BANTA, Kristian Lyle Q.

1 AB Economics-Honors
September 16, 2022

INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

TERRESTRIAL BIOMES
Temperate Forests

Key Characteristics ● filled with evergreen and laurel trees

● lower and less dense than other kinds
of rainforests
● climate is more equable
● moderate temperature range and
● well-distributed annual rainfall

Name of Biome Valdivian Temperate Rainforest

Location on Earth West Coast of South America, in Argentina

and Chile.

Amount of Precipitation/Rainfall between 1,000 mm in the north and more than

6,000 mm in the southern part of the
ecoregion.

Representative Flora and Fauna Flora:

● Pehuén or Monkey-puzzle (Araucaria
araucana)
● Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides)
● Coigue (Nothofagus dombeyi)

Fauna:
● Kodkod (Leopardus guigna)
● Monito del monte (Dromiciops
gliroides)
● Pudú (Pudu puda)

Threats to this Biome ● human-set fires

● invasion of Pinus radiata and
Eucalyptus spp.
● overgrazing
● unsustainable logging or deforestation
 Tropical Rainforests

Key Characteristics ● very high annual rainfall

● high average temperatures,
nutrient-poor soil
● high levels of biodiversity (species
richness).

Name of Biome Amazon Rainforest

Location on Earth Northern South America, bounded by the

Guiana Highlands to the north, the Andes
Mountains to the west, the Brazilian central
plateau to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean
to the east.

Amount of Precipitation/Rainfall between 1,500 mm and 3,000 mm yearly

Representative Flora and Fauna Flora:

● Moonflower (Ipomoea alba)
● Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa)
● Guaraná (Paullinia cupana)

Fauna:
● Amazon river dolphin (Inia
geoffrensis)
● Capuchin monkeys (Cebinae)
● South American lungfish (Lepidosiren
paradoxa)
● Kambô frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor)

Threats to this Biome ● Illegal and Unmitigated Gold Mining

● Unchecked Agricultural Expansion
● Illegal Logging
● Fires

Savannas

Key Characteristics ● warm temperatures

● moderate rainfall
● occasional fires and seasonal droughts
● open tree canopy (i.e., scattered trees)
above a continuous tall grass
understory
● diverse animals

Name of Biome Serengeti Plains

Location on Earth North Tanzania and extends to southwestern
Kenya

Amount of Precipitation/Rainfall between 900 mm to 1000 mm yearly

Representative Flora and Fauna Flora:

● Moonflower (Ipomoea alba)
● Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa)
● Guaraná (Paullinia cupana)

Fauna:
● Blue wildebeests (Connochaetes
taurinus)
● African elephant (Loxodonta africana)
● African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer)

Threats to this Biome ● poaching of wildlife

● habitat destruction
● human-wildlife conflicts
● unsustainable development projects

Temperate Grasslands

Key Characteristics ● Vegetation structure that is dominated

by grasses
● Semi-arid climate
● Rainfall and soils insufficient to
support significant tree growth
● Most common at mid-latitudes and
near the interiors of continents

Name of Biome North American Short Grass Prairie

Location on Earth stretches from central Alberta to central

Texas, passing through southeast Wyoming
and eastern Colorado to the panhandle of
Nebraska and west Kansas through the high
plains in Oklahoma, Texas, and northern New
Mexico

Amount of Precipitation/Rainfall 320 mm yearly

Representative Flora and Fauna Flora:

● Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)
● Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides)
● Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis)

Fauna:
 ● Pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra
americana)
● Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia)
● Western diamondback rattlesnake
(Crotalus atrox)

Threats to this Biome ● Habitat Destruction

● Alien Species
● Fire Suppression and Neglect

Deserts

Key Characteristics ● extreme temperatures

● low humidity (air moisture)
● low annual rainfall
● overall moisture deficit (rate of
evaporation exceeds the rate of rainfall
on average)

Name of Biome The Great Sandy Desert

Location on Earth between the Kimberley and Pilbara regions in

the north of Western Australia.

Amount of Precipitation/Rainfall around 250 mm yearly

Representative Flora and Fauna Flora:

● Soft spinifex (Triodia pungens)
● Scattered desert oak (Allocasuarina
decaisneana)
● Native walnut (Owenia reticulata)

Fauna:
● Warrana/great desert skink (Liophilis
kintorei)
● Princess parrot (Polytelis alexandrae)
● Australian bustard (Aredeotis
australis)

Threats to this Biome ● Introduced predators

● Introduced herbivores
● Invasive species

Tundra

Key Characteristics ● Extremely cold climate

● Low biotic diversity
● Simple vegetation structure
 ● Limitation of drainage
● Short season of growth and
reproduction
● Energy and nutrients in the form of
dead organic material
● Large population oscillations

Name of Biome High Arctic Tundra

Location on Earth encompasses most of the northern Arctic

archipelago, from much of Baffin Island,
Somerset, and Prince of Wales Islands in the
south, through all islands northward to the
most northern island in Canada, Ellesmere
Island

Amount of Precipitation/Rainfall 100–200 mm yearly over most of the region

but increases to 400 mm in higher areas of
Baffin Island

Representative Flora and Fauna Flora:

● Purple saxifrage (Saxifraga
oppositifolia)
● Arctic poppy (Papaver radicatum)
● Bog sedges (Carex limosa)

Fauna:
● Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus
pearyi)
● Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)
● Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)

Threats to this Biome ● Climate change

● Air pollution
● Industrial activities (il, gas, and
mining industries)
● Invasive and migrating species
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