WORLD’S

BIOMES
WEATHER
AND
CLIMATE
WHAT IS A BIOME?

Defined as “the world’s major communities , classified according to

the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of
organisms to that particular environment” (Campbell 1996)

***2 Fundamental classification:

1. Terrestrial biome
2. Aquatic biome
WEATHER
AND
Terrestrial BIOME
CLIMATE

1.DESERT
2.CHAPPARAL
3.TUNDRA
4.TAIGA(Coniferous Forest)
5.TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST
6.TROPICAL RAINFOREST
7.GRASSLAND
8.SWAMP
9.CAVE
Desert
Desert
Driest terrestrial biome: low and unpredictable rainfall (less
than 30 cm/year, some none in decades!)
High temperature fluctuations
Descending dry airmasses: 30 olatitude
Deep rooted, water storing plants, CAM metabolism
Animal adapted by behavior, excretory systems

#Covers about 1/5 of the earth’s surface.

Chapparal
Chaparral
Semiarid regions, rainfall like wet desert, but additional
moisture from fog
Dense spiny shrubs, tough evergreens
Midlatitude areas close to cold oceans
Lots of annual plants
Periodic firestorms necessary to make up for lost
compostation, facilitate germination
Animals: grazers, fruit eating birds, rodents, lizards
#The smallest biome.
Tundra
Tundra
Long bitter winter, long 24 hr photoperiod during growing
season, arctic winter
Moisture good but no trees due to:
Permafrost preventing root growth
Animals adapted by thick coats
Grazing migratory herds

#Coldest biome that was formed by a

retreating glacier.
Taiga (Coniferous Forest)
Taiga
Cone bearing evergreens
Long cold winters, short wet summers
Most precipitation in form of snow
Large migrating grazing animals like moose, elk deer

#World’s largest terrestrial biome.

Tropical Rain Forest
Tropical Rainforest
Around equator
Temperature is warm, rainfall 200-400 cm/year
Photoperiod: 10-12 hr/ year round
No/little seasonal change
Most complex terrestrial biome, many varieties of
vegetation (300 species of trees), highest variety of
species
Highest amount of trophic levels
Poor soil: rapid recycling rather than accumulation
Tropical Dry Forest
Tropical Dry Forest
Similar to rain forest but less rain
Dryer forests in Africa and South America
Savannah
Savannas
Temp. warm, rainfall 30-50 cm year
Main vegetation: grasses
Large herbivores and their predators
Seasonal drought, fires
Temperate Forest
(deciduous/broadleaf)
Temperate Forests
Midlatitude regions
Seasons, rainfall 200 cm/year
Growing season 5-6 month
Less diversity than rainforest, more open
High rates of decomposition, but low cycling of nutrients,
allows for thick layer of rich soil
Many invertebrates (leaf litter), many bird, rodent, deer
species
Good regeneration from human impact
Temperate Grassland
Temperate Grassland
Similar to savanna but has cold winter
North American Prairie
WEATHER
AND
CLIMATE
AQUATIC BIOME

1. PONDS
2. LAKES
3. RIVERS & STREAMS
4. WETLANDS
5. OCEANS
6. REEF
7. ESTUARIES
Freshwater Ecosystems
The types of organisms in an aquatic
ecosystem are mainly determined by the
water’s salinity. As a result, aquatic
ecosystems are divided into freshwater and
marine ecosystems.
Freshwater ecosystems include ponds, lakes,
streams, rivers, and wetlands.
Wetlands are areas of land that are
periodically under water or whose soil
contains a great deal of moisture.
A Lake Ecosystem
Freshwater Wetlands
•Freshwater wetlands are areas of land that are covered
with fresh water for part of the year.
•The two main types of freshwater wetlands are marshes
and swamps. Marshes contain nonwoody plants, while
swamps are dominated by woody plants.
•Most freshwater wetlands are located in the
southeastern United States, with the largest in the
Florida Everglades.
Freshwater Wetlands
Freshwater Wetlands
•Wetlands perform several important
environmental functions.
•Wetlands act like filters or sponges that absorb
and remove pollutants from the water. They also
control flooding by absorbing extra water when
rivers overflow.
•These areas provide a home for native and
migratory wildlife in addition to feeding and
spawning for many freshwater game fish.
Swamps
•Swamps occur on flat, poorly drained land, often
near streams and are dominated by woody
shrubs or water loving trees.
•Freshwater swamps are the ideal habitat for
amphibians because of the continuous moisture.
Birds are also attracted to hollow trees near or
over the water.
•Reptiles are the predators of the swamp, eating
almost any organism that crosses their path.
Rivers
At its headwaters, a river is usually cold
and full of oxygen and runs swiftly
through a shallow riverbed.
As a river flows down a mountain, it may
broaden, become warmer, wider, slower,
and decrease in oxygen.
A river changes with the land and the
climate through which it flows.
Estuaries
•An estuary is an area where fresh water from rivers
mixes with salt water from the ocean.
•As the two bodies meet, currents form and cause
mineral rich mud with many nutrients to fall to the
bottom making in available to producers.
•Estuaries are very productive because they constantly
receive nutrients from the river and ocean while the
surrounding land protects the estuaries from the harsh
force of ocean waves.
Estuaries
Plants and Animals of Estuaries
•Estuaries support many marine organisms
because they receive plenty of light for
photosynthesis and plenty of nutrients for plants
and animals.
•The light and nutrients support large populations
of rooted plants as well as plankton. Plankton in
turn provide food for fish, which can then be
eaten by larger animals such as dolphins.
•Oysters and clams live anchored to rocks and
feed by filtering plankton from the water.