It is very important ecosystem and is known as prairies in North America, steppes in the Eurasis, pampas in Arjentina and veldt in South Africa. The grass land constitutes 20% towards the total land surface and may be tropical, temperate or alpine. The different components of a grassland ecosystem are as under:
Abiotic Components: The various types of nutrients present in the soil, e.g., C, N, K, P, S etc. constitute the abiotic components of a grassland ecosystem.
Biotic component :
These may be categorized as Producers: these are mainly grasses as species of Cynodon dactilon, Desmodium setaria, Digitaria etc., besides them a few herbs and shrubs, are also present.
Consumers: The herbivores feeding on different types of grasses are the primary consumers and include rabbit, mouse, sheep and some other invertebrates.
The Secondary consumers are include herbivore consuming animals like fox jackal snakes, frogs, lizards, birds, etc.
Decomposers : The microbes active in the decay of dead organic matter of different forms of higher life are fungi as species of Mucor, Aspergillus, Penicilluium, cladosporium, Rhizopus etc., and some bacterial and actinomycetes. They bring about the minerals back to the soil, thus making them available to the producers. Thus they help in nutrient recycling an illustrating of biogeochemical recycling.
