Biome
Global Distribution
Mean temperature and precipitation
Geology and soil characteristics
Tropical Rain Forest
South America, South East Asia, Central Africa, Near the equator
Rainfall- 50260 inches/year Below 94 degrees F
Nutrient poor soil, shallow. Forest
Deciduous Forest
In north America, Europe, Japan, Australia
50 degrees F, 30-60 inches/year
Nutrient rich, forest like
Taiga/Boreal Forest
Northern hemisphere
Cold climate, 50 cm/year
- moist ground - coniferous trees
Characteristic plants and animals (focus on evolutionary adaptations) - prop root help hold us trees in shallow soil - toucans have an apatite for nuts and break through them with beak Black bear hibernates to conserve energy and allows animals to eat food Lose their leaves, water doesnt transpire - coniferous trees = shaped like cones, adapted to cold winters - animals are adapted by camouflage and able to navigate
Human uses- How do we use its resources - medicines - meat - hide
Human Impacts Special characteristics e.g. Fire, frozen
Logging, colonization, mining.
- trees are so densely packed so rain can take up to 10 mins to reach ground
- firewood, living areas, agriculture
- we are destroying the forests and we use the land for the agriculture
- one of the most colonized biomes.
- humans use it for oil, gas, lumber
- greenhouse gases- global warming melt - high demand for fossil fuels found in here
- subartctic areas - worlds largest land biome - swampy moist forest
Savannah
Africa, North Australia
20-30 C, 10 to 30 inches/year
- nutrient okay (grass build up) - grass (lion king)
in snow - grasses adapt to weather discrepancies - mongoose- fur blends in with surrounding, digging - deer, chipmunks, birds, escape heat by burrowing, safe during fires - the trees leaves resist water loss - travel in big herds and are quick - plants are resistant to fire (thick bark) - plants absorb and store water - small animals, big ears release heat - only small shrubs- protect against winds
Chaparral
Southern California, Chile, Africa
64 degrees F 10-40 inches/year
- nutrient averagelots of minerals - mountainous
manipulated grassy areas for cattle and farmland - cutting down forests - prevent against mudslides
- over cutting of trees
- fires started, spread, dry
- build homes in this biome, disrupts biome fluidness
- fires are frequent - protect against erosions
- Midwestern Temperate Grassland/Prairie (breadbasket)
- 25-75 cm - Seasonal variations
- nutrient rich soil (now used for corn fields)
- corn fields, agriculture
- hunting animals - fire prone - over farming, mort of them are desert/agriculture fields - building and taking water form biome/driving over soils - oil spills kill them - global warming - found on every continent
Desert
Tundra
- Australia, Africa, mid USA, south America, India subcontinent - Antarctica, Arctic Circles
- warm/cold - less than 25cm of rain/year
- nutrient poor soil - terrain varies - sandy/icy
- oils and mineral source, scorpions
- 16-45 F degrees - 6-10
- permafrost on the soil makes for a short
- humans use for oil
- super deadly - so cold
inches/rain
growing season - lack of light = no sun for growing
- animals small ears retain heat, low surface area to volume - all adaptations keep them warm - coral animals capture food at night - sea grasses/algaeliving in coral, coral gets cleaned/food, algae gets a home - otters are keystone species and they control sea urchins - kelp grips on the rocks with holdfast - seaweed has air sacs to float to top to use photosynthesis - animal: turtles are able to withstain with - food, medicine and recreational activities
(fossil fuels) melting ice
Coral Reefs
- warm - RAIN N/A shallow water, - greater than Australia 21 C
- N/A - varies depending on salt in water
- overfishing, disease, ocean dumping, oil spills, pollution, narrow tolerance global warming
- similar relationships like rain forest
Kelp Forests
- California, coastal areas
- NA 50-65F
- salinity 30-55 ppt
- harvest kelp
- over harvest kelp, dont follow regulation - global warming with the gases and they need COLD water - pollution, overfishing, global warming - volcanoes can create new landmasses
Open Ocean
- everywhere in the oceans
- varies depending on ocean
- salinity average is 3.5%
- fishing, transport mining
collapsible lungs Rocky Intertidal - rocky coasts between high/low tide - vary with location - salinity is higher than ocean, salt is left on
Estuary Freshwater (lakes, ponds) Estuary
