BIOMES: An introduction

Environmental Science
Ms. Rust
We’ve talked about ecosystems…what is
a biome and how is it different?

• An ECOSYSTEM is a collection of biotic (living)

and abiotic (non-living) factors which work
together. Think of a pond. Algae, fish, cattails
(biotic) work together with the sun, rocks, water
(abiotic) to survive
And a biome?
• A biome is defined as an area that
has distinctive climate and
organisms…meaning climate and
organisms that are different from
other biomes
• Examples: desert and rain forest…
different climate, different organisms
live there
• A biome can contain many
ecosystems!
Back to the basics
• What is climate? Climate is NOT the same as the
daily weather. Climate = average temperature
and precipitation over a long period of time
– Ex: The climate in a rain forest is very different than the
climate in a desert…how so?
• Warm/humid with a lot of rain vs. dry/wet with very little
rain
Why do we care about
biomes?
• Entire biomes are being destroyed by
human actions

• How do you think the rain forest is

being destroyed? The desert?
And the biggest factor…
Your task:

• We are going to embark on a project

that will help us learn more about
each biome. By learning about the
biome, you will learn why it is
important and why it NEEDS to be
protected.