Chapter 5
Biomes: Global Patterns of Life
Terrestrial Biomes
• Tropical moist forests are warm and wet year-round
• Tropical seasonal forests have annual dry seasons
• Tropical savannas and grasslands are dry most of the
year
• Deserts are hot or cold, but always dry
• Temperate grasslands have rich soils
• Temperate shrublands have summer drought
• Temperate forests can be evergreen or deciduous
• Boreal forests occur at high latitudes or altitudes
• Tundra can freeze in any month
Tropical Moist Forest
Tropical Seasonal Forest
Tropical Savanna
Hot Desert
Cold Desert
Temperate Shrubland
Temperate Grassland
Temperate Forest
Temperate Rain Forest
Boreal Forest
Tundra
Marine Ecosystems
• Benthic = On the Bottom
• Pelagic = In the water
• Open-ocean communities vary from surface to
hadal zones
– Epipelagic (Photic) 0-20 m
– Mesopelagic 20-1000 m
– Bathypelagic 1000-4000 m
– Abyssal 4000-6000 m
– Hadal > 6000 m
Coastal zones
• Coastal zones support rich, diverse biological
communities
– Littoral = Near Shore
– Intertidal = Within Tidal Range
– Coral Reefs
– Mangroves
– Estuaries (Flooded Valleys)
– Salt Marshes
– Barrier Islands
Fringing Reef, Tahiti
Tidal
Marshes,
Chesapeake
Bay
Estuaries, Chesapeake Bay
Mangrove, Florida
Freshwater Ecosystems
• Lakes have open water
• Wetlands are shallow and productive
– Swamp = With Trees
– Marsh = No Trees
– Bog = Saturated Ground
• Fen = Bog fed by ground water
Okeefenokee Swamp, Georgia
Marsh, Everglades
Human Disturbance
• Clearing Forests
• Draining or Filling Wetlands
• Changing Land Cover, Vegetation, Biological
Communities
• Introducing Species
– On a Long Time Scale, Anything that Can Happen,
Will Happen
– We’re Putting the Biosphere in a Blender
Human Landscape, Los Angeles
Human Landscape, Nebraska
Human Landscape, Greece
Human Landscape, Scotland
Human Landscape, Wisconsin
Human Landscape, Costa Rica