Biomes Biodiversity Biomes Terrestrial ecosystems Based on climate
Biomes & Biodiversity
Biomes • Terrestrial ecosystems • Based on climate • precipitation • temperature • dominant vegetation • climate and vegetation vary with: • LATITUDE vs Altitude
Altitude Mountain Ice and snow Tundra (herbs, lichens, mosses) Coniferous Forest Latitude Deciduous Forest Tropical Forest Deciduous Forest Coniferous Forest Tundra (herbs, lichens, mosses) Polar ice and snow
Biomes • • • Arctic tundra Boreal forest (taiga) Temperate grassland Temperate deciduous forest Temperate rain forest Desert Chaparral Tropical grassland (savanna) Tropical rain forest - tropical savanna
Temperate deciduous forest (Nashville, Tennessee)
Is the temperature of each Biome: Hot, moderate, or cold? • • • Arctic Tundra Boreal Forest (taiga) Temperate Grassland Temperate Deciduous forest Temperate Rain Forest Desert Chaparral Tropical Grassland (savanna) Tropical Rain Forest
Is the temperature of each Biome: Hot, moderate, or cold? • • • Arctic Tundra - Cold Boreal Forest (taiga) - Cold Temperate Grassland - Moderate Temperate Deciduous Forest - Moderate Temperate Rain Forest - Moderate Desert - Hot Charparral - Moderate Tropical Grassland (Savanna) - Hot Tropical Rainforest - Hot
World Biomes
Tundra • Occurs in extreme northern latitudes • Long harsh winters; short summers • Layer of permafrost – permanently frozen /soil that varies in thickness • Soil wet and soggy (water remains on surface), not fertile • Polygon soil • Few plants: mosses, shrubs, lichens • Animals: variety of birds, small mammals, very few insects, no amphibians or reptiles Polygon Soil
TAIGA • Also known as the boreal or coniferous forest • Stretches across N. America and Eurasia (largest biome) • Not found in the Southern Hemisphere • Winters extremely cold & severe; receives little precipitation (mostly in summer) • Has patchy permafrost under the • Not very fertile, young & immature, soil acidic (pine needle) • Plants: mainly evergreen trees (world’s leading source of • Animals: many insects, few amphibians & reptiles, many mammals wood)
Balsam Fir Douglas Fir White Fir
Bald Eagle Northern Lynx American Black Bear Gray Wolf Bobcat Grizzly Bear
• Has 4 distinct seasons with great temp. variation; below freezing in winter; warm and humid in summer • Plants: Broad-leaf deciduous trees (oak, maple, hickory, beech); some conifers; mosses, lichens & ferns • Animals: Lg. variety of mammals; birds, snakes, amphibians, insects • Contains rich topsoil (lots of organic matter – mainly from dead leaves) Fertile • Location: Eastern U. S.
What Color Are Leaves in The Fall? Black walnut and butternut Drop leaves before they turn Locust Stays green until leaves drop Ash Plum purple Red maple, dogwood, sassafras, and scarlet oak Dark red Sugar maple and sumac Flame red and orange Oak, beech, larch, elm, hickory, and sycamore Tan or brown Poplar, birch, tulip tree, willow Yellow
Temperate Grasslands • sufficient rainfall to support grass, but often too dry forests • summers hot & winters cold • interiors of continents • seasonal drought, grazing, & periodic fires that prevent shrub & tree invasion • plants include high diversity of grasses & herbaceous plants (few trees) which are resistant to drought, grazing, & fire • animals include large & small herbivores, along with their predators; reptiles insects & birds © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP • located in the central US (Illinois,
Temperate Grasslands of the World
Tropical Grassland (Savanna) • • Warm temperatures year round Prolonged dry season (winter) Very wet season (summer) Located in a wide band on either side of equator Located in Central and South America Plants – shrubs, grasses, and isolated trees Animals – gazelles, zebras, giraffes Soils - porous, rapid drainage of water. thin layer of humus
Tropical Rain Forest • • • Most complex biome Lush, wet, and year round warmth 50 -260 inches of rainfall per year Humidity between 77 and 88% Covers less than 6% of earth Much diversity (more than ½ of world’s plants & animals live here) very nutrient poor soil, abundant plants utilize Rapid decomposition, minerals absorbed by plants (not left for soil) Plants - tall trees (palm), medicinal plants, epiphytes, lianas Animals – New world monkeys, colorful birds, reptiles, insects (most predominant – butterflies
DIVERSITY
Temperate Rain Forest • Close to coast; temperature fluctuations small; winters mild & summers cool • High annual precipitation (60”-120”/yr) • Plants: lg. evergreen trees (hemlock, fir, cedar, spruce); epiphytes, mosses, lichens • Animals: lg. variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects • Locations: Pacific NW (US & Canada); SE Australia and southern S. America • Soil richer than tropical rain forests (don’t such up as much nutrients because less diverse)
Desert • • • Very Dry Less than 25 inches of rain a year Hot days cold nights Low vegetation Tropical (southern Sahara-Africa) Temperate (Mojave-southern California) • Cold (Gobi Desert in China) • Soils has abundant nutrients/minerals because they need only water to become productive and have little or no organic matter Plants – cactu or other succulents (low vegetation) Animals – kangaroo rat, snakes, lizards
Chaparral • • • Temperate shrubland Occurs along coastal areas Winters are mild, moderate rain Summers long, hot, and dry Plants – low growing evergreen shrubs, wildflowers • Animals- dogs, quail, rabbits • Frequent fires
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