Sharing the grasslands.
The Savannah of East Africa is among the best known of the world's grassland. Despite two wet seasons each year, the unpredictable and sparse rainfall ensures that this areas remains grassland all year round. Grass tolerates dry conditions and grasslands have much in common with desert and arid regions. Rich volcanic soils provide much of the nutrients supply for the grasses, which are the main source of food for the primary consumers-vast herds of antelope and other herbivores. These sustain several species of large carnivores-mainly lions, hyenas,and leopard. Grass is very adaptable and can survive being trampled, burnt,chewed,and cut, because the leaves grow from just under the ground and will quickly regrow. Humans often burn grasslands in the belief that this will nourish the following year's growth, but not all ecologists agree. However, the combination of dry conditions, burning,and heavy grazing do ensure that grassland stay unchanged.