Biomes are the world's major communities where insects, animals, plants and
people live in a certain type of climate and geography. The climate & geography
of an area determines what type of biome exists in that region. Each biome
consists of many ecosystems, The two main types of biomes and ecosystems
are terrestrial (land) and aquatic (water).
Types of World Biomes
Tundra Biome
Desert Biome
Taiga Biome
Tropical Rainforest Biome
Chaparral Biome
Coral Reef Biome
Freshwater Biome
Grassland Biome
Ocean Biome
Savanna Biome
Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome
Wetland Biome
Ecosystems
All the living, non living and climatic conditions of a place are interconnected. A specific
geographical area along with this interconnected network of living and non-living things
is called an “Ecosystem”.
Ecosystems differ in plants and animals and weather but all of them support some kind of life. Therefore, it is
very important to understand the features of the ecosystem before entering it and trying to make changes. It was
lack of this understanding in early days that led to exploitation of the natural habitats and extinction of many
rare species along with destruction of some beautiful landscapes. Humans sometimes act in ways which disrupt
the natural flow of things in an ecosystem. This leads to major problems in the ecosystems as links of cycles get
detached and stability of the system is lost. To prevent this from happening we need to understand what type of
ecosystem we are dealing with and use care when interacting with it.
Different Kinds Of Ecosystem
Like biomes, ecosystems can be classified as Terrestrial and Aquatic. All other sub-ecosystems fall under these.
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Terrestrial ecosystems are found everywhere apart from water bodies. They are broadly classified into:
The Forest Ecosystem
These are the ecosystems where abundance of flora (plants) is seen and they have a large number of organisms
living in relatively small areas. Therefore, the density of life in forest ecosystems is very high. Any small
change in the ecosystem can affect the whole balance and collapse the ecosystem. You can see wonderful
diversity in the fauna of these ecosystems too. They are again divided into few types.
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Tropical evergreen forest: Tropical forests which receive an average rainfall of 80 to 400 inches in a year.
These forests are marked by dense vegetation comprising of tall trees with different levels. Each level gives
shelter to different kinds of animals.
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Tropical deciduous forest: Dense bushes and shrubs rule here along with broad levels of trees. This type of
forests is found in many parts of the world and large variety of flora and fauna are found here.
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Temperate evergreen forest: These have very few number of trees but ferns and mosses make up fro them.
Trees have spiked leaves to minimize transpiration.
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Temperate deciduous forest: This forest is found in the moist temperate regions with sufficient rainfall.
Winters and summers are well defined and with trees shedding their leaves during winter.
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Taiga: Situated just south of the arctic, Taiga is distinguished by evergreen conifers. While the temperature
is subzero for almost six months, the rest of the year it is buzzing with insects and migratory birds.
The Desert Ecosystem
Desert ecosystems are found in regions receiving an annual rainfall of less than 25cm. They occupy around 17
percent of all land on the planet. Due to very high temperature, intense sunlight and low water availability, flora
and fauna are very poorly developed and scarce. Vegetation is mainly bushes, shrubs, few grasses and rarely
trees. Leaves and stems of these plants are modified to conserve water. The best known desert plants are the
succulents like spiny leaved cacti. Animal life includes insects, reptiles, birds, and camels- all of whom are
adapted to the conditions.
The Grassland Ecosystem
Grasslands are found in both temperate and tropical regions of the world but the ecosystems are slightly
varying. This area mainly comprises of grasses with very little amount of shrubs and trees. Main vegetation is
grasses, legumes and plants belonging to composite family. Many grazing animals, herbivores and insectivores
are found in grasslands. Two main types of grasslands ecosystems are savanna and prairie.
The Mountain Ecosystem
Mountain lands provide a scattered but diverse array of habitats in which a large range of plants and animals are
found. At higher altitudes harsh environmental conditions generally prevail, and only treeless alpine vegetation
is found. The animals living here have thick fur coats fro prevention from cold and hibernate in winter months.
Lower slopes commonly are covered by coniferous forests.
Aquatic Ecosystems
An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem located in a body of water. It comprises aquatic fauna, flora and the
properties of water too. There are two types of aquatic ecosystems, Marine and freshwater.
The Marine Ecosystem
Marine ecosystems are the largest ecosystems with coverage of nearly 71% of the Earth's surface and containing
97% of the planet's water. The water in Marine ecosystems has salts and minerals dissolved in them in high
amounts. Some divisions of marine ecosystems are Oceanic (the relatively shallow part of the ocean that lies
over the continental shelf) Profundal: Bottom or deep water, Inter-tidal: The area between high and low tides,
Estuaries, Salt marshes, and Coral Reefs
The Freshwater Ecosystem
In contrast to the Marine ecosystem, freshwater ecosystems only cover 0.8% of the Earth's surface and contain
0.009% of its total water. There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems:
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Lentic: Still or slow-moving water like pools, ponds, and lakes.
Lotic: Fast-moving water like streams and rivers.
Wetlands: Places where the soil is saturated or inundated for at least some time.
These ecosystems are home to amphibians, reptiles and almost 41% of world’s fish species. Faster moving
turbulent water typically contains greater concentrations of dissolved oxygen, which supports greater
biodiversity than the slow moving water of pools.
Freshwater Ecosystems include lakes and ponds, rivers, streams and springs,
and wetlands. They can be contrasted with marine ecosystems, which have a
larger salt content.