Quick Review:
1. What are the four forest biomes?
2. Where are they found?
3. Give at least one characteristic of
each!
Terrestrial Biomes
1. Temperate Grassland
– Interior of North America (prairies), South America & Asia
– Moderate rainfall, but too little for trees
• Lightning-caused fires in summer
• Root systems form dense layers to survive drought & fire
• Soil is very fertile!
– Animals: antelope, bison, badgers, prairie dogs,
burrowing owls, hawks
– Threats: farming & overgrazing  soil erosion
• Dust bowl 1930s
2. Savanna (tropical grassland)
– Parts of Africa, South America, India, & Australia
– Rain falls in spring & late-fall; drought in between
– Plants: adapted to survive drought
• Lose leaves; body parts die off except for near ground
• Large, horizontal root system to collect water
– Animals: lots of big herbivores
• Elephants, giraffe, antelopes, zebra, wildebeest,
rhinos
– Predators: lions, cheetahs, hyenas, crocs, snakes
3. Tundra
– Found in northern arctic regions
– Winters too cold & dry for trees to
grow
– Has permafrost: permanently frozen
soil layer
• Plants: mosses & lichens
– Dwarf shrubs – keeps plants
out of wind & increased area
for sunlight
– Animals: mosquitoes!, migratory birds, caribou, wolves,
moose, mice, hares, foxes, polar bear
– Threats: oil – pollution & habitat destruction
Desert Biomes
Desert = Low Precipitation
1. Tropical Desert
– Ex: Sahara desert in Africa
– Temperature changes during day: 100F + in day to cool
at night; daytime temps hot all year long
– Very few plants
2. Temperate Desert
– North & South America, Asia, Australia
– Daytime temps high in summer, low in winter
– Plants: adapted to obtaining & conserving H2O
• Cacti: thick, fleshy stems that store water; leaves have waxy
cuticle
• Desert cont.
– Animals: some mammals, snakes, lizards, tortoises
• Have thick skin to prevent water loss
• Amphibians burrow & go dormant during “dry” season
• Most are nocturnal
3. Cold Desert
– Ex: China’s Gobi Desert
– Winters are quite cold, summers
are warm/hot
– Animals: lizards, gazelle, bactrian
camel
Bill, Bob and Bubba
Tundra
Taiga
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Grasslands
Desert
Rain Forest