TERRESTRIAL

ECOSYSTEM
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM
• A terrestrial ecosystem is a land-based community of
organisms and interaction of biotic and abiotic components
in a given area.
• Biotic components are the living things found in an
ecosystem.
• Abiotic components are non-living things found in an
ecosystem.
• The type of terrestrial ecosystem found in a particular place
is dependent on the temperature range, the average amount
of precipitation received, soil type, and amount of light it
receives.
CLIMATE
• Climate is the average weather in an area over a long
period of time.
• Climate influences productivity of terrestrial
ecosystems.
• The reason is that temperature and precipitation
influence the rate of photosynthesis, the amount of leaf
area that can be supported, and the duration of growing
season.
A. TEMPERATURE
• The enzymes that make life possible work at
optimal efficiency only in a narrow range of
temperatures.
• Temperature falls from equator to the poles.
• Major temperature zones are based on latitude.
• TROPICAL
• TEMPERATE
• ARCTIC
B. MOISTURE
It is required for life as terrestrial organisms constantly lose
water through evaporation or transpiration.

1. Arid – hot and dry, having little to no rain at all

2. Semi-arid – partially dry, moderately low rainfall
3. Humid – marked by a relatively high level of water vapor
4. Semi-humid – intermediate between semi-arid and humid
C. SUNLIGHT – required for photosynthesis

D. WIND – it exacerbates the effects of

temperature and moisture.
BIOMES
It is a major, geographically extensive
ecosystem, structurally characterized by its
dominant life forms.
It is a type of ecosystem with similar life forms
and environmental conditions.
It can be affected by factors like plant types and
spacing, rainfall and humidity, soil type, latitude
and altitude.
TUNDRA
• Tundras are windswept expanses where nothing stands
taller than grasses and sedges.
• Average temperature is 25 degree celcius
• Water is held as ice, both on the surface and in the soil,
for much of a year
• Only during brief summer does the surface of the soil
thaw
• The growing season only lasts from May to August.
TUNDRA
• Another. hallmark for tundra is permafrost.
• Permafrost is a layer of permanently frozen subsoil and
partially decayed organic matter.
• It consists of soil, gravel, and sand usually bounded by
ice
PLANTS in Tundra
• Plants grow close together, low to the ground and remain
small.
• They have a wax type of fuzzy, hair coating on them which
helps to shield them from the cold and the wind.
• The coating also helps them to retain heat and moisture
and protects the seed to allow for reproduction.
• Since the top layer of soil thaws out and below it was the
permafrost, plants have a shallow root system.
• Tundra means treeless, plants in tundra are low growing
plants such as Arctic Moss, Arctic Willow, Caribou Moss,
Labrador Tea, Arctic Poppy, Cotton Grass, Lichens and Moss.
ANIMALS
• The animals tend to have thicker and warmer feathers
and fur.
• Their large bodies, shorter arms, legs, and tails helps
them retain their heat better and prevent heat loss.
• Birds have two coat of feathers to keep them warm.
• Some animals hibernate for the winter and others will
burrow.
• Insects spend their entire life buried in soil, rocks, plants
which acts as their shelter.
ANIMALS
• The largest and most dangerous animal that lives in the Tundra is the
Polar bear.
• Polar bear loves to eat fresh, fatty meat.
• The stomach of an adult polar bear can store 68 kilos of food.
• Other animals tend to have special adaptations to survive.
• Some animals are adapted to the climate by breeding and raising their
young in the summer.
• Animals in the Tundra includes Polar bear, Arctic Fox, Ermine and
Snowy owl and Ptarmigans
TAIGA
• A forest of cold, sub artic region
• It lies between the tundra of the north and temperate forest to the
south
• The soil beneath the taiga often contains permafrost. In other areas, a
layer of bedrock lies beneath the soil
• Both permafrost and rock prevent water from draining from the top
layers
Plants and Fungi
• Taigas are thick forest. Coniferous trees such as spruce, pine and fir
are common
• Coniferous trees have needles instead of broad leaves
• Conifers never lose their needles. Their needles contain very little sap.
• Conifers have adapted to survive the long, cold winter and short
summer of taiga. Their dark color and triangle-shaped sides help
them catch and absorb as much of the sun’s light as possible
• Instead of shrubs and flowers, mosses, lichens, and mushrooms
covers the floor of taiga.
Animals in Taiga
• Many kinds of animals live in Taiga and animals have well-adapted to
the cold.
• Birds native to taiga usually migrate south during freezing winter.
• Small animals such as rodents, lives close to the floor. Many birds of
prey, such as owl and eagles, hunt these animal from trees of taiga
• Moose deer is able to live in taiga
• Bears and lynx are fairly common. Siberian tiger is a native taiga
species.
Tropical Rainforest
• Most diverse biome on earth. It is unique in both structure and
species diversity
• Equatorial climate has consistent warm, humid temperature,
abundant precipitation and heavy rainfall averaging 55-q60 inches per
year.
• It rain virtually everyday of the year, only briefly reducing in moisture
for a short season
• Temperature in tropical rainforest exceeds 93-97 degrees Fahrenheit
and usually does not drop below 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tropical rainforest
• Contains more plant and animal life than anywhere else on the
planet.
• Many trees have very tall, straight trunks that branch out 100 feet or
more.
TEMPERATE FOREST
• This biome is found throughout mid-latitude regions.
• Temperature ranges between -30 degrees Celsius and 30
degrees Celsius and drop to below freezing on an annual
basis.
• These are characterized as regions with levels of
precipitation, humidity, and a variety of deciduous trees.
• Deciduous trees are the dominant plant in this are. They
are leaves that lose their leaves in winter.
PLANTS
• Due to abundant rainfall and thick soil humus, temperate
forests are able to support a wide variety of plant life and
vegetation.
Forest canopy tier: Maple Trees, Walnut Trees, birch trees
Small Tree tier: Dogwoods, redbuds, shadbush
Shrub tier: Azaleas, mountain laurel, huckleberries
Herb tier: Blue bead lily, Indian cucumber, wild
sarsaparilla
Floor tier: Lichens and mosses
PLANTS ADAPTATION
Deciduous trees are trees that their leaves in approach to cold
or dry season and later grow new leaves. These trees have
broad leaves.
• In summer, the broad leaves help capture sunlight need to
make food through photosynthesis
• As temperature drop, the tree cuts of the supple of water to
the leaves and seals off the area between leaf stem and trunk.
• In winter, it is too cold for the trees to protect their leaves
from freezing, so they simply loose them.
• The warmer temperatures of spring, signal the trees that they
can grow and restart the cycle.
ANIMALS
• The hollows and branches of trees provide a habitat for
many bird species which feed on the trees seeds.
• Warm temperatures and wet climate makes an
excellent habitat for many reptile and amphibian
species.
• Some camouflaged to imitate the dead decaying leaves
that coat the ground.
• Tree leaves provide food for the caterpillars of moths
and butterflies, and cicadas spend long periods of their
lives burrowed underground.
ANIMALS ADAPTATION
• Migration and Hibernation are two adaptations used by
the animals in this biome.
• A great variety of birds migrate to warmer places
where they can find food more easily.
• Some mammals hibernate during cold winter months.
Hibernate – is an inactive, sleeplike state that some
animals enter during the winter.
• Squirrels, chipmunks, and some jays often store large
supplies of food in the ground, under fallen leaves, or
in tree hollows.
Grassland
• Grassland biome are large,rolling terrains of grasses, flowers and
herbs. There are two types of grasslands;one which is too humid and
very wet and the other is drier and hotter depending on the latitudes.
DESERT
• Deserts are areas where dry air descends and are too
dry to support most life forms.
• Cloudless skies ensure a merciless noonday sun and
cold nights.
• Desert plants and animals must be obsessive about
water retention.
PLANTS
• Thick, waxy skin to reduce loss of water
and to reflect heat.
• Large, fleshy stems to store water.
• Thorns and thin, spiky or glossy leaves
to reduce water loss.
• Spikes protect cacti from animals
wishing to use stored water.
• Deep roots to tap groundwater.
• Long shallow roots which spread over a
wide area.
• Plants lie dormant for years until rain
falls.
 ANIMALS
• Long eye lashes, hairy ears and closing nostrils help
to keep out sand.
• Thick eyebrows which stand out and shade eyes
from the sun.
• Wide feet so they don’t sink in the sand.
• They can go without water for over a week because
they can drink gallons in one go.
• They can go months without food – they store fat in
their humps.
• Body temperature can change to avoid losing water
through sweating.
• They are well camouflaged.
• Thick fur helps to keep them warm at night
SAVANNA
• Is a rolling grassland scattered with shrubs and isolated
trees, which can be found between a tropical
rainforest and desert biome.
• Not enough rain falls on a savanna to support forests.
• They are known as tropical grasslands that are found
in a wide band on either side of the equator on the
edges of tropical rainforests.
• They have warm temperature year round
PLANTS
• In trees, most savanna adaptations are drought – long
tap roots to reach the deep water table, thick bark for
resistance to annual fires (thus palms are prominent in
many areas.
• In grasses, most adaptations are against grazing—
siliceous spicules to deter herbivores, growth from base
of the plant rather than its tip to avoid damage to
growing tissue.
• Many plants have vegetative storage organs-bulbs and
corms, for example—to make it through the dry (non-
growing) season
ANIMALS
• Many animals have effective location for long-distance
migrations.
• Savannas are perfect for birds of prey, with wide open spaces
for hunting with their long-range vision and trees for perches
and nest sites.
• Some animals have developed adaptations that allow them
any kind of plants in this biome.
• Specializing – the development of animals to eat around
spines or thick covering that allows them to eat different
kinds of plants.