CE SCI 1

BIOMES
BIOMES
The earth’s major communities are called biomes.
Biomes
- are a broad, vegetative subdivision of some biogeographic real,
shaped by climate, topography, and the composition of regional units.
- It is characterized by a given assemblage of plants and animals that
interact with each other within a given natural environmental setting.
Determines the distribution of species of plants and animal:
1. global climate patterns
2. human activities
3. movements of continents
4. plants and animal relationships and evolution and
migration
Distribution of Biomes Around the World
THE FOUR MAJOR BIOMES
 I. Terrestrial Biomes
The terrestrial climax vegetation grows and persists
because of the climate and the soil.
Climate – average weather condition, determined after a long
period of monitoring, such as 30 years.
The principal factors that determine climate
are temperature and precipitation.
Climate varies according to distance from the equator called
latitude, and also with height above sea level,
called altitude.
 A. Deserts
• Have temperature extremes, reaching 49°C in
tropical deserts (Postlethwait and Hopson, 1992).
• Evaporation always exceeds precipitation, which
is less than 25 cm/year (Enger and Smith, 1995)
• Only shrubs and succulents thrive in deserts
• Desert animals are those that are efficient in
storing water or consume very little of it and
have adapted the scorching daytime and freezing
nighttime temperatures
• Occupy more than a third of the earth’s surface
between 30°N and 30°S
 Types of Deserts
1. Tropical Desert
- compose 1/5 of the world’s
deserts
- have hard, rocky-sandy
surfaces with very few plants
and where the wind is strong
and temperature is hot all year
Examples:
Southern Sahara in West Central
Africa Sahara Desert
Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan
Desert in Southern North
America
 Types of Deserts
2. Temperate Desert
- have hot summer and
cool winter days

Examples:
Mojave Desert in Southern
California – can support
some bushes such as
creosote and sagurao Mojave Desert
 Types of Deserts

3. Cold Desert
- characterized by warm
to hot summers and cold
winters (Stilling, 1996)

Example:
Gobi Desert in South
Siberia
Gobi Desert
 B. Grasslands
Grasslands
- biomes where precipitation, which
falls in widely irregular amounts, is
enough to sustain more vegetation
than in deserts, but not enough to
sustain a forest
- grasses are dominant, 60-70% of
vegetation (Enger and Smith, 1995)
although sometimes there are a few
trees.
- this biome has the richest growing
substrate because decomposition is
slow and soil nutrients are retained
for long periods.
 Types of Grasslands
1. Tropical Grasslands
- are known to have the greatest
amount of precipitation at
50-150 cm/year (Enger and
Smith, 1995) and higher
temperatures
Savanna – also savannah
- tropical grassland with a scattering
of shrubs and small and large trees
- may be found in parts of South
Africa, South America and Australia
where grasslands may have
occasional trees
- although dry during the cool
season, the grassland experiences
thunderstorms and abundant rains
during the warm season
- short and tall grasses dominate the
landscape, interspersed with sedges
and a few small deciduous and
thorny shrubs or trees
 Types of Grasslands
2. Temperate Grasslands Pampas – vast treeless plains of
- treeless landscapes Central Argentina, which rise, almost
found in the large interior imperceptibly, from the Atlantic
areas of most continents, Coast to the Andes Mountains
such as in the US and
Canada where they are
either called:
pastures – short grass
prairies – tall grass
Pampas – South America
Veldt – South Africa
Steppes – Central Europe to
Prairies
Siberia
 Types of Grasslands
Tundras
3. Polar Grasslands - comprise the region in the northern
hemisphere just below the arctic ice, as
- special kind of biome the biomes between the region of
- also known as tundras permanent ice and the northern forest
- temperature range from 5°C in
midsummer to -32°C in midwinter (Starr
and Taggar, 1987)
- precipitation is usually less than 20
cm/year and winters can be very long
as 10 months (Enger and Smith, 1995)
- the distinguishing feature of a tundra
is the shallow soil, generally just a few
inches, below which is frozen soil called
permafrost
- the most fragile ecosystem
 II. Freshwater Environment
- Salinity is less than 0.5 ppt (parts per thousand)
Classification of Freshwater Environment:

A. LENTIC SYSTEM – “standing”

1. Lakes – inland depressions that may vary in size from an
acre to several thousands of sq. km. with depths
ranging from a few to over 1500 meters.
Natural lakes - result from glaciation, uplifting from the sea or
volcanic activity
2. Ponds – small shallow bodies of water where rooted
vegetation grows over most of the bottom
 Different Zones of Lakes and
Ponds
1. Littoral Zone
- topmost zone near the shore of a lake or pond
- warmest since it is shallow and can absorb more of the
sun’s heat
- sustains fairly diverse community, which can include
several species of algae, rooted and floating aquatic plants,
grazing snails, clams, insects, fishes, amphibians
2. Limnetic Zone
- near-surface open water surrounded by the littoral zone
- well-lighted and dominated by plankton
 Different Zones of Lakes and
Ponds
3. Profundal Zone
- deep-water part of the lake/pond
- much colder and denser than the two other
- the fauna are heterotrophs, meaning that they eat dead
organisms and use oxygen for cellular respiration
Thermocline – narrow zone between the top and bottom
layers of lakes/ponds where the temperature of the water
changes rapidly.
Benthic Zone - bottom of the lake
- region of decomposition
Different Zones of Lakes and
Ponds
 II. Freshwater Environment
B. LOTIC SYSTEM – “running”
Flowing water bodies start from geographically
elevated areas and travel towards the sea.
springs, seepage areas, or outlets of ponds and lakes

move on as waterfall and rapids

continue as rivers, with wide deep channels deltas

oceans and seas may become wetland and estuaries

 Types of Lotic System
1. Wetlands
- areas of standing water that support aquatic plants
- areas of or above ground level that contain water
Examples: bogs, marshes, swamps
2. Streams
- flow according to the contour of the land and may flood
and ebb depending on the amount of precipitation in the
sea
- velocity of streams varies from swift in ripples, to slow in
pools
- a fast stream, which may have a velocity of 50 cm/sec or
higher would remove all particles with diameters of less
than 5 mm, thus leaving a stony bottom
 III. Marine Ecosystem
Three quarter of the Earth is covered by water, of which 97% is seawater.
1. Sea
- Characterized by varying depths, the deepest being the Marianas
Trench and the second deepest being the Mindanao Trench, east of
Northeast Mindanao
- It circulates continuously and is dominated by waves, tides, and
currents
- Salinity, at 35 ppt generally (equivalent to 19 ppt chlorinity), is caused
by salts mainly in the form of sodium chloride, and magnesium
calcium, potassium and sulfur
2. Oceans
- Largest of all the ecosystems, oceans are the very large bodies of water
that dominate the earth’s surface
Different Zones of Ocean Regions
a. Intertidal Zone
- Where ocean meets the land
- Sometimes it is submerged and at other times exposed, as
waves and tides come in and out
In areas submerged during high tide:
there is diverse array of algae and small animals such as
herbivorous snails, crabs, sea, stars, and small fishes.
In areas exposed during the lowest tides:
many invertebrates, fishes, and seaweed can be found.
Fauna – includes worms, clams, predatory crustaceans,
crabs, and shore birds
Different Zones of Ocean Regions
b. Pelagic Zone
- Includes water further from the land; basically the open ocean
- Generally cold; there is thermal stratification
Flora – includes surface seaweeds
Fauna – include many species of fish and some mammals
such as whales and dolphins
c. Benthic Zone
- Area below the pelagic zone but does not include the very deepest
parts of the ocean
- Bottom of the zone consists of sand, silt and/or dead organisms
- Temperature decreases as depth increases toward the abyssal zone,
since light cannot penetrate through the deeper water
Flora – primarily seaweeds
Fauna – all sorts of bacteria, fungi, sponges, sea anemones, worm,
fishes, sea stars
Different Zones of Ocean Regions
d. Abyssal Zone
- Deepest part of the ocean
- Water here is very cold (around 3°C), highly pressured,
high in oxygen content but low in nutritional content
- Supports many species of invertebrates and fishes
3. Coral Reefs
- Widely distributed in warm shallow waters
- Found as barriers along continents, fringing islands, and
atolls
- Corals are the dominant organisms in coral reefs
Fauna – several species of microorganisms, invertebrates,
fishes, sea urchins, octopuses, sea stars
Different Zones of Ocean Regions
 Marine coastal areas are very important globally.
Over half of the present world population live in this zone and
utilize marine resources, particularly in estuaries,
coral reefs, and mangroves (O’Riordan, 2000).
The water above the continental shelves are the most
important to man because although it composes only 10% of
the oceanic water, it provides 90% of the fishery harvest
(Botkin and Keller, 1995).

The salinity gradient increases with depth, thus the surface

water is less salty, more so when precipitation dilutes it,
as in high latitudes.
 IV. Estuarine
- Brackishwater bodies
- Found in wetlands, mouths of rivers or streams, and bays,
where there is a mixing of seawater and freshwater
- Some authors consider this as an ecotone between marine
and freshwater ecosystems
- Because the freshwater flow or seepage that contributes to
this habitat carries loads of sediments and nutrients the
environment is always rich and allows plankton, aquatic
plants and detritivores to thrive
Estuaries – also known as nursery grounds for shrimps and
other marine animals
The average salinity in estuaries varies according to location,
comparative strengths of marine and fresh tidal inflow,
and season.
 CESci 1
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
 Biogeochemical Cycles
Elements and inorganic compounds that sustain life tend to
circulate in the earth’s bioshere in regular paths from the
atmosphere to the lithosphere (soil) or hydrosphere
(water) into living things and then into those environments.
These are called biogeochemical cycles.
Thus, all the elements that function in animals or plants
follow some sort of cyclic plants.
Biogeochemical cycle emphasizes the global
interconnectedness of organisms (bio) and the rest of the
earth (geo). Different organisms, different habitats, and
different parts of the globe affect to be another through
the movement of these essential chemical events.
 The Hydrologic Cycle
Hydrological cycle or water cycle
collects, purifies, and distributes the
earth’s fixed supply of water.
Water passes through all of the great
spheres, carrying with it various
mineral substances, some of them
important nutrients for plants
animals. The same is true for
pollutants.
The main processes in this water
recycling and purifying are:
evaporation
condensation
transpiration
precipitation
runoff
infiltration
percolation The Hydrologic Cycle
seepage
 The Hydrologic Cycle
Processes involve in water cycle:
1. Evaporation – conversion of water to water vapor
2. Condensation – conversion of water vapor to droplets of
liquid water
3. Precipitation – water condenses and returns to earth into
many forms:
– Rain – precipitation in the form of liquid drops
– Snow – condensation occurs in rising air that has
sub-freezing temperature
– Sleet – occurs in freezing temperature; frozen
rain
– Glaze – freezing rain
– Rime – freezing fog
 The Hydrologic Cycle
4. Transpiration – process which water, after being absorbed
by the root system of plants and passing through their
living structure, evaporates into the atmosphere as water
vapor.
5. Runoff – excess water that ultimately reaches the stream
channels
6. Infiltration – downward movement of water into the soil
through the soil surface
7. Percolation – downward movement of water within the
soil
8. Seepage – lateral movement of water within the soil
 2. Carbon – Oxygen Cycle
Absence of plant life which recycles carbon dioxide into
oxygen eventually results in harmful air quality.

The Carbon – Oxygen Cycle

Carbon dioxide in the air is When CO2 dissolves, some of it
taken up by plants and combine with water to form
used in photosynthesis. As carbonic acid. Bicarbonates
organic compounds are and carbonates may, in turn,
used by the plants be formed.
themselves, some carbon Materials that becomes
dioxide is returned to the incorporated in sediments
environment, but mush of probably returns to the
the carbon is retained in system slowly, but may be
the plants bodies. brought back into
Decomposers act on the dead circulation by geological
bodies of plants and processes such as volcanic
animals when they die and activities.
obtain the carbon from Carbon can also be released
those organisms. through burning of fossil
fuels.
 3. The Nitrogen Cycle
Plants use nitrogen in the production of proteins
and many other compounds.

Although the large supply of nitrogen in the air is not directly

available to plants, its presence facilitates
the global cycling of the element.
Most plants must take in nitrogen as
ammonia or nitrate.

Major sources of nitrogen-containing materials are wastes of

organisms and decomposition products
of dead animals and plants.
The Nitrogen Cycle
 4. Phosphorus Cycle
Unlike the carbon and nitrogen cycles, the phosphorus cycle
does not involve the atmosphere.
Natural processes such as weathering and erosion of rocks bring phosphate
minerals (found in rocks) into rivers that empty these into the sea
where marine algae absorb them.
From there, the food chain in the sea passes these to marine birds which
eventually drop the phosphorus-rich deposits (“guano”) on land. Some
of these are mined in certain areas
as fertilizers.
Phosphates which remain in the sea become sediments except if geological
events such as tsunamis raise these above sea level.
However, most soils contain only small amounts of phosphorus because
phosphate compounds are fairly insoluble in water and are found only
in certain kinds of rocks.
The Phosphorus Cycle
 CESci 1
Ecological Succession
 Ecological Succession
• term developed by botanists to describe the
change in structure of a community of
different specie or ecosystem.
Types of Ecological Succession
 Primary Succession
• occurs in essentially lifeless areas—regions
in which the soil is incapable of sustaining
life as a result of such factors as lava flows,
newly formed sand dunes, or rocks left from
a retreating glacier.
 Primary Succession
Begins in barren areas, such as on bare rock exposed by a
retreating glacier. The first inhabitants are lichens or
plants—those that can survive in such an environment.
Over hundreds of years these “pioneer species” convert the
rock into soil that can support simple plants such as grasses.
These grasses further modify the soil, which is then
colonized by other types of plants. Each successive stage
modifies the habitat by altering the amount of shade and
the composition of the soil. The final stage of succession is a
climax community, which is a very stable stage that can
endure for hundreds of years.
 Primary Succession
1. Nudation
2. Invasion
1. Dispersal or migration
2. Ecesis
3. Aggregation
3. Competition and Reaction
4. Stabilization or climax
 Secondary Succession
• occurs in areas where a community that
previously existed has been removed; it is
typified by smaller-scale disturbances that do
not eliminate all life and nutrients from the
environment.
 Secondary Succession
F ollows a major disturbance, such as a fire or a
flood. The stages of secondary succession are
similar to those of primary succession;
however, primary succession always begins on
a barren surface, whereas secondary
succession begins in environments that
already possess soil. In addition, through a
process called old-field succession, farmland
that has been abandoned may undergo
secondary succession.
 Steps of Secondary Succession
An example of Secondary Succession by stages:

1. A stable deciduous forest community.

2. A disturbance, such as a fire, starts.
3. The fire destroys the vegetation.
4. The fire leaves behind empty, but not destroyed soil.
5. Grasses and other herbaceous plants grow back first.
6. Small bushes and trees begin to colonize the public area.
7. Fast-growing evergreen trees and bamboo trees develop to their fullest,
while shade-tolerant trees develop in the understory.
8. The short-lived and shade-intolerant evergreen trees die as the larger
deciduous trees overtop them. The ecosystem is now back to a similar
state to where it began.
Thank you and God bless you!