Biome Attribute Matrix
What is a biome?
Biome
Tropical Rain
Forest
Desert
Taiga
Name:
Date:
a community of animals and plants that occupy a large habitat
Soil/Water
moist, fertile
Temperature
Plant Life
hot, humid
tall trees, lush undergrowth
many different animals, poison dart frogs, stork-billed
kingfishers, anaconda, blue
morpho butterfly
hot or cold
depending on
location
very little, plants store
water, protect themselves, shallow roots
desert tortoise, tarantula, coyote, great
horned owl, rattlesnake
a lot of rain
dry, sandy
very little rain
thin, lacks
nutrients
below freezing for forested, mostly
six months out of a conifer trees
year, otherwise cold (evergreen)
13-22 in. a year
Deciduous
Forest
Tundra
Wetland
Animals
fertile
brown bear, salamanders, many insects,
snowshoe hares and
moose
varies on location,
but experiences
30-60 in. a year seasons
(moderate)
many plants, mostly
deer, gray squirrels,
deciduous trees, some owls, robins and snakes
evergreens, mosses
and ferns
thin, frozen
extremely cold
very little, lichen,
moss
arctic fox, snowy owl,
polar bears, caribous
and tundra swan
warm or hot, humid
forested, trees,
shrubs, strong roots
alligator, great blue
heron, many types of
fish, newt,
crayfish
little precipitation, permafrost
wet, fertile
a lot of water
Biome
Rivers and
Streams
Soil/Water
wet, fertile
varies on location
a lot of
water
deep, fertile
Grasslands
Temperature
Plant Life
plants along
edges, and in
water too
can be humid/wet or tall or short grasses
dry/hot
10-30 inches of
rain a year
Questions about biomes for Mrs. Koma:
Animals
otters, red piranha,
many types of fish,
vine snakes, box
turtles
elephant, zebra, giant
anteater, bison,
some trees near bodies of
Canadian Geese
water