1. How are biomes named?
Why?
 according to their plant life
because the plants that can
grow in an area determine
what other organisms can live
there.
2. What determines
which plants can grow in
a certain area?
 climate
3. What is climate?
 the weather conditions in an
area over a long period of time
4. What are the 2 most
important factors in a region’s
climate?
 temperature and precipitation
5. Where do tropical rain
forests occur?
 in a belt around the Earth,
near the equator
6. Tropical rain forests are
always humid and warm and
get about how much rainfall a
year?
 250 cm (100in)
7. Since tropical rain forests are
near the equator, they get
strong sunlight year-round,
maintaining what type of
climate?
 one with little seasonal
variation
8. How are the World’s rain forests
characterized?
 by heavy rainfall and fairly
constant warm temperatures
year-round
 This is a perfect environment for
decomposition.
9. What is a humid and warm
environment perfect for
growing?
 plants
10. Do tropical rainforests have
more or less diversity of
species than any other biome?
 more
11. You would think that this profusion of
plants grows on rich soil, but that is not so.
Why?
 Rapid decay of plants and animals returns
nutrients to the soil, but these nutrients are
just as quickly picked up by the plants and
what nutrients remain are washed
away by rainfall.
12. What type of soil do tropical
rain forests have? Does it
support much undergrowth?
 thin and poor, no
13. In tropical rain forests, how
do plants grow?
 in layers
14. What percentage of
sunlight does the upper
canopy in rain forests absorb?
 95%
15. What type of plants grow in
the understory?
 small trees and shrubs
adapted to shade
16. What does it mean when we
say that all rain-forest animals are
specialists?
 Each is adapted to exploit a
specific resource in a particular
way to avoid competition.
17. Is camouflage common or
uncommon in the rainforest?
 common
18. Tropical rain forest used to
cover about how much of the
earth’s surface?
 20%
19. Today they cover about
how much?
 7%
20. Where is the only
temperate rain forest in North
America?
 the Pacific Northwest
21. What characterizes a temperate
rain forest?
a. trees covered with mosses and
lichens
b delicate ferns on the forests floors
c. towering evergreen trees
d cool and humid
22. Why does American temperate
rain forest never freeze even
though it is located at about 50 to
60 degrees north latitude?
 nearby Pacific Ocean waters
moderate the temperature
23. What characterizes trees in
temperate deciduous forests?
 trees drop their broad flat
leaves each fall
24. How would you describe the
seasonal variations?
 extreme
-the growing season lasts only
four to six months
25. What makes the soil rich and
deep?
 Rain and snow aid in the
decomposition of dead organic
matter, such as fallen leaves, and
make the soil rich and deep.
26. Describe the three main layers of a temperate
deciduous forest.
a. forest canopy is dominated by tall trees such as
maple, pecan, elm, pine
b. smaller trees, shrubs and bushes abound in the
understory
c. the forest floor gets more light than that of a rain
forest, and more plants - ferns, herbs, and
mosses grow there as a consequence.
27. How have temperate forest plants
adapted to survive seasonal changes?
 During cold weather;
-trees shed their leaves
-plants become dormant
During warm weather;
 -growth occurs
28. How and what animals have adapted to
the different layers?
a. squirrels eat nuts, seeds and fruits in the
treetops
b. bears eat the leaves and sweet berries of
forest plants
c. deer and other browsers eat leaves from
trees and
29. How have birds, mammals and insects
adapted to their varied seasonal
environments?
a. birds migrate
b. mammals hibernate
c. insects enter a state of very low metabolic
activity
30 Describe the climate in a
taiga forest.
a. winters are long (6 to 10)
months and extremely cold
b. the growing season may be
as short as 50 days
31. Describe a conifer.
 a tree whose seeds grow in cones
 most do not shed their needleshaped leaves
 cone shaped
32. What are some plant adaptations?
a. do not usually shed leaves (helps them to
survive harsh winters)
b. leaves’ narrow shape and waxy coating
retain water for the tree when the moisture
in the ground is frozen
c. the typical cone shape helps to shed
snow whose weight would otherwise crush
it
33. How have animals adapted to a taiga
forest?
a. birds migrate
b. rodents burrow underground
c. the hare’s fur changes from brown in
summer to white in winter
d. mammals have thick fur
34.Where can the greatest collection of
grazing animals be found along with the
magnificent predators that hunt them?
 Tropical savannas
35. Where are tropical savannas found?
 In the tropics near the equator.
36. Why are there few trees growing in a
tropical savanna?
 They occur inland so they get too little
rain for trees to grow.
37. What may sweep across the savanna
during dry season?
 fires
38. State three plant adaptations in tropical
savannas and the reason they have adapted this
way.
 Large underground root systems to survive fire
so plants re-grow quickly after a fire
 Grasses have vertical leaves that further help
them conserve water.
 Trees and shrubs have thorns or razor-sharp
leaves that deter hungry herbivores
39. State three animal adaptations in tropical
savannas and the reason they have
adapted this way.
a. large, grazing herbivores have adopted a
migratory way of life; they follow the rains
to areas of newly sprouted grass
b. Animals give birth only during the rainy
season, when food is most abundant and
the young are more likely to survive
c. Herbivores avoid competition for food by
eating vegetation at different heights.
40. Describe the soil of grasslands.
 Very fertile
41. Most grasslands have been replaced by
what?
 Grain crops
42. Where are temperate grasslands found?
In the interior of continents where there is
too little rainfall for trees to grow.
43. Other than the prairies in America, what
are two other types of grasslands and
where are they located?
 Steppes – Russia and Ukraine
 Pampas – south America
44. Describe how plants are adapted to
grasslands and give a reason for this
 Their root system form dense mats that
survive drought and fire and hold the soil
in place
45. What are two of the biggest threats to
temperate grasslands?
a. Cultivation
b. overgrazing
46. What are deserts defined as?
Areas that receive less than 25 cm of
precipitation a year
47. What do mountains have to do with
deserts?
 Mountains sometimes block the passage
of rain, creating a “rain shadow” where
deserts form
48. Why is the soil in desserts rich is
minerals, but poor in organic matter?
 Because deserts get so little rainfall, few
nutrients are washed out of the soil, but
the dryness also hinders decay of dead
organic natter. Thus the soil is rich in
minerals, but very poor in organic matter.
49. Adaptations for what characterize all
desert plants?
 Adaptations for getting and conserving
water
50. What are three examples of desert
reptiles and what do they have to prevent
water loss?
 Reptiles – dry, scaly skin
 Amphibians – estivation (burying
themselves in the ground and sleeping
through the dry season.
 Insects – body armor that helps them
retain water.
 51. How do amphibians survive
scorching desert summers? How does
this help
 Estivating – burying themselves in the
ground and sleeping through the dry
season.
52. What are some threats to deserts?
 Residential developments
53. Where is tundra located?
 North of the arctic circle
54. Summers are short in the tundra so how
much of the soil is able to thaw?
 Only the top few inches of soil thaw
55. Since only the top few inches in the
tundra thaw, the surface during the warm
months contain many bogs and swamps.
This is perfect for what?
 Swarming insects – mosquitoes &
blackflys
56. How have animals adapted to the
tundra?
 Migration
 Burrowing underground during winter
 White fur
 Insulation
 Shaggy coats
57. What is a characteristic of the tundra
that makes it susceptible to damage?
 It is the most fragile biome on the planet
58. How would you describe the food chains
in the tundra?
 Delicate and easily disrupted
59. Because conditions are so extreme how
would you describe the lands
vulnerability?
 The land is easily damaged and slow to
recover
60. What has been lately the biggest
concern/threat to the tundra?
 humans
61. DELETE