Grasslands cover roughly 40% of Earth’s land surface and exist on every continent except Antarctica. They fill the climatic middle ground between deserts and forests, typically receiving 500 to 950 millimeters of rain per year. That’s enough moisture to support grasses and wildflowers but not enough to sustain dense tree cover. Where exactly they appear depends on rainfall, temperature, and latitude, but the short answer is: nearly everywhere, under different names and in different forms.
Tropical Grasslands and Savannas
Tropical grasslands, often called savannas, grow in regions 8 to 20 degrees from the equator. They receive between 80 and 150 centimeters of rain annually, though some interior locations get as little as 50 centimeters. What defines them is a pronounced wet and dry season: months of heavy rain followed by months of almost none.
The largest tropical grasslands stretch across sub-Saharan Africa, forming the iconic landscapes of Kenya, Tanzania, and the Serengeti. Extensive savannas also cover parts of northern Australia, central India, and northern South America, particularly in the Brazilian cerrado and the Venezuelan llanos. These regions share a common pattern of scattered trees among a continuous grass layer, shaped by seasonal drought and frequent fire.
Temperate Grasslands by Region
Temperate grasslands occupy the interiors of continents at higher latitudes, where winters are cold and summers warm. They go by different names depending on where you are.
North American Prairies
The prairies once blanketed the center of North America from southern Canada through the United States and into Mexico. Three distinct types exist: the Eastern tallgrass prairie, where abundant rainfall supports grasses over two meters tall; the Western shortgrass prairie in the more arid High Plains; and the Central mixed-grass prairie in between. The tallgrass prairie’s range historically extended all the way to the East Coast in some areas.
Eurasian Steppes
The Eurasian steppe is the largest temperate grassland on Earth, stretching 8,000 kilometers from Hungary in the west to China in the east. It breaks into three geographic sections: the Pontic-Caspian steppe (Ukraine, southern Russia, and the lands around the Black and Caspian Seas), the Kazakh Steppe in Central Asia, and the Mongolian-Manchurian steppe in the east. These are among the most continental climates on the planet, with bitter winters, hot summers, and limited rainfall.
South American Pampas
South American grasslands span from the Atlantic coast westward toward the Andes. The temperate pampas include three ecoregions: the Uruguayan Savanna, the Humid Pampas around Buenos Aires and the Argentine coast, and the Semiarid Pampas farther inland. West of the pampas, the puna is a high-altitude grassland running along the Andes through Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
African and Australian Grasslands
Southern Africa’s temperate grasslands are called the veld, covering the high interior plateaus of South Africa, Lesotho, and parts of neighboring countries. In Hungary, a smaller temperate grassland known as the puszta occupies the Great Hungarian Plain. Australia’s temperate grasslands are found in the southeastern interior, though they are far smaller than the tropical savannas to the north.
Montane Grasslands at High Elevation
A third category exists above the tree line on tropical and subtropical mountains. These montane grasslands typically sit between 3,000 and 4,500 meters in elevation, where temperatures average 3 to 12 degrees Celsius year-round. Unlike temperate grasslands, which experience seasonal temperature swings, montane grasslands face their biggest temperature shifts within a single day, sometimes fluctuating 20 degrees or more between dawn and afternoon.
The two best-known types are the páramo of the northern Andes (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela) and the puna of the central Andes. Similar high-altitude grasslands exist on the mountains of East Africa (including the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and the Rwenzori range), the highlands of New Guinea, and scattered peaks in Central America and Southeast Asia. In Brazil, grasslands cap the high plateaus of the planalto region, sometimes appearing above just 1,600 meters.
Why Grasslands Form Where They Do
Rainfall is the primary gatekeeper. Below about 300 millimeters of annual precipitation, you get desert. Above roughly 950 millimeters, trees begin to dominate and forests take over. Grasslands occupy the band in between. But rain alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Fire, grazing by large herbivores, and seasonal drought all prevent trees from establishing and keep grasses dominant.
Grasses are uniquely built for these pressures. The bulk of a grass plant lives underground, insulated by soil from temperature extremes. Growth buds sit below the surface, so the plant can resprout after fire or grazing. Deep root systems pull water from well below ground level. During extreme heat or cold, grasses enter dormancy, turning brown and dry, then greening up again when conditions improve. These adaptations explain why grasslands persist in places that might otherwise transition to shrubland or open forest.
The Soil Beneath Grasslands
Grassland soils are among the most fertile on Earth. The constant cycle of growth, death, and decomposition of grass roots builds a thick, dark topsoil rich in organic matter. In Russia and Ukraine, this soil type is called chernozem, which translates to “black earth.” The deep, carbon-rich topsoil can extend a meter or more below the surface.
This fertility is part of why grasslands have been so heavily converted to farmland. The same soils that make grasslands productive ecosystems also make them prime agricultural land. Globally, grasslands have been reduced to somewhere between 26% and 45% of their historical extent. In North America alone, half the original grassland has been lost to agriculture, energy development, urbanization, and the encroachment of woody plants. The Great Plains still lose roughly 6,500 square kilometers of grassland to crop conversion every year.
Grassland Names Around the World
One reason grasslands can be confusing is that nearly every region has its own term for them:
- Prairie: North America, especially the U.S. Midwest and Great Plains
- Steppe: Central Eurasia, from Hungary to Mongolia
- Pampas: Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil
- Veld: Southern Africa
- Puszta: Hungary
- Páramo: Northern Andes (high-altitude tropical grassland)
- Puna: Central Andes (high-altitude grassland)
- Cerrado: Brazil (tropical savanna grassland)
- Llanos: Venezuela and Colombia (tropical floodplain grassland)
Despite the different names, these ecosystems share a common structure: a landscape dominated by grasses and herbs, shaped by climate, fire, and grazing, with few or no trees. Researchers have documented grassland research sites spanning 60 countries across six continents, confirming just how widespread and varied these ecosystems are.