction with other types of vegetation significantly south of the tropic.

Special types of soils are formed under cereal savanses and gentlemen - red soils under savannahs and red-brown under the forests.

In more dry areas, where the innocent period lasts from five to three months, dry spiny is prevailing seeds. Most of the year, trees and shrubs in these areas are standing without leaves; Low cereals (Aristida, Panicum) do not form solid cover; Among the cereals grow low up to 4 meters heights, prickly trees (ACACIA, TERMINALIA, etc.

This community is also called the Stepia by many researchers. This term is widespread in the literature dedicated to the vegetation of Africa, but does not fully meet the understanding of our term "steppe".

Dry spiny semi-veins are replaced with the removal from the acacian savannah so-called bitter savanna. It comes to 18-19 ° Sh., occupying most of Kalahari.

2.3 Deserted savannahs

In areas with a duration of the wet period of 2-3 months. Typical savannahs go into thickets of spiny shrubs and rigid herbs with rare turf. As the wet period reduces to 3-5 months. And the overall decrease in the sediment of herbal cover becomes more rarefied and low, in the composition of tree rocks, various acacias prevail, low, with a peculiar flat crown. Such vegetable communities, called deserted savannes, form in the northern hemisphere the relatively uninformed strip north of typical savannas. This strip is expanding from the west to the east in the direction of reducing the annual amounts of precipitation.

In deserted savannas, scarce rains are rare and are only within 2-3 months. The strip of these savannas, stretching from the coast of Mauritania to Somalia, expands to the east of the African continent, also natural zone Covers the Calahari brand. Vegetation here is represented by densitors, as well as spiny shrubs and low-free trees. In typical and deserted savannah, tropical red-brown soils are developed, poor humus, but having powerful alluvial horizons. In places of development of major breeds and lava covers - in the south-east of Sudan, in Mozambique, Tanzania and the Basin of the River Shari - significant areas occupy black tropical soils related to chernozem.

In such conditions, instead of a solid herbal cover, only the turf cereals are preserved yes noble and spiny shrubs. The semi-desert belt or deserted savannah in Sudanese plains is called "Sahel", which in Arabic means "shore" or "edge". It is really the outskirts of green Africa, behind which the sugar begins.

In the east, the mainland deserted savannais occupy particularly large spaces, covering Somalia Peninsula and extending to the Equator and south from him.

Deserted savannahs are characteristic of areas with an annual precipitation amount of no more than 500 mm and the durability of a dry period from 5 to 8 months. Deserted savannahs have rarefied cereals, thickets in them are widespread prickly shrubs (mainly acacia).

Despite the ranks general signsSavannes are distinguished by significant variety, which makes them greatly difficult. There is a point of view that most of the Savannan Africa arose at the site of exterminated forests and only deserted savannaments can be considered natural.

Chapter III. Ecological problems Savannnes Africa

.1 The role of a person in the savannah ecosystem

Among the biocenoses of sushi, the steppes are produced by the unit of the surface the largest biomass of animals, so long they attracted a person who lived predominantly hunting. This straight primate of nature itself was created for life in the steppes, and it is here in the struggle for food and shelter, fleeing from enemies, he turned into a reasonable creature. However, improving, a person complicated its weapons and invented new methods of hunting on herbivores and predatory animals, which played a fatal role for many of them.

Whether the ancient person is already involved in the extermination of a number of animal species, the question is controversial. There are various, very contradictory opinions. Some scientists believe that many inhabitants of African savannah and steppes were already destroyed in early Paleolithic, characterized by the use of manual chopper (the so-called Ashhelian culture). According to the supporters of this opinion, the same thing happened in North AmericaWhen about 40 thousand years ago, a person entered this continent for the first time through "Bering Bridge". At the end of the Ice Epoch on the face of the Earth, 26 clans of the African and 35 genera of North American major mammals disappeared.

Supporters of the opposite point of view insist that ancient man With its still extremely imperfect weapons, it is impossible to be considered security in their destruction. Mammals, extincting at the end of the Ice Epo, most likely became a victim of global climate change, which were told on vegetation that served them with food, or on their extraction.

It has been established that when much later not bad armed people appeared in Madagascar, the animal world of which did not know the natural enemies, it led to very sad consequences. At Madagascar, at a relatively short period of time, at least 14 species of large lemurs were exterminated, 4 species of giant ostriches and, in all likelihood, the same fate suffered the pipeline and dwarf hippopotamus.

However, only when the white person applied firearms, it led to a catastrophic violation of equilibrium between him and the world of large animals. To date, in all corners of the Earth, a person almost completely destroyed large animals of Savannne, turned out once endless herbaceous plains in arable land or pasture for livestock.

The destruction of initial vegetation led to the disappearance of many small and medium animals. Only in national parks and other protected areas, the remnants of the unique community of living beings were preserved, which was formed for millions of years. The hunter man destroyed his steppe pranodine and many animals generated by the amazing ecosystem of the savanna.

A hundred years ago, Africa was represented by the mainland of untouched nature. However, the nature was already significantly changed by the economic activity of man. At the beginning of the XXI century, environmental problems that were originated during the time of robberies of European colonialists, aggravated.

Evergreen forests have been buried for the sake of mahogany. They also emerged and burned under the fields and pastures. The burning of plants in the housing-fire agriculture leads to a violation of natural vegetation cover and soil deterioration. His rapid exhaustion was forced after 2-3 years to leave the processed land. Now almost 70% of African forests are destroyed, and their remnants continue to quickly disappear. At the forest site there were cocoa plantations, oilseeds, bananas, peanuts. Forest reduction leads to many negative consequences: an increase in the amount of flooding, enhancing the droughts, the occurrence of landslides, reducing soil fertility. Playing the forests is very slow.

The nature of Savann has been significantly changed. Huge areas there are rapping, pasture classes. For excessive grazing of cattle, sheep and camels, cutting down trees and shrubs savanna, more and more turn into the desert. Especially negative consequences of such use of land in the north, where Savannah passes in the desert. The expansion of desert areas is called desertification.

Aerospace pictures made from the artificial satellites of the Earth convincingly showed that only over the past half a century, the sugar has advanced to the south of 200 km. and increased its area per thousand square kilometers.

On the border with the deserts, forest protection bands are planted, limit the grazing of livestock in areas with a rarefied vegetation cover, carry out watering of arid areas. Big changes natural complexes There were due to mining of minerals.

Long colonial past and irrational use natural resources led to a serious balance of equilibrium between the components of natural complexes. Therefore, in many countries in Africa, the problems of nature are keenly stood.

3.2 Shopping role Savann

Savanns play a very big role in man's economic life. By climatic and soil conditions, savanna are favorable for tropical agriculture. Currently, significant areas of Savannes are cleared and plagued. Significant areas here are placed, grain, cotton, peanuts, jute, sugar cane and others are grown. In more dry places a developed animal husbandry. Some breeds of trees growing in Savannah, a person uses for its own purposes. So teak tree gives hard valuable woodwhich does not rot in the water.

Currently, with complete confidence, it can be said that a significant part of the wet and dry savannah Africa arose as a result of human activity at the site of mixed forests, almost disappeared decafded forests and a steady. Since man has learned to extract the fire, he began to use it for hunting, and later for clearing the thickets under Pashny and Pasture. Agriculties and cattle products for many millennia were set on fire to Savannah before the start of the rainy season to fertilize the soil. Luxury lands, who quickly lost fertility, threw out after several years of use, and new sections were prepared for crops. In the pasture areas, the vegetation suffered not only from burning, but also from pulling out, especially if the livestock exceeds the feed "capacity" of pasture land. The fire was destroyed most of the trees. It is mainly preserved, only some of the wood species that have adapted to fires, the so-called "flames", the trunk of which is protected by the thick bark, carbonizing only from the surface.

Also preserved plants that breed the root piglet or having seeds with a thick shell. The glantic baobabs include thick-barred giant baobabs, Wood, or Carite, called the Oil Tree, as its fruits give food oil, etc.

Fencing of private possessions, road gasket, steppe fires, the discovery of significant areas and the expansion of cattle breeding was aggravated by the plight of wild animals. Finally, the Europeans, unsuccessfully trying to fight the Tsetse, arranged a grand slaughter, and more than 300 thousand elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, GNU and other antelopes were shot from rifles and machine guns from cars. Many animals died from the plague listed with horned cattle.

3.3 Environmental Actions for the Protection of African Savann

Animal world of African savanna has a huge cultural and aesthetic meaning. Untimouched corners with the pristine rich fauna literally attract hundreds of thousands of tourists. Each African Reserve is a source of joy for many and many people. Now you can drive hundreds of kilometers on savannah and not to meet any big animal.

The virgin once the forests are mastered by a person and gradually hardened to clearing the lands, or cut down with the goal of the workpiece of building materials. Next, the soil, which is no longer reinforced by the roots of plants and is not protected by crowns of trees, blurred during tropical rains, and rich in the recent past. The natural landscape is indispensable, by translating into a barren desert.

Often the interests of the wild inhabitants of Africa are contrary to the needs of the local population, which is why the protection of wildlife in Africa is complicated. In addition, environmental activities require more expensive, and their financing can afford the government far from every country.

Nevertheless, part of African states is concerned about the state of wild flora and fauna on its territory, therefore, the protection of nature is given increased attention. Wild animals are protected in national parks of such countries, reservoirs are subject to cleaning for breeding in them, integrated measures to restore forest arrays are carried out.

The governments of new independent states of Africa, who dropped the Igo colonialism, strengthened and expanded the network of such nature reserves - the last shelters of wild animals. Only there may still be a person to admire the type of primitive savanna. For this purpose, environmental protection areas are arranged - reserves and national parks. They are protected by the components of natural complexes (plants, animals, rocks, etc.) and is carried out research. Reserves have a strict environmental mode, and tourists who are obliged to comply with the established rules in national parks.

In Africa, environmental sites occupy large areas. They are arranged in various natural complexes - in the mountains, on the plains, in wet evergreen forests, savannas, deserts, on volcanoes. Worldwide are National Parks of Serengeti, Kruger, Rouvenzori.

National nature Park Serengeti. - One of the largest and most famous in the world. Translated from the Language of Masayev, its name means unawarded plain. Park is located in East Africa. It is called African Paradise for Animals. In its expanses, thousands of herds of large hoofs (various types of antelope, zebras) and predators (lions, cheetahs, hypodes) are inhabited, which are preserved in untouched as such as they were from time immemorial.

Kruger National Park- One of the oldest on the mainland. He arose in southern Africa in 1898. In this region of Savannah, the buffaloes, elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, and various antelopes, from birds - Marabu, a bird secretary, the Savannah. Each type of animals has thousands of individuals. By their diversity, the park is often compared with the Noah Ark.

National Park Ngoronoro. Located in the crater extinct volcano. There are guarded buffaloes, rhinos, antelopes, giraffes, hippos, a variety of birds.

W. park Rovevenzori guarded manoid monkeys Chimpanzee and gorilla.

Creating reserves and national parks contributes to preservation rare plants, unique animal peace and individual natural complexes of Africa. Thanks to the security measures, the number of many species of animals that were on the verge of extinction, restored. The world's largest variety of species makes Africa a real paradise for ecotourists.

Conclusion

Savannah Africa is Africa of our imagination. Huge spaces of land, unusually amazing fauna, the greatest herds on the planet. And it seems, everything exists here.

Savannah is incredibly changeable, inconsistent. In this place in a few years a thick forest may appear. But there may be another development of events: all trees will disappear, only the grass will remain.

The life of Savannah obeys the weather, which is very capricious here. Every year there is a dry, sultry season. But no one year is similar to the previous one.

The value of Savannan is huge. This is, first of all, the biological value of the community as a habitat for many types of animals and plants, including those that are under threat of disappearance. Also savannah, after the forest zone, give the greatest output of plant products.

Sadly but sometime nature Africa was even more diverse. Currently, unfortunately, some of the types of wild flora and fauna are completely destroyed, and some amount is under threat of extermination.

Large misfortunes for the inhabitants of African savannah are hunters, raising fishing animals under the root. But the offensive of civilization on the original places of natural habitat of representatives has become not a smaller problem wild fauna Africa. Traditional ways of migrations of wild animals are blocked by roads, and in the places of wild thickets there are new human settlements.

Now, humanity understands the need to protect nature on Earth - it can be hoped that in the near future the wild nature of Africa not only does not suffer even more from human activity, but also to some extent he will restore his indispensable animal and vegetable world, returning it to the former pomp and diversity .

List of sources

1. Boris Radio Radio Africa / around the light №4, 2008 pp. 84-92

Boris Zhukov Eden at the bottom of the boiler / around the world №11, 2010 pp. 96-101

Vlasova T.V. Physical geography of continents and oceans: a textbook for the stud. Higher. Ped. studies. Vehicles / T.V. Vlasova, MA Ashinova, TA Kovaleva. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy", 2007. - 487c.

Vladimir Korachansev. Moscow. Armada Press, Africa-Land of paradoxes (Green Series 2001. Around the World), 2001-413c.

Gusarov V.I. The aggravation of the environmental problems of Africa / Krazazvoism. Geographic. Tourism №29-32, 2007 pp. 7-11

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Savannes occupy almost 40% of the area of \u200b\u200bAfrican mainland. They are located around evergreen equatorial forests.

In the north with equatorial forests, the Guinea-Sudanese Savannah borders, which stretched 5,000 thousand kilometers from the Western shores Atlantic Ocean The eastern shores of the Indian Ocean. From the Kenyan River Tana, Savannah extends to the southern parts of Africa to the Zambezi River Valley, then, turning to the West at 2500 kilometers, goes down to the coast of the Atlantic.

Animal world

African savannah - phenomenon is completely unique in terms of variety of large animals. Neither at one other point globe You will not meet such an abundance of wild animals.

Back at the end of the 19th century wild inhabitants Savannan did not threaten anything. But at the beginning of the 20th century, with the arrival of European colonialists who were armed with firearms, a massive shooting of herbivores began. Countless herds, nominated on the huge expanses of the savannah animals, began to decline dramatically. Their number fell to a minimum.

The compromise between human economic activities and a unique variety of animal world was found. And he embodied in the creation on the territory of Savannan National Parks. Here are numerous predators: lions, cheetahs, hyenas, leopards. Zebras, Blue Gnou, Gazelles, Impala, Huge Heavyweights are inhabited from herbivores. From rare antelopes, you can meet the origins and the inhabitants of the shrub Savannah Kudo. The real decoration of African savannas are elephants and giraffes.

Vegetable world

It is rich and diverse floral cover of local places. Savannah is located in a subequatorial belt, for nine months there is a rainy season, which contributes to the intensive growth of a wide variety of plants.

Baobab, is a typical representative wood World. The stem wood of this tree is impregnated with moisture, which allows Baobaba to survive even during strong fires during the drought season. Here also grow a variety of palm trees, mimosa, acacia, broaching shrubs.