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BIOMES
Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn about the characteristics of different biomes. Also, the
marine environment and freshwater ecosystem characteristics will be included in the
discussions. At the end, overall patterns of human disturbance of world biomes are presented.
Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 1 (Syllabus)
Acquire high level of awareness about the environment and its significance.
Topic Outcome
State the characteristics of some major terrestrial biomes as well as the factors that
determine their distribution.
Biomes
- General type of communities with similar climate conditions, growth patterns, and vegetation
types.
Terrestrial Biomes
- Characteristics of biological communities vary with temperature, precipitation, and latitude.
- Hot, humid regions generally have greater biological productivity than cold or dry regions.
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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 1: Ecological Concepts
- Climate graphs are used to describe and compare precipitation and temperature in different
biomes.
- Temperature and precipitation are the most important determinants in biome distribution on
land.
- If the general temperature range and precipitation level is known, the kind of biological
community likely to occur there can be predicted in the absence of human disturbance.
- Vertical zonation occurs as vegetation type change rapidly from warm and dry to cold and wet
as you go up a mountain.
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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
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The soil of these tropical moist forest types tends to be old, thin, acidic, and nutrient-poor, yet an
enormous number of species can be present. For example, it has been estimated that there are millions
of insect species in the canopy of tropical rain-forests. And it is believed that one-half to two-thirds of
all species of terrestrial plants and insects live in tropical forests.
Source: (Giles)
CLOUD FOREST
Tropical montane cloud forest at about 2000 meters elevation near Tandayapa, in Pichincha Province, Ecuador, in
mid-March (Giles).
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Desert
- Occur where precipitation is rare and unpredictable, usually with less than 30 cm of rain per
year.
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- Their vegetation is sparse, but it can be surprisingly diverse, and most desert plants and animals
are highly adapted to survive long droughts and extreme heat, and many can survive extreme
cold.
- Desert is more vulnerable, sparse, slow-growing vegetation is quickly damaged by off-road
vehicles.
- Desert soils recover slowly.
- Desert is also vulnerable to overgrazing.
- In Africa’s vast Sahel (southern edge of the Sahara Desert), livestock are destroying much of the
plant cover. Bare, dry soil becomes drifting sand, and restabilization is extremely difficult.
Temperate Grasslands
- As in tropical latitudes, temperate (mid-latitude) grasslands occur where there is enough rain to
support abundant grass but not enough for forests.
- Most grassland is a complex, diverse mix of grasses and flowering herbaceous plants, generally
known as forbs.
- Deep roots help plants in temperate grasslands and savannas survive drought, fire, and extreme
heat and cold. These roots, together with an annual winter accumulation of dead leaves on the
surface, produce thick, organic-rich soils in temperate grasslands.
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Temperate Shrublands
- Evergreen shrubs with small, leathery, sclerophyllous (hard, waxy) leaves form dense thickets.
- Scrub oaks, drought-resistant pines, or other small trees often cluster in sheltered valleys.
Periodic fires burn fiercely in this fuel-rich plant assemblage and are a major factor in plant
succession.
- In California, this landscape is called chaparral, Spanish for “thicket”.
- These areas are inhabited by drought-tolerant animals such as jackrabbits, kangaroo rats, mule
deer, chipmunks, lizards, and many bird species.
- Very similar landscapes are found along the Mediterranean coast as well as southwestern
Australia, central Chile, and South Africa.
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Temperate Forests
Deciduous Forests
- Broadleaf forests occur throughout the world where rainfall is plentiful.
- In mid latitudes, these forests are deciduous and lose their leaves in winter.
- At lower latitudes, broadleaf forests may be evergreen or drought-deciduous.
- Can re-grow quickly because they occupy moist, moderate climates.
-
Coniferous Forests
- Grow in a wide range of temperature and moisture conditions.
- Often they occur where moisture is limited: in cold climates, moisture is unavailable (frozen) in
winter; hot climates may have seasonal drought; sandy soils hold little moisture, and they are
often occupied by conifers.
- Provide most wood products in North America.
- Coniferous forests of the Pacific coast grow in extremely wet conditions. The wettest coastal
forests are known as temperate rainforest, a cool, rainy forest often enshrouded in fog.
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Tundra
- A treeless landscape that occurs at high latitudes or on mountaintops, has a growing season of
only two or three months, and it may have frost any month of the year.
- A variant of grasslands because it has no trees
- Very cold desert because water is unavailable (frozen) most of the year.
Arctic Tundra
- An expansive biome that has low productivity because it has a short growing season.
During midsummer, 24-hour sunshine supports a burst of plant growth and an
explosion of insect life.
Alpine Tundra
- Occurring on a near mountain top, has environmental conditions and vegetation similar
to arctic tundra. These areas have a short, intense growing season. Many alpine tundra
plants also have deep pigmentation and leathery leaves to protect against the strong
ultraviolet light in the thin mountain atmosphere.
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Source: (Rinkesh)
ALPINE TUNDRA
Marine Ecosystem
- Vary mainly with depth, temperature, and salinity.
- Coral reefs and estuaries are among the world’s most productive and diverse ecosystem.
- Vertical stratification is a key feature of aquatic ecosystems, mainly because light decreases
rapidly with depth, and communities below the photic zone (light zone, often reaching about 20
m deep) must rely on energy sources other than photosynthesis to persist. Temperature also
decreases with depth.
- Deep ocean species often grow slowly in part because metabolism is reduced in cold conditions.
- Temperature also affects the amount of oxygen and other elements that can be absorbed in
water.
- Phytoplankton are microscopic floating algae that carry on photosynthesis in pelagic
ecosystem
- Zooplanktons are small, weakly swimming animals that feed on phytoplankton.
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Coastal Zones
Coral Reefs – are among the best-known marine ecosystems because of their extraordinary biological
productivity and their diverse and beautiful organisms.
Source: (Madaan)
CORAL REEFS
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Mangroves – are trees that grow in salt water. They occur along calm, shallow, tropical coastlines
around the world. Mangrove forests or swamps help stabilize shorelines, and they are also critical
nurseries for fish, shrimp, and other commercial species.
Source: (Larsen)
MANGROVE
Estuaries – are bays where rivers empty into the sea, mixing fresh water with salt water.
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Salt marshes – shallow wetlands flooded regularly or occasionally with seawater, occur on shallow
coastlines, including estuaries.
Tide Pools – are depressions in a rocky shoreline that are flooded at high tide but retain some water at
low tide. These areas remain rocky where wave action prevents most plant growth or sediment (mud)
accumulation.
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Barrier Islands – are low, narrow, sandy islands that form to parallel to a coastline. They occur where the
continental shelf is shallow and rivers or coastal currents provide a steady source of sediments.
Freshwater Ecosystems
- Vary according to depth and light penetration, which control size and types of vegetation.
- Often small but they are disproportionately important in biodiversity
Freshwater Lakes
Vertical Zones
Benthos – the bottom, occupied by a variety of snails, burrowing worms, fish and other
organisms.
Epilimnion – a warmer upper layer that is mixed by wind and warmed by the sun.
Hypolimnion – below the epilimnion. A colder, deeper layer that is not mixed.
Thermocline – Sharp temperature boundary.
Mesolimnion – below thermocline, the water is much colder.
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Wetlands
- Shallow ecosystems in which the land surface is saturated or submerged at least part of the
year.
- Have vegetation that is adapted to grow under saturated conditions.
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Swamps
- Also known as wooded wetlands
- Wetlands with trees.
Marshes
- Wetlands without trees.
Bogs
- Areas of saturated ground, and usually the ground are composed of deep layers of
accumulated, undecayed vegetation known as peat.
Fens
- Similar to bogs except that they are mainly fed by groundwater, so that they have mineral-rich
water and specially adapted plant species.
Human Disturbance
- Humans have become dominant organisms over most of the earth, damaging or disturbing
more than half of the world’s terrestrial ecosystems to some extent.
- By some estimates, humans preempt about 40 percent of the net terrestrial primary
productivity of the biosphere either by consuming it directly, by interfering with its production
or use, or by altering the species composition or physical processes of human-dominated
ecosystems.
- Conversion of natural habitat to human uses is the largest single cause of biodiversity losses.
- Researchers from the environmental group Conservation International have attempted to map
the extent of human disturbance of the natural world. See below figure.
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- The greatest impacts have been in Europe, parts of Asia, North and Central America, and
islands such as Madagascar, New Zealand, Java, Sumatra, and those in the Caribbean.
References:
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https://www.thoughtco.com/land-biomes-tundra-373498
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Story Maps: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bb58b3d541fd49fea03b966a09a933ae
Creative Commons Zero (CC0). (n.d.). Chaparral, Vegetation, Shrubland, Ecosystem. Retrieved July 27,
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barrier-islands-florida
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