Savanna (range)

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Savanna.2.jpg

Savanna is a mixed woodland-grassland environment characterized by trees spread sufficiently wide apart so that the canopy does not close. The tree density may be high and regularly spaced, or trees may be widely scattered. The prevalence of large herbivorous creatures and seasonal periods of fire ensure that there is little ground shrubs, but fast-growing grasses commonly grow to six feet (elephant grass may reach ten feet). These areas are found in the central parts of continents, away from the coasts, between 5° and 15° from either side of the equator.

The savanna climate has a distinctive wet season from May to October, with rainfall equalling that of the Equatorial rainforest; the dry season is desert-like, lasting from November to April. This cycle is determined by the location of the Trade Winds, which delineates a parkland savanna, with many trees, from a dry savanna, with scattered trees, or a parched savanna where trees occur hardly at all upon a sandy, scrub-covered soil. Most water entering the ground goes to replacing soil moisture instead of adding to groundwater; in the dry season, this water evaporates away, so that wells and water holes will run dry, forcing persons to rely on large water sources or stored water for months at a time.

Conditions

At night, as the air cools, the savanna grass grows damp, so that the surface must be covered in order to bed down for the night; tents are far safer than laying in the open air. Natives will lay dry leaves down against the damp. Wood for fires must be obtained directly from the trees, using machetes, which are better than axes because of the hardness of the wood. Cargos and supplies must be raised above the ground, to keep from rotting; burdens are supported on matted branches or hammocks tied between trees. Stinging insects are everywhere and must be fended off with gauze curtains; this reduces the effects of insect-borne diseases, such as sleeping sickness or malaria, as well.

Savanna Belts

Savanna depends much upon the amount of ground water available; bands of different types occur along the south edge of the Sahara Desert in Africa, from south to north:

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The land enables a culture that is a mixture of pastoralists and agriculturalists, whose identity is affected by the sprawling plains that encourage nomadism. The presence or absence of water exerts a strong influence over local culture, with the former creating cities, lush environments and irrigated cultivation, and the latter demanding trials in managing flocks that are herded over fast-denuded sparse grazing lands. Herders will burn large tracts to improve grazing quality and enlarge the grasslands at the expense of woodlands.


Major Savannas

Below is a list of the most extensive savannas in the world:


Common Features

Below is a list of elements and features that are common to savanna ranges:


Savanna Creatures

The following monsters are common to savanna ranges:


See List of Ranges

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