CONCEPT 7-2 151
Figure 7-12 Climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropi-
cal, temperate, and cold (arctic tundra) grassland. Top photo: wildebeests grazing on a savanna in Maasai Mara
National Park in Kenya, Africa (tropical grassland). Center photo: wildflowers in bloom on a prairie near East Glacier
Park in the U. S. state of Montana (temperate grassland). Bottom photo: arctic tundra (cold grassland) in autumn in
front of the Alaska Range, Alaska (USA). Question: What month of the year has the highest temperature and the
lowest rainfall for each of the three types of grassland?
Temperate grassland30
20
10
0
–10
–20
–30
–40Mean monthly temperature (°C)350
300250
200
150100
500Mean monthly precipitation (mm)Freezing pointCold grassland (arctic tundra)30
20
10
0
–10
–20
–30
–40
Mean monthly temperature (°C)350
300250
200150
10050
0Mean monthly precipitation (mm)Tropical grassland (savanna)350
300
250200
150100
50030
20
10
0
–10
–20
–30
–40Mean monthly temperature (°C)Mean monthly precipitation (mm)Freezing pointFreezing pointMonthJ F MAM J J A S O N DMonthJ F MAM J J A S O N DMonthJ F MAM J J A S ON DMartin Harvey/Peter Arnold, Inc.Kent & Charlene Krone/SuperStockM. Leder/Peter Arnold, Inc.