page_title: Grassland
section_title: Classifications of grasslands
hierarchical_section_title: Grassland / Types of grassland / Classifications of grasslands
caption_attribution_description: A hike through the tallgrass prairie area in Windsor, Ontario's Ojibway Prairie complex at noon.
context_page_description: Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses. However, sedge and rush can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on earth and dominate the landscape worldwide. They cover 31-43% of the earth's surface. Moreover, they are one of our planet's most productive landscapes. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands.
context_section_description: Grassland types by Schimper (1898, 1903):
  Meadow (hygrophilous or tropophilous grassland)
  Steppe (xerophilous grassland)
  Savannah (xerophilous grassland containing isolated trees)
  Grassland types by Ellenberg and Mueller-Dombois (1967):
  Formation-class V. Terrestrial herbaceous communities
  Savannas and related grasslands (tropical or subtropical grasslands and parklands)
  Steppes and related grasslands (e.g. North American "prairies" etc.)
  Meadows, pastures or related grasslands
  Sedge swamps and flushes
  Herbaceous and half-woody salt swamps
  Forb vegetation
  Grassland types by Laycock (1979):
  Tallgrass (true) prairie
  Shortgrass prairie
  Mixed-grass prairie
  Shrub steppe
  Annual grassland
  Desert (arid) grassland
  High mountain grassland
caption: A hike through the Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park in Canada
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