B iom es

T h e W or ld ’s M ajor C om m u n ities
 • Biomes are the
What are biomes? different regions of
our planet that have
different climates,
plants and animals.

• A grouping terrestrial
ecosystems on a
given continent that
are similar in
vegetation, structure,
physiognomy,
features of the
environment and
characteristics of
their animal
communities.
 Terrestrial biomes

• Desert Biome
• Tundra Biome
• Coniferous Forest
Biome
• Rainforest Biome
• Grassland Biome Freshwater Marine Desert Forest Grassland Tundra

• Deciduous Forest
 1. Desert
Ecosystems

 Location:
Depending
on type of
desert, you
will find
them in
various
locations.
 Desert
• Climate: very hot
and dry
• Temperature: Hot
during the day and
cold during the
night.
• Soil: Sandy, dry and
loose; contains minerals
like calcite.
Desert
Abiotic
factors
 <10 in/yr of
rain
 Little to no
topsoil due to
high winds.
 Minerals not While there are many types of
deep in soil. deserts, they all share one
 Too dry for characteristic: They are the
decay driest places on Earth!
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysfl
r/taiga.html
 Barrel Cactus

Desert Plant
Adaptations:
 Spines
 Succulents
 Thick, waxy cuticle
 Shallow, broad
roots
Joshua Tree
Ocotollio
 desert vegetation

Fishhook cactus
cactus

peyote
 Bob Cat

Desert Animal Adaptations:

Armadillo Lizard  Get water from food
 Thick outer coat
 Burrow during day
 Large ears
 Smaller animals =
less surface area

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert_animal_page.htm

Javelina
coyote Kangaroo mice

Thorny devil

Spare foot toads

Rattle snake

gilamonster

iguana
jackrabbit
 4 major types of desert

Hot and dry desert Semiarid desert

Cold desert Coastal desert

 Cold desert
• Characterized by cold winters with snowfall and high overall rainfall throughout
the winter and occasionally over the summer.
• Have a short, moist and moderately warm summers with fairly long, cold cactus
winters.
• Usually occur in Antarctic, Greenland and Nearctic realm.
 Hot and dry desert
• The seasons are generally warm throughout the year and very hot
in the summer. The winters usually bring little rainfall.
• The 4 major North American deserts of this type are the
Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin.
 Semiarid desert
• Summers are moderately long and dry and like hot
deserts
• Winters normally bring low concentration of rainfall
• Summer temperatures usually average between 21-27
0
C. It normally does not go above 38 0C and evening
temperatures are cool at around 10 0C.
• Major deserts of this type include the sage brush of
Utah, Montana and Great Basin
 Coastal desert
• The cool winter’s coastal deserts are followed by moderately long, warm
summers. The average summer temperature ranges from 13-24 0C; winter
temperatures are 5 0C or below.
• The maximum annual temperatures are about 35 0C and the minimum is
about -4 0C.
• These deserts occur in moderately cool to warm areas such as the Nearctic
and Neotrophical realm. A good example of this is Atacam and Chile.
 http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm

Threats to the Desert

Residential development
Off road recreational activities
destroy habitat for plants
and animals.
Some plants are removed by
collectors, endangering the
population. Dry Desert

Sonoran Desert
Health Issues in Desert
 2. Tundra
“treeless plain”

Location:
Found
north of
the Arctic
Circle

http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tundra/tundra.html
Tundra- coldest biome

• Climate :Cold and limited sunlight

• Temperature: Average temperature is 23F or 5 0C.
 tundra

• Soil: Ground covered with little snow.

Below the surface soil is permanently
frozen (permafrost). Decomposition is very
slow because of the extreme cold.
 Tundra Abiotic Factors
 <25 in/year
 Short growing season

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/taiga.html
Reindeer lichen

Tundra Plant Adaptations

Growing close to the ground
Having shallow roots to absorb the
limited water resources.
Trees grow less than 1 m high!

cottongrass
 Perennial
s

Woody
shrubs

Heaths

Examples of Tundra Plants

http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tundra/tundra.html
 snowy owl Arctic fox

Small ears
Insulation, thick
coat

Tundra Animal
Adaptations
Many visitors, migration
Few predators
Little Competition Grizzly Bear
Types of tundra
The Arctic Tundra
• Located between the North Pole and
Coniferous Forest or Taiga region. It is
extremely cold temperatures and land that
remains frozen year-round.

• A layer of permanently frozen subsoil called

permafrost exists consisting mostly of gravel
and finer material.

• The growing season ranges from 50-60 days.

• Location:
North America- Northern Alaska, Canada,
Greenland
Northern Europe- Scandinavia
Northern Asia- Siberia
 Alpine Tundra
• Located on mountains throughout the
world at high altitude where trees cannot
grow.

• The growing season is approximately 180

days.

• very windy.
• typically covered in snow for most of the
year.

• Location:
North America- Alaska, Canada, U.S.A. and
Mexico
Northern Europe- Finland, Norway, Russia, and
Sweden
Asia- Southern Asia( Mt. Himalayan ) and
Japan (Mt. Fuji)
Africa- Mt. Kilimanjava
South America- Andes Mountains
 Threats to the Tundra
One of the
most fragile
biomes on
the planet
Tufted Saxifrage
Polar Bear
Oil drilling is
proposed The tundra is
in Alaska slow to recover
and other from damage.
areas!
 3. Taiga
Northern Coniferous Forest
Boreal Forest

Location: Found only in Northern Hemisphere

Northern parts of Alaska,
Canada, Asia and Europe.
Taiga/Coniferous Forest
“ coming from the cones”
• Climate:
Very long and cold winter
lasting to about half a year;
precipitation is in the form of
snow about 60 cm.
• Temperature:
Below -20 0C in winter and
about 15 0C in summer.
 Taiga

Soil:
• not fertile. It takes very long for needlelike leaves to decompose and
decomposition is very slow in cold weather.
• A layer of snow covers the ground during much of the year. Soil beneath
the snow is grayish on top and brown below and lacks minerals needed by
plants to grow.
 Taiga
Abiotic factors

 Winters are long and cold

 Averages 100 in/yr
precipitation—mostly snow
 Soil poor in nutrients and
very acidic
 Growing season is very
short
 Taiga Plant adaptations Balsam Fir

Fireweed
 Coniferous (needle-bearing) trees
are abundant
 Roots long to anchor trees
 Needles long, thin and waxy
 Low sunlight and poor soil keeps
plants from growing on forest floor
http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/coniferous/plants.htm
 Moose

Animal
Adaptations of
the Taiga

 Adapt for cold winters

 Burrow, hibernate, warm
coat, insulation, etc.

http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/coniferous/animals.htm Great Grey Owl

 mosquito bear
deer

hares porcupine squirrel

Threats to the
Taiga
Mining operations can irreparably
damage this fragile ecosystem
Road construction

Clear cutting accelerates

soil erosion, degrades
wildlife habitat and leads to
the loss of diversity.
 4. Rainforest biome

Tropical Rainforest Temperate Rainforest

 Tropical
Rainforest

• covers about 6-7% of the earth’s land

surface.
• It is located close to the equator, in
85 different countries, and the most
are in Central and South America,
Africa, Asia, and Australia. The
Amazon Rainforest is the largest
rainforest in the world.
 Tropical Rainforest
• Climate:
The seasons do not
change and it has been
hot and wet for millions of
years. The average
temperature ranges from
70-85 degrees. It rains
about 100-400 inches per
year.
Tropical Rainforest
Abiotic factors
 high biodiversity and
biomass
 both hot and moist;
 ideal for bacteria and other
microorganisms; they
quickly decompose matter
on the forest floor allowing
nutrients to be recycled.
Tropical rainforest
Soil:
• Lacks minerals and
contains little remains of
dead plants and
animals.
• Decomposition is rapid
on warm wet soil.
• <1 cm of topsoil; not
very fertile
 Bougainvillea

Tropical Rainforest
Plant adaptations
 Sunlight is a major limiting factor

 Shallow, wide roots since soil is so

thin and poor in nutrients

 Little sun reaches the floor

 Tropical rainforest is the richest source

of plants life on earth.
 Plants grow in layers (canopy
receives most light). It is the perfect
place for growing plants.

Bangul Bamboo
 Silvery Gibbon

Tropical Rainforest

Animal
Adaptations
Many animals are
specialists and require
special habitat
components to survive
Wagler’s pit viper
Camouflage is common
 Many symbiotic
relationships

 Live in different
levels of canopy Slender Loris
 Threats to the Tropical
Rainforest
 Humans strip the rainforests
for uses including logging and
cattle ranching.
 In addition to the plants and
animals that are displaced by
this destruction, entire
civilizations of people are also
without a home.
 You can help by promoting
sustainable use of the
rainforests’ products
Temperate Rainforest
• Location:
found near coastal areas
along the Pacific coast of
Canada at the USA, and in
New Zealand, Tasmania,
Chile, Ireland, Scotland and
Norway.
 Temperate rainforest

Climate:
• Also wet, but not as rainy as
tropical rainforest.

• Rains about 100 inches per

year.

• It is cooler than tropical

rainforests but the temperature
is still mild.
• has 2 distinct seasons: one long
wet winter and a short drier
summer.
Temperate Rainforest

Soil:
• Typically much thicker than
the tropical rainforest.
• It is structurally more
complex, comprising several
layers.
• Generally much deeper and
more fertile than those of
tropical rainforests.
Temperate Rainforest
Plants:
• There are about 10-
20 species of trees
on temperate
rainforests that are
mostly coniferous.
Trees in the
temperate forest can
live for 500-1000
years.
Temperate Forest & Its Animals

Bobcat Cougar Chipmunk

5. Grassland

• characterized as lands
dominated by grasses
rather than large shrubs.
 Prairie and Steppe:
Grassland areas
 They are called by different names- plains or prairies
in North America, pampas in Argentina, steppes in
Soviet Union, and veldt in South Africa.
 Steppe
Dry, cold, grasslands

Location: Found in Russia

and the Ukraine

Precipitation:50-75 cm/yr.
high Winds. It occurs in all
continents.
 Plant adaptations of the Steppe

 most abundant are plants called Bunch grasses,

fine bladed grasses that grow in clumps to
preserve water
Tumbleweed

Sweet Vernal
 Adaptations of Steppe Animals
Mongolian Gerbil

 Many migrate, hibernate or burrow

during extremes in temp and
precipitation

Saiga Antelope

Gazelle herd

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/steppe_animal_page.htm
 Threats to the Steppe
 Overgrazing…nomadic tribes
have started to spend more time
in one location,
 Infrastructure development
(roads, buildings, etc)
Lynx
 Unmanaged hunting and poaching
is destroying herds of animals

Corsac fox
Milk vetch
 Prairie Plant Adaptations
Sod-forming grasses that
won’t dry out or blow
away in wind.

Fleabane
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/prairie_plants_page.htm

Buffalo Grass
 Prairie Animal Adaptations

Many adaptations to survive

in extremes temperature and
precipitation

Geoffrey’s cat

Prairie dog
Bobcat
 Grassland
It has two main divisions,
1. Savannah Tropical grassland
2. Temperate grassland.
 Savannas (Tropical
Grasslands)
Contain the greatest number of grazing animals on Earth.

Location: Found in the tropics…near equator

Amount of precipitation supports tall grasses but only occasional
trees.
The word savanna stems from an Amerind term for plains
http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/savanna/savanna.html
Tropical Savanna
Abiotic Factors
Rainy and dry season
25-150 in/yr precipitation
Fire plays a large role in this ecosystem
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/savannah.html
 Whistling
Thorn

Tropical Savanna
Umbrella Thorn Acacia
Plant
Adaptations
 Grows in Tufts
 Resistance to Drought
 Many plants have thorns and
Kangaroos Paws sharp leaves to protect
against predation.
Baobab
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_plant_page.htm
 Chacma Baboon

Zebras Tropical Savanna

Animal Adaptations
Adapt for short rainy
season—migrate as Reproduce during rainy
necessary season—ensures more
young survive
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_animal_page.htm
 Threats to the Tropical
Savanna
 Invasive species
 Changes in fire management

Elephant
 Because of their low elevation,
some savannas are threatened
by minor rises in sea level
associated with global climate
change
Koala http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_animal_page.htm
 Temperate
This grassland is characterized as having grassland
grasses as the dominant vegetation.
Location:
The major manifestations are veldts of
South Africa, the puszta of Hungary, the
pampas of Argentina, the steppes of the
former Soviet Union and the prairies of
Central America.
Temperate grassland

Climate:
•hot summers and cold winters.
•Rainfall is moderate. The amount of annual
rainfall influences the height of the grass
land vegetation with taller grasses in other
regions.

Soil:
The soil in a temperate grass land is deep
and dark with fertile upper layers. It is
nutrient –rich from the growth and decay and
many branched grass roots. The rotted roots
hold the soil together. The soil is fertile
because of the remains of plants and
animals and dried leaves of plant fell on the
ground.
Milk
vetch

Grasses

Sweet vernal
Temperate Grassland Animals
 http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tbdf/tbdf.html

6. Temperate Deciduous Forests

Location:
 found in temperate zone
(about 480 North lat)
 Much of the human population lives in this biome
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/taiga.html

Temperate Deciduous Forests

Abiotic Factors
 Characterized by an  Soils: Deep soil layers,
abundance of deciduous rich in nutrients
(leaf bearing) trees
 Precipitation: 30–100 in/yr
Characterized by 4 seasons in all forms (snow, rain,
hail, fog, etc.)
 Lady Fern

Temperate Deciduous forest

Plant adaptations
More diversity in the deciduous forest vs.
the coniferous forest due to increased
sunlight.
White Birch Trees adapt to varied climate by
Birchhttp://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_plant_
page.htm
becoming dormant in winter

Deciduous forests grow in layers Geulder Rose

More sunlight reaches the ground
compared to a rainforest so you
will find more ground dwelling
plants.
Bald Eagle

Temperate Deciduous
Forest
Animal Adaptations
 Lose Winter
Coat
 Adapt to many
seasons
Least Weasel  Eat from
different layers
of the forest
Fat Dormouse
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_animal_page.htm
 Threats to Temperate Deciduous
Forests
Many forests are
cleared to
provide housing
for humans.
Careful use of the
resource can
provide a
renewable http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tbdf/tbdf.html

system if we
don’t take too
much habitat
away.
Conclusion
Biomes as "the world's major communities”, are classified according to the
predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that
particular environment". The importance of biomes cannot be overestimated.
Thus, conservation and preservation of biomes should be a major concern to
all. Because we share the world with many other species of plants and animals,
we must consider the consequences of our actions. It is important to preserve
all types of biomes as each houses many unique forms of life.