Serengeti volcanic grasslands

• Category: Grassland, Tundra, and Human Biomes.
• Geographic Location: Africa.

Summary: The Serengeti Volcanic Grasslands is an exceptional ecosystem comprised of vast plains of short grasses that are home to migratory herds of ungulates and many bird species; it is also a magnet for ecotourists.

The Serengeti volcanic grasslands are a 9,650-square-mile (25,000-square-kilometer) area straddling the borders of Tanzania and Kenya that gets its name from the Maasai word Siringit, meaning endless plains. The ecosystem is defined by the movement patterns of the migratory ungulates, which roam the plains in search of food and water, stimulated by local rainfall. The grasslands of the Serengeti Plains are bordered in the southeast by the Ngorongoro Highlands and the active Ol Doinyo Lengai volcanic mountain, as well as the Great Rift Valley. To the south are the Sukuma plains. To the west is Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest inland water body; in the north are the Mau highlands, Siria Escarpment, and Mara River in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Serengeti volcanic grasslands are mostly contained within protected areas. The Tanzania portion of the region is located in the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where the pastoral human community resides within a multiple-use conservation landscape and mixes with friendly wildlife.

The Ikorongo, Grumeti, Maswa, and Kijereshi game reserves are used for sustainable tourist hunting to support ecosystem conservation and the subsistence communities. The Loliondo Game Controlled Area and the Ikona and Makao wildlife management districts are community-based conservation areas that support wildlife conservation and socioeconomic development. In Kenya, the broader Serengeti ecosystem falls within the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding group ranches.

The Serengeti volcanic grasslands are a result of Pliocene- and Pleistocene-age volcanic eruptions of the Ngorongoro Mountains. Aerial ash and debris from these volcanic highlands were blown westward to form the Serengeti Plains, producing a core area of basic, mineral-rich deposits supporting this very fertile ecosystem. In other areas, the soils are dominated by black clay, or by highly saline, alkaline, and shallow sandy loam soils. These latter tend to be less fertile.

Biodiversity

Supported by the rich volcanic soils, the Serengeti grasslands proliferated and expanded, with vast spreads of short grasses; oat grass (Themeda triandra), Cynodon spp., and Chloris dominate many areas. There are also Sporobolus and sedges such as Kyllinga. In places, the plains are interrupted by open woodlands, with Acacia (including species classified as Vachellia and Senegalia) and Combretum quite typical.

These grass-based lands attract millions of animals; among the leading fauna here are large herds of migratory wildebeest, plains zebras, and Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelles. These huge herds of ungulates, or hooved animals, support diverse carnivore populations of lion, hyena, cheetah, wild dog, and jackal. The population of these ungulates is so large that, by the grazing, breeding, calving, and migration patterns, it in great measure determines the structure and function of the environments around it. Researchers have examined a variety of factors that might affect animal migration, including the chemical composition of the soil.

The plains are home to such endangered and threatened species as eastern black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli), pangolin (Smutsia temminckii), African elephant (Loxodonta africana), African wild dog, and cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus).

The Serengeti Volcanic Grasslands biome is also home to diverse invertebrate communities, among the most notable of which is the harvester termite, which plays a vital role in nutrient cycling across the plains. Others include the dung beetles (Scarabidae spp.), well known for cleaning the mess, that is, breaking waste, left by other animals, and thereby dispersing and recycling nutrients throughout the biota here.

Serengeti is home to a diverse community of raptors, notably vultures, kites, and eagles; each of these groups is sustained by the presence of enough prey species. Other iconic fauna here includes crocodiles, giraffes, topi, hartebeest, eland, and various snakes.

Birds of the Serengeti include many vibrantly-colored species, such as black-headed heron (Ardea melanocephala), purple-grenadier (Uraeginthus ianthinogaster), white-browed scrub-robin (Cercotrichas leucophrys), yellow-throated sandgrouse (Pterocles gutturalis), Fisher’s lovebird (Agapornis fischeri), yellow-collared lovebird (Agapornis personatus), Kori bustard (Ardeotis kori), Madagascar bee-eater (Merops superciliosus), African hawk-eagle (Hieraaetus spilogaster), violet-backed starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster), ostrich (Struthio camelus), and flamingo.

Human Activity and Threats

The grasslands are vital to the economies in East Africa. A large proportion of all tourists visiting Tanzania are drawn to the Serengeti. The plains are inhabited by diverse ethnic groups, most notable of whom are the Maasai, who inhabit the eastern swaths of the region in both Tanzania and Kenya. The Maasai are culturally nomadic pastoralists whose lives depend on moving their livestock, mostly cattle, goats, and sheep, following available pasture.

Other ethnic groups include the Hadzabe in the southeastern portion of the region, who are mainly hunters and gatherers. Other peoples include the Kurya, Ikoma, Ikizu, Isenye, Nata, and Sukuma, who mostly inhabit the northern, western, and southwestern reaches of the ecosystem. They are mainly agro-pastoralists, practicing both livestock herding and small-scale crop farming.

Despite their apparently endless bounty, the Serengeti volcanic grasslands are an ecological island in a rising sea of humanity. Located within Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, parts of the northern reaches have been converted to mechanized agriculture, while a great deal of the southwestern portion around the Maswa Game Reserve in Tanzania has been turned into cotton fields. Rising threats and damage are coming from increased poaching, human-livestock disease transmission, heavier road traffic, and political interference in protected areas. Conflicts have also escalated over rights to and control over the rising population of elephants that move in and out of the reserves, causing havoc in some settlement areas.

Climate change has made rainfall unpredictable, impacting the migrating patterns of local wildlife. As a result, drought periods have increased, and many animals have died, especially among the grazers. Altering migration patterns and drier conditions have triggered disease outbreaks, and the increase of pests such as ticks are leading to an imbalance across habitats here. If the changes intensify as expected, there is an expanding potential for species extinctions.

Bibliography

Kariuki, Rebecca W., et al. "Serengeti's Futures: Exploring Land Use and Land Cover Change Scenarios to Craft Pathways for Meeting Conservation and Development Goals." Frontiers in Conservation Science, vol. 3, 23 Sept. 2022, doi:10.3389/fcosc.2022.920143/. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.

Kornei, Katherine. "Geology and Chemistry Drive Animal Migration in the Serengeti." American Geophysical Union, 27 May 2020, eos.org/articles/geology-and-chemistry-drive-animal-migration-in-the-serengeti. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.

Sinclair, A. R. E., Craig Packer, Simon A. R. Mduma, and John M. Fryxell, eds. Serengeti III: Human Impacts on Ecosystem Dynamics. University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Li, Yuhong et al. “Unraveling the Drivers of Forage Quality Variation in the Serengeti.” Ecology, vol. 106, no. 7, 23 July 2025, p. e70168. doi:10.1002/ecy.70168. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.