Biomes of the World
What is a biome?
A BIOME is a
community of
plants and
animals adapted
to a range of
temperature and
moisture
• A BIOME ……… is a
LIFE - ZONE
How are biomes formed?
Climate. ( Temperatures
and Precipitation
)
Climate is determined by :
* Latitude
* Closeness to large body of water
* Elevation
Typically, a climb of 100 feet in
elevation is equivalent to traveling 600
miles northward.
How many biomes are there?
How many biomes are there?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Savanna
Desert
Chaparral
Grassland
Temperate Deciduous
Forest
• Temperate Boreal Forest
• Tundra
Tropical Rainforest
• Near the equator.
• 200 cm or more of rain per yr.
( that much rain would fill a rain guage as
tall as Mr. Mork ! )
• Temps usually 20oC to 25oC all
year. = year round
photosynthesis! Lots of food
• Over half of the world’s animal
species may be found here.
Tropical Savanna
• Grasslands with some trees
• wet season and dry season
• Hot temps
• 50cm to 127 cm rain / yr
• More species of grazing
mammals than any other biome
Desert
• Most deserts = 25o to
40o latitude
• Less than 25 cm rain per
year
• 20oC to 25oC is usual.
• As high as 38oC as low
as
–15oC
Chaparral
• Found between 32o and 40o
latitude on the west coast of
continents
• Receives between 35 and 70
cm of rain, usually in the winter
• Extremely resistant to drought
and weather events
Grassland
* Too Dry For Trees
• 50 to 90 cm rainfall per
year
• Summer temps up to 38
oC, Winter temps as low
as –40 oC
Prairie… Not just grass
Temperate Deciduous Forest
• 4 seasons.
• Trees lose leaves in the
winter
• Temps –30oC to 30oC
• 75 to 150 cm of precipitation
Temperate Boreal Forest
Also called the Taiga
Or the
Northern Coniferous Forest
•
•
•
•
45o to 60o North latitude
Cold climate.
Very few reptiles
Snow is primary form of
precipitation (40 – 100 cm annually)
TAIGA …
Northern hemisphere only
.
TAIGA …..
Tree branches adapted to carry a
heavy snow load without breaking.
Red squirrel = a primary
consumer in the Northern
coniferous forest ( Taiga )
Tundra
• Means treeless or marshy plain
• Permafrost – permanently
frozen soil severely limits plant
growth
• Winter temperatures average –
34oC while summer temperatures
usually average below 10oC
• Low precipitation (15–25 cm per
year) but ground is usually wet
because of low evaporation
Tundra plants and lichens…
low to the ground = an
adaptation
Caribou = primary consumers
in the tundra biome
Arctic Fox …. secondary
consumer
TUNDRA BIOME
Credits
• Text:
– http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/9k.html
– http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/index.html
• Pictures:
– http://www.worldbiomes.com/
– http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/index.html
– http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/
• PowerPoint:
– Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2005