2. What are biomes?
⢠Biomes are the
different regions of
our planet that have
different climates,
plants and animals.
⢠A grouping terrestrial
ecosystems on a
given continent that
are similar in
vegetation, structure,
physiognomy,
features of the
environment and
characteristics of
their animal
communities.
7. Desert
Abiotic
factors
ď§ <10 in/yr of
rain
ď§ Little to no
topsoil due to
high winds.
ď§ Minerals not
deep in soil.
ď§ Too dry for
decay
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysfl
r/taiga.html
While there are many types of
deserts, they all share one
characteristic: They are the
driest places on Earth!
10. Desert Animal Adaptations:
ď§ Get water from food
ď§ Thick outer coat
ď§ Burrow during day
ď§ Large ears
ď§ Smaller animals =
less surface area
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert_animal_page.htm
Javelina
Bob Cat
Armadillo Lizard
12. 4 major types of desert
Hot and dry desert Semiarid desert
Coastal desertCold desert
13. Cold desert
⢠Characterized by cold winters with snowfall and high overall rainfall throughout
the winter and occasionally over the summer.
⢠Have a short, moist and moderately warm summers with fairly long, cold cactus
winters.
⢠Usually occur in Antarctic, Greenland and Nearctic realm.
14. Hot and dry desert
⢠The seasons are generally warm throughout the year and very hot
in the summer. The winters usually bring little rainfall.
⢠The 4 major North American deserts of this type are the
Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin.
15. Semiarid desert
⢠Summers are moderately long and dry and like hot
deserts
⢠Winters normally bring low concentration of rainfall
⢠Summer temperatures usually average between 21-27
0
C. It normally does not go above 38 0
C and evening
temperatures are cool at around 10 0
C.
⢠Major deserts of this type include the sage brush of
Utah, Montana and Great Basin
16. Coastal desert
⢠The cool winterâs coastal deserts are followed by moderately long, warm
summers. The average summer temperature ranges from 13-24 0
C; winter
temperatures are 5 0
C or below.
⢠The maximum annual temperatures are about 35 0
C and the minimum is
about -4 0
C.
⢠These deserts occur in moderately cool to warm areas such as the Nearctic
and Neotrophical realm. A good example of this is Atacam and Chile.
17. Threats to the Desert
Residential development
Off road recreational activities
destroy habitat for plants
and animals.
Some plants are removed by
collectors, endangering the
population.
Sonoran Desert
Dry Desert
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm
20. Tundra- coldest biome
⢠Climate :Cold and limited sunlight
⢠Temperature: Average temperature is 23F or 5 0
C.
21. tundra
⢠Soil: Ground covered with little snow.
Below the surface soil is permanently
frozen (permafrost). Decomposition is very
slow because of the extreme cold.
22. Tundra Abiotic Factors
ď§ <25 in/year
ď§ Short growing season
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/taiga.html
23. Tundra Plant Adaptations
ď§Growing close to the ground
ď§Having shallow roots to absorb the
limited water resources.
ď§Trees grow less than 1 m high!
cottongrass
Reindeer lichen
25. Many visitors, migration
Few predators
Little Competition
Small ears
Insulation, thick
coat
Arctic fox
snowy owl
Grizzly Bear
Tundra Animal
Adaptations
27. The Arctic Tundra
⢠Located between the North Pole and
Coniferous Forest or Taiga region. It is
extremely cold temperatures and land that
remains frozen year-round.
⢠A layer of permanently frozen subsoil called
permafrost exists consisting mostly of gravel
and finer material.
⢠The growing season ranges from 50-60 days.
⢠Location:
North America- Northern Alaska, Canada,
Greenland
Northern Europe- Scandinavia
Northern Asia- Siberia
28. Alpine Tundra
⢠Located on mountains throughout the
world at high altitude where trees cannot
grow.
⢠The growing season is approximately 180
days.
⢠very windy.
⢠typically covered in snow for most of the
year.
⢠Location:
North America- Alaska, Canada, U.S.A. and
Mexico
Northern Europe- Finland, Norway, Russia, and
Sweden
Asia- Southern Asia( Mt. Himalayan ) and
Japan (Mt. Fuji)
Africa- Mt. Kilimanjava
South America- Andes Mountains
29. Threats to the Tundra
One of the
most fragile
biomes on
the planet
The tundra is
slow to recover
from damage.
Oil drilling is
proposed
in Alaska
and other
areas!
Tufted Saxifrage
Polar Bear
30. 3. Taiga
Northern Coniferous Forest
Boreal Forest
Location: Found only in Northern Hemisphere
ď§Northern parts of Alaska,
Canada, Asia and Europe.
31. Taiga/Coniferous Forest
â coming from the conesâ
⢠Climate:
Very long and cold winter
lasting to about half a year;
precipitation is in the form of
snow about 60 cm.
⢠Temperature:
Below -20 0
C in winter and
about 15 0
C in summer.
32. Taiga
Soil:
⢠not fertile. It takes very long for needlelike leaves to decompose and
decomposition is very slow in cold weather.
⢠A layer of snow covers the ground during much of the year. Soil beneath
the snow is grayish on top and brown below and lacks minerals needed by
plants to grow.
33. Taiga
Abiotic factors
ď§ Winters are long and cold
ď§ Averages 100 in/yr
precipitationâmostly snow
ď§ Soil poor in nutrients and
very acidic
ď§ Growing season is very
short
34. Balsam Fir
ď§ Coniferous (needle-bearing) trees
are abundant
ď§ Roots long to anchor trees
ď§ Needles long, thin and waxy
ď§ Low sunlight and poor soil keeps
plants from growing on forest floor
http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/coniferous/plants.htm
Fireweed
Taiga Plant adaptations
35. Moose
ď§ Adapt for cold winters
ď§ Burrow, hibernate, warm
coat, insulation, etc.
http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/coniferous/animals.htm Great Grey Owl
Animal
Adaptations of
the Taiga
37. Threats to the
Taiga
Mining operations can irreparably
damage this fragile ecosystem
Road construction
Clear cutting accelerates
soil erosion, degrades
wildlife habitat and leads to
the loss of diversity.
39. Tropical
Rainforest
⢠covers about 6-7% of the earthâs land
surface.
⢠It is located close to the equator, in
85 different countries, and the most
are in Central and South America,
Africa, Asia, and Australia. The
Amazon Rainforest is the largest
rainforest in the world.
40. Tropical Rainforest
⢠Climate:
The seasons do not
change and it has been
hot and wet for millions of
years. The average
temperature ranges from
70-85 degrees. It rains
about 100-400 inches per
year.
41. Tropical Rainforest
Abiotic factors
ďź high biodiversity and
biomass
ďź both hot and moist;
ďź ideal for bacteria and other
microorganisms; they
quickly decompose matter
on the forest floor allowing
nutrients to be recycled.
42. Tropical rainforest
Soil:
⢠Lacks minerals and
contains little remains of
dead plants and
animals.
⢠Decomposition is rapid
on warm wet soil.
⢠<1 cm of topsoil; not
very fertile
43. Bougainvillea
ď§ Sunlight is a major limiting factor
ď§ Shallow, wide roots since soil is so
thin and poor in nutrients
ď§ Little sun reaches the floor
ď§ Tropical rainforest is the richest source
of plants life on earth.
ď§ Plants grow in layers (canopy
receives most light). It is the perfect
place for growing plants.
Tropical Rainforest
Plant adaptations
Bangul Bamboo
44. ď§ Many symbiotic
relationships
ď§ Live in different
levels of canopy
Waglerâs pit viper
Silvery Gibbon
Slender Loris
Tropical Rainforest
Animal
Adaptations
Many animals are
specialists and require
special habitat
components to survive
Camouflage is common
45. Threats to the Tropical
Rainforest
ď§ Humans strip the rainforests
for uses including logging and
cattle ranching.
ď§ In addition to the plants and
animals that are displaced by
this destruction, entire
civilizations of people are also
without a home.
ď§ You can help by promoting
sustainable use of the
rainforestsâ products
46. Temperate Rainforest
⢠Location:
found near coastal areas
along the Pacific coast of
Canada at the USA, and in
New Zealand, Tasmania,
Chile, Ireland, Scotland and
Norway.
47. Temperate rainforest
Climate:
⢠Also wet, but not as rainy as
tropical rainforest.
⢠Rains about 100 inches per
year.
⢠It is cooler than tropical
rainforests but the temperature
is still mild.
⢠has 2 distinct seasons: one long
wet winter and a short drier
summer.
48. Temperate Rainforest
Soil:
⢠Typically much thicker than
the tropical rainforest.
⢠It is structurally more
complex, comprising several
layers.
⢠Generally much deeper and
more fertile than those of
tropical rainforests.
49. Temperate Rainforest
Plants:
⢠There are about 10-
20 species of trees
on temperate
rainforests that are
mostly coniferous.
Trees in the
temperate forest can
live for 500-1000
years.
52. Prairie and Steppe:
Grassland areas
ď§ They are called by different names- plains or prairies
in North America, pampas in Argentina, steppes in
Soviet Union, and veldt in South Africa.
54. ď§ most abundant are plants called Bunch grasses,
fine bladed grasses that grow in clumps to
preserve water
Tumbleweed
Sweet Vernal
Plant adaptations of the Steppe
55. ď§ Many migrate, hibernate or burrow
during extremes in temp and
precipitation
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/steppe_animal_page.htm
Adaptations of Steppe Animals
Mongolian Gerbil
Saiga Antelope
Gazelle herd
56. Threats to the Steppe
ď§ OvergrazingâŚnomadic tribes
have started to spend more time
in one location,
ď§ Infrastructure development
(roads, buildings, etc)
ď§ Unmanaged hunting and poaching
is destroying herds of animals
Corsac fox
Lynx
Milk vetch
57. Sod-forming grasses that
wonât dry out or blow
away in wind.
Fleabane
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/prairie_plants_page.htm
Buffalo Grass
Prairie Plant Adaptations
58. Many adaptations to survive
in extremes temperature and
precipitation
Prairie dog
Bobcat
Prairie Animal Adaptations
Geoffreyâs cat
59. Grassland
It has two main divisions,
1. Savannah Tropical grassland
2. Temperate grassland.
60. Savannas (Tropical
Grasslands)
Contain the greatest number of grazing animals on Earth.
Location: Found in the tropicsâŚnear equator
Amount of precipitation supports tall grasses but only occasional
trees.
The word savanna stems from an Amerind term for plains
http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/savanna/savanna.html
61. Tropical Savanna
Abiotic Factors
Rainy and dry season
25-150 in/yr precipitation
Fire plays a large role in this ecosystem
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/savannah.html
62. Whistling
Thorn
Umbrella Thorn Acacia
Tropical Savanna
Plant
Adaptations
ď§ Grows in Tufts
ď§ Resistance to Drought
ď§ Many plants have thorns and
sharp leaves to protect
against predation.
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_plant_page.htm
Kangaroos Paws
Baobab
63. Adapt for short rainy
seasonâmigrate as
necessary
Reproduce during rainy
seasonâensures more
young survive
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_animal_page.htm
Zebras
Chacma Baboon
Tropical Savanna
Animal Adaptations
64. Threats to the Tropical
Savanna
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_animal_page.htm
ď§ Invasive species
ď§ Changes in fire management
ď§ Because of their low elevation,
some savannas are threatened
by minor rises in sea level
associated with global climate
change
Koala
Elephant
65. Temperate
grasslandď§This grassland is characterized as having
grasses as the dominant vegetation.
Location:
ď§The major manifestations are veldts of
South Africa, the puszta of Hungary, the
pampas of Argentina, the steppes of the
former Soviet Union and the prairies of
Central America.
66. Temperate grassland
Climate:
â˘hot summers and cold winters.
â˘Rainfall is moderate. The amount of annual
rainfall influences the height of the grass
land vegetation with taller grasses in other
regions.
Soil:
The soil in a temperate grass land is deep
and dark with fertile upper layers. It is
nutrient ârich from the growth and decay and
many branched grass roots. The rotted roots
hold the soil together. The soil is fertile
because of the remains of plants and
animals and dried leaves of plant fell on the
ground.
69. 6. Temperate Deciduous Forests
Location:
ď§ found in temperate zone
(about 480
North lat)
ď§ Much of the human population lives in this biome
http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tbdf/tbdf.html
70. ď§ Characterized by an
abundance of deciduous
(leaf bearing) trees
Characterized by 4 seasons
ď§ Soils: Deep soil layers,
rich in nutrients
ď§ Precipitation: 30â100 in/yr
in all forms (snow, rain,
hail, fog, etc.)
Temperate Deciduous Forests
Abiotic Factors
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/taiga.html
71. More diversity in the deciduous forest vs.
the coniferous forest due to increased
sunlight.
Trees adapt to varied climate by
becoming dormant in winter
White Birch
Birchhttp://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_plant_
page.htm
Lady Fern
Geulder Rose
Temperate Deciduous forest
Plant adaptations
Deciduous forests grow in layers
More sunlight reaches the ground
compared to a rainforest so you
will find more ground dwelling
plants.
72. ď§ Lose Winter
Coat
ď§ Adapt to many
seasons
ď§ Eat from
different layers
of the forest
Bald Eagle
Fat Dormouse
Least Weasel
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_animal_page.htm
Temperate Deciduous
Forest
Animal Adaptations
73. Threats to Temperate Deciduous
Forests
http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tbdf/tbdf.html
Many forests are
cleared to
provide housing
for humans.
Careful use of the
resource can
provide a
renewable
system if we
donât take too
much habitat
away.
74. Conclusion
Biomes as "the world's major communitiesâ, are classified according to the
predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that
particular environment". The importance of biomes cannot be overestimated.
Thus, conservation and preservation of biomes should be a major concern to
all. Because we share the world with many other species of plants and animals,
we must consider the consequences of our actions. It is important to preserve
all types of biomes as each houses many unique forms of life.