The Grassland Biome is found chiefly on the high central plateau of South Africa, and the inland areas of KwaZuluNatal and the Eastern Cape. The topography is mainly flat and rolling, but includes the escarpment itself. The amount of cover depends on rainfall and the degree of grazing.
Trees are absent, except in a few localized habitats.
Frosts, fire and grazing maintain the grass dominance and prevent the establishment of trees. Sour grasses have a higher fibre content and tend to withdraw their nutrients from the leaves during winter so that they are unpalatable to stock. At higher rainfall and on more acidic soils, sour grasses prevail, with 625 mm per year taken as the level at which unpalatable grasses predominate. C4 grasses dominate throughout the biome, except at the highest altitudes where C3 grasses become prominent. Overgrazing tends to increase the proportion of pioneer, creeping and annual grasses, and it is in the transition zones between sweet and sour grass dominance that careful management is required to maintain the abundance of sweet grasses.