The document provides information about different types of terrestrial ecosystems. It defines terrestrial ecosystems as ecosystems that occur on land, as opposed to aquatic ecosystems. It notes that terrestrial ecosystems make up 28% of the world's area but contain much more variability in flora and fauna compared to aquatic ecosystems. The document then describes the major classifications of terrestrial ecosystems as biogeographic realms and biomes. It provides details on the six biogeographic realms and seven major biomes that characterize different terrestrial regions based on their climate and plant/animal life.

1. Terrestrial Ecosystem

2. Name of member ID Number
Md. Saiful Islam 117470
Md. Abul Kashem 117472
Shamima Nasrin 117473
Mamunur Rashid 117477
Yeasmin Sultana 107437

3. Ecosystem
Definition
Any ecological unit that includes all the organisms, the communities in a
given area which interact among themselves and with the physical
environment, so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic
structure, biotic diversity and material cycle within the system, is known as
ecological system or ecosystem.
In other words, ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction
with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system.

5. Types of ecosytem
 Various constituent ecosystems of the biosphere fall into the following categories :
o 1. Natural ecosystems. These types of ecosystems operate by themselves without any
major interference by man. Based upon the particular kind of habitat, these are further
classified as :
 (i) Terrestrial ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, deserts, a single log, etc.
 (ii) Aquatic ecosystems which may be further distinguished as follows : (a) Fresh water
ecosystems. (b) Marine ecosystems.
o 2. Artificial ecosystems. These are also called man-made or man-engineered ecosystems.
These are maintained artificially by man where, by addition of energy and planned
manipulations, natural balance is disturbed regularly, e.g., croplands such as sugarcane,
maize, wheat, rice-fields ; orchards, gardens, villages, cities, dams, aquarium and manned
spaceship.

6. Terrestrial ecosystem
 Terrestrial ecosystem refers to the ecosystem on land.
 It comprises 28% area of the world.
 Beside of the comparatively small area it makes the most variable flora
and fauna
 The complexity and variegation of terrestrial ecosystems are much
greater than those of aquatic ecosystems

7. Types of terrestrial ecosystem
 The earth surface— the continental land masses have
been classified by bio-geographers and ecologists into
following regions : (i) Biogeographic realms ; (ii) Biomes.
 They are further subdivided into various form
 Biogeographic realms has six subdivisions
 Biomes has seven sub divisions

8. Biogeographic realms
Regions Careful studies of the distribution of plants and animals over the earth
have revealed the existence of six major biogeographic realms, each
characterized by the presence of certain unique organisms. Each of these
realms embraces a major continental land mass and each remains
separated by oceans, mountain ranges, or desert .
 Palaearctic realm
 Nearctic realm
 Neotropical realm
 Afrotropic realm
 Indomalaya realm
 Australasia realm

9. Fig: Distribution of biogeographic realm

10. Palearctic realm
Geographical distribution:
 The largest region including whole Europe, Soviet Russia
Flora and Fauna
 There occurs a great variety in the number of species of flora in Palearctic realm.
 The number of fauna is also variable.
 One bird family, the Accentors is endemic to the Palearctic region.
 The Holarctic has four other endemic bird families: the Divers , Grouse, Auks,
and Waxwings.
 There are no endemic mammal orders in the region, but several families are
endemic: Calomyscidae, Prolagidae, and Ailuridae.

11. Nearctic realm
Geographical distribution
 The Nearctic region covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central
Florida and the highlands of Mexico
Flora and fauna
 Plants families endemic or nearly endemic to the Nearctic
include Crossosomataceae, Simmondsiaceae, and Limnanthaceae.
 Animals originally unique to the Nearctic include:
o Family Canidae, dogs, wolves, foxes, and coyotes
o Family Camelidae, camels and their South American relatives including the llama.
Family Equidae, horses and their relatives.
o Family Antilocapridae, which includes the pronghorn
o Tremarctinae, or short-faced bears, including the extinct giant short-faced bear (Arctodus
simius). The last remaining member of the group is the spectacled bear(Tremarctos ornatus)
of South America.

12. Neotrophic realm
Geographical distribution
It includes the tropical terrestrial of both Americas and the entire South American
temperate zone
Flora and fauna
 Plant families that originated in the Neotropic
include Bromeliaceae, Cannaceae and Heliconiaceae.
 31 bird families are endemic to the Neotropical ecozone
 Mammals groups originally unique to the Neotropics include:
o Order Xenarthra: Anteaters, Sloths, and Armadillos
o New World monkeys
o Caviomorpha rodents, including capybaras and guinea pigs, and chinchillas
o American opossums (order Didelphimorphia) and shrew opossums
(order Paucituberculata)
o 43 fish families and subfamilies are endemic to the Neotropical ecozone, more than
any other realm

13. Afrotropic realm
Distribution:
 It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the southern and eastern fringes of the Arabian
Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the
islands of the western Indian Ocean.
Flora and Fauna:
 There are about 950 vascular plant species, with at least 15 site endemics
 The Afrotropic has various endemic bird families, including Struthionidae, Sagittariidae,
Numididae, Coliidae. Also, several families of passerines are limited to the Afrotropics.
 Africa has three endemic orders of mammals, the Tubulidentata Afrosoricida,
and Macroscelidea.
 Four species of Great Apes are endemic to Africa: both species of Gorilla (Western
Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla, and Eastern Gorilla, Gorilla beringei) and both species of
Chimpanzee (Common Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, and Bonobo, Pan paniscus).

14. Indomalaya realm
Distribution:
 Indomalaya extends from Afghanistan through the Indian
subcontinent and Southeast Asia to lowland southern China, and through Indonesia,
east of which lies the Wallace line. Indomalaya also includes the Philippines,
lowland Taiwan, and Japan's Ryukyu Islands.
Flora and fauna:
 A variety of plant species from desert plant to mangrove plant are present
 Two orders of mammals, the Dermoptera and Scandentia, are endemic to the realm,
as are families Craseonycteridae, Diatomyidae, Platacanthomyidae, Tarsiidae and
Hylobatidae. Large mammals characteristic of Indomalaya include
the leopard, tigers, water buffalos, Asian Elephant, Indian Rhinoceros, Javan
Rhinoceros, Malayan Tapir, orang-utans, and gibbons.
 Indomalaya has three endemic bird families, the Irenidae, Megalaimidae and
Rhabdornithidae.

15. Australasia realm
Distribution:
 It includes Australia, the island of New Guinea, and the eastern part of the
Indonesian archipelago, including the island of Sulawesi, the Moluccan islands and
islands of Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timor. The Australasian realm also
includes several Pacific island groups.
Flora and fauna:
 Eucalypts are the predominant trees in much of Australia and New Guinea.
 This region has monotreams and marsupial animals.
 New Zealand has no native land mammals, but also had ratite birds, including
the kiwi and the moa.

16. Biomes
Biome is a large community unit characterized by the kinds of plants and animals
present. In each biome the kind of climax vegetation is uniform—grasses, conifers,
deciduous trees—but the particular species of plant may vary in different parts of
the biome.
The major biomes are as in the following:
 Tundra
 Taiga
 Moist temperate coniferous forest biome
 Temperate Deciduous forest biome
 Temperate grassland biome
 Savanna
 Desert biome
 Tropical rainforest biome
 Chaparral biomes

17. Fig : Distribution of biomes across the globe

18. Tundra
 Tundra is type of biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing
seasons.
 Location: Regions south of the Arctic and extending across North America, Europe and Siberia.
 Average temperature: Around -28ºc
 Tundra tends to be windy, with winds often blowing upwards of 50–100 km/h
 In terms of precipitation, it is desert-like, with only about 15–25 cm (6–10 in) falling per year
 Flora and fauna: The flora and fauna of tundra is low: 1,700 species of vascular plants and only 48
species of land mammals can be found, although millions of birds migrate there each year for the
marshes. There are also a few fish species. There are few species with large populations. Notable
animals in the Arctic tundra include caribou (reindeer), musk ox, Arctic hare, Arctic fox, snowy
owl, lemmings, and polar bears.

19. Fig: Tundra

20.  Taiga is the world's largest land biome, and makes up 29% of the world's forest
cover; the largest areas are located in Russia and Canada
 Temperatures vary from −54 °C to 30 °C
 Taiga soil tends to be young and poor in nutrients
 Flora: The forests of the taiga are largely coniferous, dominated
by larch, spruce, fir and pine.
 Fauna: It includes 85 species of mammals, 130 species of fish, and an estimated
32,000 species of insects.
 More than 300 species of birds have their nesting grounds in the taiga.

21. Fig: Taiga Biome

22. Temperate coniferous forest
 Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the
world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest
 Location: The Pacific temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Valdivian
temperate rain forests of southwestern South America, the rain forests of New
Zealand and Tasmania, northwest Europe, southern Japan, and the eastern Black Sea-
Caspian Sea region of Turkey and Georgia to northern Iran.
 Flora: Many species of tree inhabit these forest including cedar, cypress, Douglas
fir, fir, juniper,kauri, pine, podocarpus, spruce, redwood and yew. The understory also
contains a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species.
 Fauna: The wildlife here includes rich fur bearing animals such as mink, silver
fox, lynx, sable, and beaver.

23. Figure: Temperate Coniferuous forest

24. Deciduous forests
 Deciduous forests can be found in the eastern half of North America, and the middle
of Europe. There are many deciduous forests in Asia. Some of the major areas that
they are in are southwest Russia, Japan, and eastern China. South America has two
big areas of deciduous forests in southern Chile and Middle East coast of Paraguay.
There are deciduous forests located in New Zealand, and southeastern Australia also.
 Temperature: -30°C to 30°C, yearly average is 10°C, hot summers, cold winters
 Precipitation: 750 to 1,500 mm of rain per year
 Flora: Broadleaf trees (oaks, maples, beeches), shrubs, perennial herbs, and mosses
 Fauna: A wide variety of mammals, birds, insects, and reptiles can be found in a
deciduous forest biome. Mammals that are commonly found in a deciduous forest
include bears, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, wood mice, and, in the U.S., deer can be
found in these forests. While bobcats, mountain lions, timberwolves, and coyotes are
natural residents of these forests, they have nearly been eliminated by humans
because of their threat to human life. Other animals that were native to this biome,
such as elk and bison, have been hunted to near extinction.

25. Fig: Deciduous forest

26. Grassland
 Location: Temperate grasslands are located north of the Tropic of Cancer
(23.5 degrees North) and south of the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees
South). The major temperate grasslands include the veldts of Africa, the
pampas of South America, the steppes of Eurasia, and the plains of North
America.
 Flora: Grasses are the dominant vegetation. Trees and large shrubs are
largely absent
 Fauna: Temperate grasslands have a low diversity of wildlife, but a high
abundance of wildlife. In North America the dominant grazing animals
are bison and pronghorn. Rodents include pocket gophers and prairie
dogs. Carnivores include wolves, coyotes, swift foxes, badgers and black-
footed ferrets. Birds include grouses, meadowlarks, quails, sparrows, hawks
and owls.

27. Fig: Grassland

28. Savanna
 A savanna is characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced
so that the canopy does not close.
 Location: The divergence has sometimes caused areas such as extensive
savannas north and south of the Congo and Amazon Rivers to be
excluded from mapped savanna categories
 The climate is usually warm and temperatures range from 68° to 86°F (20
to 30°C
 The annual rainfall is from 10 - 30 inches (25 - 75 cm) per year.
 Flora: The savanna is dominated by grasses such as Rhodes grass, red
oats grass, star grass, lemon grass, and some shrubs.
 Fauna: African elephants, zebras, horses, and giraffes. Many animals in
the savanna are herbivores, which means they eat plants, and there is
plenty of grass in the savanna.

29. The desert biome
 Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface and occur where
rainfall is less than 50 cm/year. Although most deserts, such as the
Sahara of North Africa and the deserts of the southwestern U.S., Mexico,
and Australia, occur at low latitudes, another kind of desert, cold
deserts, occur in the basin and range area of Utah and Nevada and in
parts of western Asia.
 Location: North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia
 From 32 °F at night and 113 °F at day.
 Flora: Cactus, shrubs, Cardon, Camel Thorn Tree, Prickly pear, Saguaro.
 Fauna: Snakes, lizards, tarantulas, dingo, porcupines, coyotes.

30. Fig: The desert biome

31. Tropical rainforest
 Location: Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn
 Temperature: 20°C to 25°C, must remain warm and frost-free
 Precipitation: 2,000 to 10,000 millimeters of rain per year
 Flora: Vines, palm trees, orchids, ferns
 Fauna: Many species of animal life can be found in the rain forest. Common characteristics
found among mammals and birds (and reptiles and amphibians, too) include adaptations
to a life in the trees, such as the prehensile tails of New World monkeys. Other
characteristics are bright colors and sharp patterns, loud vocalizations, and diets heavy on
fruits.

32. Fig: Tropical rainforest

33. Chaparral biomes
 Location: Mexico, Europe and the Northern part of Africa.
 Climate: Average temperature 30-40 °F
 Flora: Cactus, poison oak, scrub oak and shrubs.
 Fauna: Jackals, lizards, Bobcats, cougars, deer.

34. Fig : Chapparl Biome

35. References
• Odum, E.P. 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology
• Smith R.L. 2011. Elements of Ecology
• Verma P.S. 2000. Principles of Ecology