IndexIntroductionResearch methodsThe African savanna and food productionThe role of climate in food cultivationHuman activity that threatens food securityRelationships between human environments and cultivated landsAnalysisDecision makingConclusionIntroductionA biome is a large community of plants and animals that have characteristics similar to those of the environment in which they live, occupying an important habitat. African savannas make up an important part of the Earth's grassland biome and are an essential part of providing food sources to the world's population. The protection of the African grassland biome is clearly linked to food security and can be managed to provide food for the world's population. This can evidently be seen and understood; the African savanna and food production, the suitability of crops grown on the African savannah, threats to the African savanna, the environmental consequences of growing food on the African savanna, the role of climate in growing food, the human activity that threatens food security, relationships between human environments and cultivated land. Analysis and decision making will also be included in the report. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Research Methods A variety of different sources were used to answer the essay and ensure that all information provided was accurate and credible. The sources used to conduct this report were secondary, including a number of image and graphic sources that will be considered and referenced throughout the report. These sources will be located in the appendix and throughout the body of the report. Other sources used to find information include books, websites, and extra documents found within those websites, and textbooks. African savannas are responsible for supplying the world with most of its major food grains. This biome plays an important role in providing the world with a source of food and is constantly under threat, mainly due to human threats such as agricultural overexploitation. The most effective solution when it comes to preserving African savannas would be the use of genetically modified foods. African savannas are a grassland biome that plays an important role in food production. Located in Africa, this region covers 5 million square miles, which is equivalent to 12.9 million square kilometers. As seen in Figure 1, the region is made up of a number of countries, covering almost 65% of Africa, including Nigeria, Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea and many other African countries. Savannas are primarily found between the desert and rainforest biomes, located near the equator. The African savannah and food production The African savannah is one of the largest biomes in the world, providing the world's population with much of the food and fiber our bodies need. in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. These foods and fibers all come from animals and plants that populate the grassland biome. Foods grown in this biome provide the majority of the human population's food, including major food grains: corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, and sorghum. The African savanna is also used to produce other foods such as grasses of all different types, rice and the grazing of animals such as cattle and sheep which can be used for their milk and meat. Grassland biomes play an important role in growing crops as the soil is deep and fertile. This deep and fertile soil offersplants grown in the biome an advantage since they must be able to survive the dry season and drought that often occurs in grasslands. Many herbs rely on fire to germinate and plants are fed with rain, however, due to constant climate change, they are also fed with irrigation as they are not always naturally supplied with the nutrients they need. There are several agricultural techniques used in a grassland biome, including wheat cultivation – found in mid-latitude temperature climates, mixed farming – both grazing and harvesting are carried out here, usually located closer to markets and to wetter regions, intensive agriculture – located near urban centres, dairy production, horticulture, horticultural crops and plantations – located in warm, well-watered areas, meaning it is possible to grow products such as sugar cane, cocoa , bananas, rubber and palm oil. As with all biomes, the African savanna has many threats that impact the environment and the ability to grow certain foods in the area. The most common threat to the African savanna is drought and heavy grazing. Severe drought has always had a dangerous effect on the African savanna ecosystem, as grazing patterns have then exacerbated this effect. The combination of drought and heavy grazing can cause the biome to change from being covered by edible grasses and perennials to being covered by grasses and inedible plants. This change in the biome then leads to desertification. Desertification is the spread of desert-like conditions across a grassland area, caused by several factors including climate change, agricultural practices and overgrazing. All these factors contribute every year to lowering the water table away from the roots of plants, causing 46,000 square kilometers of African savannah to become deserts. Another threat to the grassland biome is carbon emissions, which are closely linked to climate change. A survey conducted in 2012 shows that there is a large increase in woody plants within grassland biomes. The authors soon discovered that this was caused by an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. If a dramatic increase in woody plants were to take over the savannah, it would threaten the entire ecosystem as these plants use more water than grasses. The introduction of plant species also poses a threat to the African savannah, most of which are weeds that cause serious problems and alterations to the environment. These weeds include those like Lantana, Prickly Pear, and Mesquite. These plants can alter the frequency of fire, causing it to burn better or worse than normal, increase heavy grazing pressure, and compete with other plants in the biome for water and sunlight, causing stress on native plant species. it has a fairly large population and most of them rely on the land to provide the food sources they need. In previous years, Africa was not as densely populated as it is today, meaning that farmers could use the land extensively. This meant that they could choose the most fertile land and grow crops there for a period of time until soil fertility and crop yields declined, then they would move to more fertile land. This agricultural system allowed farmers to provide the population with sufficient quantities of food while preserving long-term soil fertility. As population density increased, there was a greater demand for food supply and greater numbers of peopleit depended on a certain area of ​​land. This meant that more land had to be cultivated over a longer period of time, straining the carrying capacity of a particular area of ​​land, causing soil depletion leading to erosion. The African savannah is commonly considered the area at greatest risk of declining agricultural production and has been severely affected by drought and food shortages in recent years. The Role of Climate in Growing FoodClimate plays a vital role in the grassland biome, especially when it comes to growing food and maintaining food security. Climate change in the grasslands causes increased seasonal, annual, minimum, and maximum temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. Like any other grassland biome, the African savanna is a dry region with a strong seasonal climate, meaning it is extremely sensitive to climate change and major changes in climate routine. The African savanna experiences long periods of severe drought, and increases in this drought could cause major changes in vegetative land cover. This means that loss of vegetative cover will occur. The loss of vegetation and increased rainfall intensity will dramatically increase potential erosion rates, meaning that soil fertility in the region will be reduced at a noticeable rate. This decrease in soil fertility will cause crops and food sources grown in the savannah to not receive the nutrients they need to thrive and will therefore result in a serious decline in food security. The growth period during which a plant is exposed to extreme heat or drought is important. When a crop is flowering or fruiting it becomes particularly vulnerable to changes in temperature and humidity, compared to other growth stages where the crop may be more tolerant. Changes in temperature and precipitation will likely affect atmospheric gases, fertilizers, plant pathogens, and weed growth in an area, and if temperatures continue to rise above a certain threshold, the growing season may shorten and crop yields reduce. Human activity threatening food SecurityHuman activity plays an important role in every biome, some of these activities help preserve the land and others pose a threat to the land. Human activity causes many threats and disruptions to the savanna ecosystem. The main threats to food security include population growth, increased demand for food, food prices, decreasing variety of agricultural plant species, water scarcity, and food loss and waste. Rapid population growth in Africa, caused primarily by high birth rates in developing countries, makes feeding the world's population one of the most vital issues facing today. It is estimated that the population of sub-Saharan Africa will reach 1.3 billion people by 2025, which will put a strain on the land's resources. Other human activities that threaten food security in the African savanna grassland biome include killing wild animals for survival, hunting wildlife for valuables: black rhinos are hunted for their horns, plant species are heavily harvested due to the commercial value and trees such as African black wood are cut and used to produce carvings sold in tourist markets. Relationships between the human environment and cultivated land Agriculture has become a dominant form of land management. Human influence on the earth is accelerating due to rapidpopulation growth and increasing demand for food. This causes an increase in agricultural intensity and generates pressure not only on the land but on the entire biome and its ecosystem. Over the last 500 years, the world's cultivated land has grown by 12%. This means that over 1.6 billion hectares of land are used for cultivation. This creates an important relationship between the human environment and cultivated land as people rely on that cultivated land to provide the food resources needed to create a healthy and productive environment. Land is used to grow most of the food produced on the African savannah, creating a close link between food security and land use. Before 1900, when products such as industrial fertilizers, improved cultivators, and modern livestock farming were introduced, farmers turned to farming as a way to produce more food. However, after these advances were made, it was possible to dramatically increase food production on the same amount of land. Analysis Drought and heavy grazing are two of the main threats to the African savannah, and when a threat comes into play in a biome, the ecosystem must adapt accordingly to continue growing and producing. To do this, most plant species will have to adapt to their new environment so they can continue to develop. To protect themselves from drought and soil erosion, plants change over time to develop long tap roots to reach the groundwater table, trees produce a thicker layer of bark around them as additional protection from annual fires, and shed their leaves during the dry season to conserve water and avoid moisture loss, also storing it inside roots and trunks. To avoid the risk of heavy or overgrazing, plants adapt to create siliceous spicules to prevent herbivory. They grow from the base rather than the top of the plant to avoid damage to the building tissue and reproduction to grow overly large plants that compete and appear as a threat. Governmental and non-governmental organizations are working to address these challenges in many different ways. Above all, farmers grow plants that will help sustain the land and its ecosystem by protecting the soil and creating a habitat for the biome's wildlife. An example of this is Kenyan farmers planting millions of trees as windbreaks to reduce soil erosion. African nature reserves receive millions of dollars a year solely from tourism. This money earned not only goes towards protecting the biome and habitats, but is also used to create awareness on the protection of natural areas and the African savannah ecosystem. However, because tourism poses a threat to the biome, ecotourism holidays are designed to reduce these impacts on the land. Organizations like the WWF also work to ensure that tourism also benefits locals in the area, so that they too have a reason to want to help protect the biome. As well as governmental and non-governmental organizations working to address the challenges that Apparently, different management practices can be devised to achieve sustainability of the African savanna. The most important strategy for achieving sustainability is to close the achievement gap. This means that less productive farmers must increase their yields to bring their results in line with those of more productive farmers. If this were to be achieved, greater quantities of food would be produced without the need to use additional land..