Deserts and xeric shrublands

The thorn bush savannah is also known as thorn bush savannah, thorn tree savanna, thorn savannah or bush steppe. It is depending on your perspective a ecozone, a Zonobiom or a vegetation zone of the tropics and is characterized by open vegetation ( grassland ) and related relatively regular intervals shrubs characterized.

Dissemination

The thorn bush savannah occurs in the transition zone between the arid trade wind zone and the tropical rain forest climate. Accordingly, the vegetation zone of the thorn bush savannah lies between the desert and semi- desert vegetation zones on one side and dry savannah and savannah on the other side. The natural thorn bush savannah belong to the region of the tropical drylands and are not part of the humid tropics. Bush savannas are particularly widespread in Africa, but they also occur in Australia and in the northern part of South America. In Africa, a belt pulls of thorn bush savannah semicircular across the continent and is found mainly in the Sudan zone and the Sahel region of West Africa. Together with the cactus deserts make the surfaces of the thorn bush savannah from about 5 % of the land area.

Climate

The thorn bush savannah is referred to in the climate classification of the climate researchers Troll / puffing as " V 4" in Köppen as " BSh climate ." The dry season in the thorn bush savannah takes about 7 to 10 months, the annual rainfall is usually between 200 and 500 mm. The climate is arid or semiarid and has a clear evaporation deficit, where the potential evaporation is higher than the actual rainfall. The bottom of the thorn bush savannah is due to the low fluvial erosion mostly stony or sandy and low in organic material overlying the loose topsoil is vulnerable to wind erosion.

Flora and Fauna

The plants and wildlife in the thorn bush savannah has adapted to the climatic conditions. Due to the long dry season, trees can survive only sporadically in the thorn bush savannah, but there are certain regions in a far more constant thorn forest ( Central America, Inner and Northeast Brazil: Identification as Caatinga ). In this region, only plants can survive, can store water, such as briars. There are no closed grass cover as in the savannah, typical families of plants are xerophytes such as succulents, geophytes and ephemeral. The wildlife such as insects, small reptiles, arachnids, birds and mammals are usually temporal specialists so prevalent either night or crepuscular, also be kept as low as possible to the fluid loss.

Swell

• Dictionary General geography. Edited by Hartmut Reader ( 1996)