THE BIOMES OF THE WORLD

ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

 Biomes

 “The world’s major communities, classified

according to the predominant vegetation and
characterized by adaptation of organisms to that
particular environment”.
 Biomes are contiguous areas with similar climatic
conditions on the Earth, such as communities of
plants, animals, and soil organisms.
 TYPES OF BIOMES

 Freshwater
 Marine
 Desert
 Forest
 Grassland
 Tundra
Biomes are classified in various ways;
 Terrestrial Biomes
 Aquatic Biomes
 1. THE FRESHWATER BIOME

 Having a low salt concentration — usually less

than 1%.
 Plants and animals are adjusted to the low salt
content and would not be able to survive in
areas of high salt concentration (i.e., ocean).
 There are different types of freshwater regions:
I. Ponds and lakes
II. Streams and rivers
III. Wetlands
 2. THE MARINE BIOME

 Cover about three-fourths of the Earth's surface

 Marine algae supply much of the world's oxygen
supply and take in a huge amount of atmospheric
carbon dioxide. The evaporation of the seawater
provides rainwater for the land.
 It includes:
i. Oceans
ii. Coral reefs
iii. Estuaries
 3. THE DESERT BIOME

 Cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface

 Occur where rainfall is less than 25-50 cm/year.
 Soils need only water to become very productive
and have little or no organic matter.
 There are relatively few large mammals in
deserts because most are not capable of storing
sufficient water and withstanding the heat.
 Deserts often provide little shelter from the sun
for large animals.
 Types of deserts

 There are four major types of deserts:

a. Hot and dry
b. Semiarid
c. Coastal
d. Cold
 4. THE FOREST BIOME

 Occupy approximately one-third of Earth's land

area,
 Account for over two-thirds of the leaf area of land
plants
 contain about 70% of carbon present in living
things.
 There are three major types of forests, classed
according to latitude:
a. Tropical
b. Temperate
c. Boreal forests (taiga)
 5. THE GRASSLAND BIOME

 Grasslands are characterized as lands dominated by

grasses rather than large shrubs or trees.
 There are two main divisions of grasslands:
 Tropical grasslands or savannas
 Temperate grasslands
 6. THE TUNDRA BIOME

 Tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturi,

meaning treeless plain.
 Characteristics of tundra include:
 Extremely cold climate
 Low biotic diversity
 Limitation of drainage
 Short season of growth and reproduction
 Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material
 Large population oscillations
 Little precipitation,
 Poor nutrients, and
 Short growing seasons.
 Types of TUNDRA

Tundra is separated into three types:

 Arctic tundra
 Antarctic tundra
 Alpine tundra