the.com/savanna
a grassland that survives on fire, choosing to burn before it surrenders to forest.
means A flat, open landscape of grasses dotted with scattered trees, typical of warm regions where rainfall is too seasonal for dense forest.
from From the Spanish 'sabana,' which colonizers borrowed from the Taíno 'zabana,' a word from the Indigenous people of the Caribbean for a treeless plain. It crossed into English in the 16th century along with the early Spanish accounts of the New World — one of a handful of everyday words that still carry a whisper of the Taíno tongue, much of which was lost after contact.
fire dependentRegular burns stop trees from stealing the grass
human cradleEarly humans evolved walking upright across it
global spreadCovers roughly a fifth of Earth's land
termite engineersMounds enrich soil and shape where plants grow
wet-dry rhythmTwo seasons only: drenched, then dust