Mrs. Kerr
APES
CLIMATOGRAMS
Purpose:
The purpose of this lab is to relate climate to the plant and animal communities of
different areas by plotting climatograms of biomes.
Background information:
A biome is a major ecological community having characteristic plants and animals.
Biomes are closely associated with 2 climatic factors, temperature and precipitation. In
most biomes, temperature and precipitation very throughout the year. These variations
are plotted on graphs called climatograms. Climatograms help scientists understand the
demands placed on organisms in the diverse communities on earth.
Figure 1 is a climatogram from a middle latitude deciduous forest. The bar graph
shows average monthly precipitation, while the line graph illustrates average monthly
temperature.
Procedure:
1. From the data below, plot a climatogram like Figure 1 for each of the following
biomes. Be sure to label each climatogram.
2. Do not change data points from Figure 1 so that you can compare the biomes
Mrs. Kerr
(Months)
T(temp oC)
P(prec. Cm)
(Months)
T
P
(Months)
T
P
(Months)
T
P
(Months)
APES
1. Tropical Rain Forest (Manokwari, New Guinea)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
27o
28
(Months)
T
P
27o
33
27o
28
27o
19
2. Taiga (Anchorage, Alaska)
F
M
A
M
J
-11
2
-8
1
-4
1
0
1
6
1
S
O
N
D
27o
21
27o
15
27o
13
26o
13
27.2o
11
27.2o
17
25o
27
J
12
3
J
14
4
A
12
7
S
8
7
O
2
5
N
-6
3
D
-10
2
3. Arctic Tundra (Barrow, Alaska)
J
F
M
A
M
J
-26
5
-28
5
-26
5
-20
5
-8
5
0
1
4. Grassland (Lawrence, Kansas)
J
F
M
A
M
J
-2
3
2
3
6
5
12
9
18
13
24
12
5. Northern Desert (Reno, Nevada)
J
F
M
A
M
J
-1
3
T
P
26o
27
2
3
6
1.5
8
1
12
1
16
1
J
A
S
O
N
D
4
2
3
2
-2
1.5
-10
1
-18
5
-24
5
J
A
S
O
N
D
26
9
26
11
22
8
14
6
6
5
0
4
J
A
S
O
N
D
20
.5
14
.5
14
.5
10
1
4
1
0
2
6. Chaparral (Santa Monica, California)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
12
9
12
8
13
7
14
1.5
15
1.5
17
0
19
0
A
S
O
N
D
18
0
18
.5
17
1.5
14
3.5
13
6
Analysis
1.
Which biome has the lowest temperatures throughout the year? Which has the most
regular rainfall? Which has the most irregular rainfall pattern?
2.
What similarities are there between the arctic tundra biome in Barrow, Alaska, and
the desert biome in Reno, Nevada? Compare both precipitation & temperature.
3.
What is the major climate difference between the grasslands biome and the northern
desert biome?
4.
5.
Which biomes show stable temperature patterns?
What is the major difference between the Chaparral & tropical rain forest? How does
this difference affect the plant life? What adaptations have the plants made in order
to live in each area. Think of limiting factors and size of leaf, flower.