BIOME NOTES
BIOME
RAI N FOREST
Climate: hot and rainy
Average Yearly Rainfall: up to
400cm
Average Temperatures:
daytime 34C; nighttime 20C
DESERT
Climate: hot, dry, cool to cold
nights except Antarctica which
is very cold
Average Yearly Rainfall: less
than 25cm
Average Temperatures:
summer 38C; winter 7C
LOCATION
 Near equator Africa,
South America
 Found on every continent
BIOTIC
 Vegetation: abundant
plants
 Animals: many insects,
huge variety of animals
 Contains more species of
plants and animals of all
other biomes combined
 Vegetation: very little,
must survive with little
water (ex: cactus)
 Animals: little variety,
many small, adapted to
extreme heat or cold, and
very dry conditions
ABIOTIC
 Soil is very thin and poor
in nutrients
OTHER
 Plants used for many
prescription drugs
 Nearly 1400 species of
 Soils often have
abundant nutrients
because they need only
water to become very
productive and have
little or no organic
matter.
 Covers 1/5 of earth’s
surface
 Plants have a waxy
birds live there
coating to help prevent
water loss
GRASSLAND
Climate: moderate amount of
rain, not enough to support
trees. Cold but not harsh
winters, semi-hot summers
Average Yearly Rainfall: 2575 cm
Average Temperature:
summer 30C; winter 0C
 Steppes of Eurasia
 North American Prairie
 The Pampas
 Vegetation: grass, limited
trees
 Animals: home to largest
land animals (ex:
elephants, rhino, buffalos,
hippos)
 Latitude, soil and local
climates for the most part
determine what kinds of
plants grow in a particular
grassland
 Called different names
DECIDUOUS FOREST
Climate: seasons, above
average rainfall, not extremely
hot or cold
Average Yearly Rainfall: 75 –
125 cm
Average Temperatures:
summer 28, winter 6C
 Six of seven continents,
South America, Africa,
Kennesaw, GA
 Vegetation: trees drop
leaves in fall, grow in
spring
 Animals: Medium variety,
average number of insects
 Four distinct seasons
 Trees shed leaves to
BOREAL FOREST
Climate: cold, heavy snowfall
Average Yearly Rainfall: 3575cm
Average Temperatures:
summer 14, winter -10C
 Northern Europe, Russia,
Canada, Northern North
America
 Vegetation: coniferous
trees, limited variety
because of harsh climate
 Animals: limited variety,
moose, deer, beavers,
insects
 The forms the
precipitation comes in are
rain, snow and dew. Most
of the precipitation in the
taiga falls as rain in the
summer.
 The main seasons in the
in different areas
steppes, prairies,
pampas, 7 savannas
save water during the
winter
 Also known as Boreal
Forest, Taiga, and
Coniferous Forest
 Boreal was the Greek
goddess of the North
Wind
BIOME NOTES
Boreal Forest continued
TUNDRA
Climate: very cold, dry
Average Yearly Rainfall: 3050cm
Average Temperatures:
summer 12C; winter -26C
FRESHWATER
Warmer near the surface
where sunlight reaches the
bottom
MARINE
Surface zone- sunlight
heats the top 100m
Deep zone- 2*C
taiga are winter and
summer. The spring and
autumn are so short, you
hardly know they exist.
 Extreme north, Arctic
 Vegetation: few trees,
limited plants, moss,
lichen, permafrost
 Animals: caribou, insects
in summer, wolves, birds
that fly south, polar bear

 Has permafrost
 Polar & alpine
 Ponds and Lakes - bodies
of standing or still water
 Vegetation: algae are
major producers
 Animals: insects, snails,
amphibians, fish

 Catfish are scavengers
 Bacteria are decomposers
in lake or pond
 Rivers and Streams – both
have moving water,
headwaters are where
rivers and streams begin
 Vegetation and Animals –
adapted for moving water
 Estuaries – where fresh
water of a river meets salt
water of the ocean
 Vegetation and animals –
crabs, worms, clams, fish,
and algae

 Deep Zone – home of
some bizarre looking
animals
 Intertidal – part of the
beach between highest
high tide and lowest low
tide
 Neritic – part of ocean
that extends over the
continental shelf
 Vegetation and animals –
contains many schools of
fish, coral reefs, and algae
 Surface – area of ocean in
which light penetrates (a
few hundred meters)
 Vegetation and animals –
contains oceans producers
which drive all of the other
zones
 Deep Zone – most of
water is completely dark
 Vegetation and animals –
feed on animals sinking
BIOME NOTES
from surface
Temperate Rainforest
Climate: moderate, lots of
rain
 Northwest United States
 Vegetation: huge trees
 Animals: large selection
(ex: wolf, deer, bear, elk)

