A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. Savannas are usually a transitional biome, not really a forest and not really a desert – just somewhere in between. They are found in tropical areas of the globe, closer to the equator, where there isnt enough rain to support a tropical rainforest, but there is enough to keep it from becoming a desert. The climate in savannas is transitional, with seasonal rainfall, and switches between dry periods and wet periods. The largest areas of savanna are found in Africa, South America, Australia, India, the Myanmar (Burma)–Thailand region in Asia, and Madagascar. There are different types of savannas, including savanna woodland, tree savanna, shrub savanna, and grass savanna. The savanna is home to many different species of plants and animals around the world, and in Africa, it is home to the largest land mammal in the world – the African elephant. The savanna is home to large herds of grazing wildlife and the predators that follow them, and it is a carefully balanced ecosystem that can easily be disturbed by changes in climate, an imbalance in the number and type of wildlife, and human influences such as farming and cattle herding.