GEOGRAPHY 101L
Temperature, Rainfall, and Biome Distribution Lab
In this lab you will investigate the relationship between the amount of rainfall
and the variance of temperature and how these two variables influence biomes.
Biomes are defined as the world's major communities, classified according to the
predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that
particular environment. If you do not know anything about biomes, before
starting this lab you should spend some time reading over the following website:
http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/index.html . We have included
below some additional baseline information you should read before completing
this lab assignment.
Assignment Objectives:
1. To develop an understanding of the biomes of the world.
2. To examine central concepts of physical geography from a spatial
perspective by creating and interpreting maps and graphics.
3. To communicate physical processes using maps and graphics.
4. To explain patterns in the physical environment using spatially informed
logic.
5. To explore the biome in which you live.
Assignment Specifics:
This lab assignment is divided into three sections. Section I provides a brief
review of biomes. In Section II you will explore the use of climographs to
understand the differences and similarities between biomes. In Section III, you
will review the basic plant adaptations to the biomes of the world and take a
closer look at plant adaptations here in Southern California. By the end of this
lab, you should have an understanding of where the biomes of the world are
located, what they are, and how they are similar and different.
Turn In:
The attached lab assignment with the 3 climographs filled in and all questions
answered.
Part I:
A Brief Review of Biomes
What is a biome?
A biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups,
which are adapted to that particular environment. The climate and geography of
a region determines what type of biome can exist in that region. Few
geographers agree on exactly how many biomes exist, this is in large part
determined by the scale of your research. However, most agree that there are at
least 7 major biomes including rainforest, grassland, temperate forests, desert,
chaparral (Mediterranean scrub), tundra, and taiga. Each biome consists of many
ecosystems whose communities have adapted to the differences in climate and
the environment inside the biome.
To understand a world biome, you need to know:
 What the climate of the region is like.
 Where each biome is found and what its geography is like.
 The special adaptations of the vegetation.
 The types of animals found in the biome and their physical and behavioral
adaptations to their environment.
The first two of these components (climate and location) will be examined in the
next section of this lab, the final two components (special adaptations of
vegetation and types of animals found) will be examined in Section III of this lab.
Attached below is a map showing the distribution of these 7 major biomes. If
you were to look at a world map of precipitation and temperature, you find both
of these maps closely correlate with the biome map below. To find out more
about biomes, please go to
http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/index.html . On this website, you
will find descriptions of each of the biomes. A word of caution, this website is
slightly different than the map included in this lab. That is okay, it will give you
a sense of how biomes are categorized. On this website, temperate forests are
called “deciduous forests”, savannahs are separated into their own category
(savannahs are lumped into the “grassland biome” in the map below), and desert
scrub is separated out from the “desert” biome. Take some time to explore this
website and educate yourself a little about biomes before moving on to the next
section!
Figure 1. Seven major biomes of the world.
Part II
Working with Climographs
You will find below five examples of climograph grids on which averages of
precipitation and temperature at a particular location are plotted together. These
climographs show variations in only two important climatic factors during a
year. Other factors may greatly affect climate, but a climograph does give a
rough idea of climate in the location from which the data were obtained.
Biomes are closely associated with climate. You can easily associate the climate of
your own locality with the biome found there. Only by extensive travel,
however, can the close relationship of particular climates with particular biomes
be learned on a worldwide basis. This exercise is a poor substitute for such
travel; but if it is carried out thoughtfully and with frequent reference to the
description of biomes in the above website or your Geography 101 text, it can
help you understand the biological relationships that make up the diversity of
the biotic communities found on land.
Purpose:
This exercise provides practice in associating climate (as expressed in monthly
averages of precipitation and temperature) with biomes. You will also make
predictions about the distribution of a biome via altitude and latitude.
Procedure:
1. First, you will see attached on the following pages a series of climographs.
The last set of three climographs are blank. Next to each is a table with
data. Fill in the climographs for each of the four blank graphs.
2. When finished, you will have 8 climographs, 7 of which represent the
biomes found worldwide. One, is a mystery climograph…more on this
later. We have also included a map showing the location of each of the
cities used for the climographs. When you are done filling in the last three
climographs, you can then proceed to the next set of instructions.
CLIMOGRAPHS
Below are a series of climographs. The blue bars represent precipitation (mm),
the red lines represent temperature (0C). Review each of these and then fill in the
last three on your own with the given data.
Tundra (Barrow, Alaska)
Taiga (Yakutsk, Russia)
Temperate Forest (Memphis, Tennessee)
Tropical Rainforest (Iquitos, Peru)
Middle latitude desert (Yuma, AZ)
20
300
15
250
10
200
5
150
0
100
-5
50
10
0
15
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Temperature (0C)
Precipitation
(mm)
350
Month
Grassland (Bismarck, North Dakota)
Jan
Avg.
Precip
(mm)
Avg.
Temp (0C)
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
11.4
13
21.6
37.1
56.4
65.8
65.5
54.6
40.9
32.5
17.8
11.2
-12.1
-7.7
-1.3
6.3
13.3
18.2
21.3
20.6
14.3
7.3
-2.2
-9.3
20
300
15
250
10
200
5
150
0
100
-5
50
10
0
15
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sep
Oct
Nov
Temperature (0C)
Precipitation
(mm)
350
Month
Mediterranean Scrub (San Francisco, CA)
Jan
Feb
Mar Apr May
Avg.
Precip
(mm)
113 101.9
82.8
30
Avg.
Temp
(0C)
9.7
12.2
13.4
11.3
9.7
Jun
Jul
Aug
2.8
0.8
1.8
14.8 16.3 17.1
5.1 26.4
17.6 17.7 16.1
Dec
63.2 73.4
12.6
9.7
20
300
15
250
10
200
5
150
0
100
-5
50
10
0
15
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Nov
Temperature (0C)
Precipitation
(mm)
350
Month
Mystery Biome
Jan
Feb
Mar Apr May
Avg.
Precip
(mm)
75.7
79
61
16
Avg.
Temp
(0C)
13.9 14.4
14.6
16
6.1
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
2
0.8
3.6
6.6
9.1
28.7 45.5
21.5 21.2 19.4
16.4 14.2
17.3 19.1 20.7
Dec
Barrow, AK
Yakutsk, Russia
Bismarck, ND
San Francisco, CA
Memphis, TN
Yuma, AZ
Iquitos, Peru
©2007 Google – Map Data ©2007 Europa Technologies
Now, answer the following questions:
1. Which of the known biome climographs closely resembles San Francisco?
a. In what ways were they similar?
b. In what ways were they different?
c. Would you consider them to truly be the same biome? Explain?
d. During the thirty year period used for the figures in the San
Francisco climograph there were four drought periods. How would
this effect the appearance of the climograph?
2. How are the Tundra and Desert similar? Different? Explain why the are the
same and different.
a. Similar
b. Different
3. How are the Tropical Rain and Tropical Deciduous Forests similar? different?
a. Similar
b. Different
4. San Francisco, CA and Nashville, TN occupy similar latitudes (San Francisco
is slightly higher in latitude). Why is one found in chapparal (Mediterranean)
biome and the other in a forest biome?
5. Which biome has the:
a. most rainfall
b. least rainfall
c. the highest average temperature
d. the lowest average temperature
e. most consistent year round temperature
f. most variable year round temperature
6. Take a guess as to what biome the mystery biome belongs to! Please explain
why you think this is the case.
Part III
Plant Adaptations and the Southern California Biome
Biomes are specialized ecosystems with climate, plant life, soil, and animals that
make them unique. Some biomes have a great diversity of plants and animals
where others have limited numbers of different species that can survive there.
Plants and animals have developed a variety of adaptations that allow for them
to survive in a particular biome. Do some online research (or read your 101 text)
and identify at least two plant adaptations for the biomes listed below.
Tundra
Taiga
Temperate Forest (including deciduous forests)
Tropical Forests
Grasslands
Desert
Chaparral (Mediterranean shrubland)
Self Guided Field Trip:
In Southern California, we live in the Chaparral (Mediterranean shrubland)
biome. This biome is characterized by mid-year rainfall and a deficit of water in
late summer and early fall. Unknown to many people living in Los Angeles is
the fact that we live in one of the worlds most diverse biomes, particularly with
regard to plants. In fact, coastal Southern California has been identified as one of
the top biodiversity hotspots in the world. Biodiversity refers to the number of
plant and animal species. As such, conservation is a big issue in this
environment.
For this portion of your assignment, you will need to go to a local park that is
still in its natural form (i.e., golf courses do not count). This is a real opportunity
for you to observe the tremendous biodiversity where we live. There are several
local parks you may visit, some of them are listed below. Spend about 20 minutes
observing the plants and animals at this park then answer the following
questions:
1. What park did you visit?
2. What adaptations to the climate can you observe in the local plants (please
list at least three).
3. What do you think is the greatest environmental impact to this park?
4. Would the plants at this park survive well in a desert? Why or why not?
5. Choose one animal that lives in our biome, what adaptations allow for it
to live here? Given the fast pace of development in Southern California,
would you expect this animal to survive over the next 100 years? Why or
why not?
6. Finally, how do you think global warming will impact the natural
environment of Southern California?
Some Suggested Parks to Visit:
You can look up other parks or download directions and trail maps to these
parks by going to the following website:
http://www.lamountains.com/index.asp



O’Melveny Park, 17300 Sesnon Blvd., Granada Hills
Michael D. Antonovich Regional Park at Joughin Ranch, 16100 Browns
Canyon Road, Chatsworth
Tapo Canyon Regional Park, 4651 Tapo Canyon Road, Simi Valley