BIOMES • Terrestrial biomes usually grade into each
other, without sharp boundaries
The temperature difference from the pole to the
equator depends on the Sun's energy and the
energy retained in Earth's systems. There have
been times when the Earth didn't have polar ice
caps or deserts and there have been times when
ice buried much of the Earth's surface.
(Because the Earth is round, the sun strikes the
surface at different angles, ranging from 0° (just
above the horizon) to 90° (directly overhead).
When the sun's rays are vertical, the Earth's
surface gets all the energy possible. The more
slanted the sun's rays are, the longer they travel
through the atmosphere, becoming more scattered
and diffuse. Because the Earth is round, the frigid
polar regions never get a high sun, and because of
the tilted axis of rotation, these areas receive no
sun at all during part of the year.
The tropics are warm all year, averaging 25 to 28
degrees Celsius (77 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit). This
is because the tropics get more exposure to the
sun. Because of all that sun, the tropics don't
experience the kind of seasons the rest of the Earth
does. The tropical seasons are broken up into just
two: the wet season and the dry season.
General Features of Terrestrial Biomes
• Terrestrial biomes are often named for
major physical or climatic factors and for
vegetation
• The area of intergradation, called an
ecotone, may be wide or narrow
Desert
• Deserts occur in bands near 30C north and
south of the Equator, and in the interior of
continents
• Precipitation is low and highly variable,
generally less than 30 cm per year
• Deserts may be hot or cold
• Desert plants are adapted for heat and
desiccation tolerance, water storage, and
reduced leaf surface area
• Annual rainfall in the desert is less than 10
inches (25 cm) and, in some years, may be
zero. Because of the extreme dryness of the
desert, its colonization is limited to
• Common desert animals include many kinds
of snakes and lizards, scorpions, ants,
beetles, migratory and resident birds, and
seed-eating rodents; many are nocturnal
• Urbanization and irrigated have reduced
the natural biodiversity of some deserts
• The net productivity of the desert is low.
High productivity can sometimes be
achieved with irrigation, but these gains are
 often only temporary. The high rates of
evaporation cause minerals to accumulate
near the surface and soon their
concentration may reach levels toxic to
plants.
Savanna
• Equatorial and subequatorial regions
• Savanna precipitation is seasonal
• Temperature is warm year-round (24–29C)
but more seasonally variable than the
tropics
• Grasses and forbs make up most of the
ground cover
• Tropical Grasslands are the ones which
receive 50 cm to 130 cm rain. Furthermore,
they have both rainy and dry days. As a
result, they are warm all year round.
• Moreover, tropical grasslands are also
called Savanna. These grasslands contain
shrubs and small trees that are dry in
nature.
• The dominant plant species are fire-
adapted and tolerant of seasonal drought
• Common inhabitants include insects and
mammals such as wildebeests, zebras, lions,
and hyenas
• Fires set by humans may help maintain this
biome
• Also, the tropical grasslands contain quite
short plants which makes it an excellent
hunting ground. For instance, the African
savanna is one of the tropical grasslands.
Temperate Grassland
• Temperate grasslands are found on many
continents
• Precipitation is highly seasonal
• Winters are cold (often below –10C) and
dry, while summers are hot (often near
30C) and wet
• Temperate grasslands receive rainfall of the
range 25 cm and 75 cm. Furthermore, the
climate in the temperate grasslands makes
it both dormant and growing.
• The dominant plants, grasses and forbs, are
adapted to droughts and fire
• Native mammals include large grazers such
as bison and wild horses and small
burrowers such as prairie dogs
• Most grasslands have been converted to
farmland
• 4 seasons - seasonal precipitation, less rain
than temperate forest plains & prairies;
Midwest very fertile soil
• The flooded grasslands are having water all
year-round. Furthermore, these grasslands
contain numerous vegetation that grows in
water.
Tropical Forest
• Distribution is in equatorial
subequatorial regions
• In tropical rain forests, rainfall is relatively
constant, while in tropical dry forests
precipitation is highly seasonal
• Temperature is high year-round (25–29C)
with little seasonal variation
• Tropical forests are vertically layered and
competition for light is intense
• Has the most species BIODIVERSITY canopy
= top understory =  below canopy Hot &
wet year round; thin, poor soil
• Tropical forests are home to millions of
animal species, including an estimated 5–30
million still undescribed species of insects,
spiders, and other arthropods
• Rapid human population growth is now
destroying many tropical forests
• Epiphytes are plants that live perched on
sturdier plants. They do not
nourishment from their host as parasitic
plants do. Because their roots do not reach
the ground, they depend on the air to bring
them moisture and inorganic nutrients.
Many orchids and many bromeliads
(members of the pineapple family like
"Spanish moss") are epiphytes.
Temperate Forest (Deciduous Forest)
and
• This biome occupies the eastern half of the
United States and a large portion of Europe.
It is characterized by:
• hardwood trees (e.g., beech, maple, oak,
hickory) which
• are deciduous; that is, shed their leaves in
the autumn.
• Deciduous forests can be found in the
eastern half of North America, and the
middle of Europe. There are many
deciduous forests in Asia. Some of the
major areas that they are in are southwest
Russia, Japan, and eastern China. South
America has two big areas of deciduous
forests in southern Chile and Middle East
coast of Paraguay. There are deciduous
forests located in New Zealand, and
southeastern Australia also.
• The number of different species is far more
limited than in the jungle.
take
• Large stands dominated by a single species
are common.
• Deer, raccoons, and salamanders are
characteristic inhabitants.
• During the growing season, this biome can
be quite productive in both natural and
agricultural ecosystems.
• The deciduous forest has four distinct
seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and
winter. In the autumn the leaves change
color. During the winter months the trees
lose their leaves.
• The animals adapt to the climate by
hibernating in the winter and living off the
land in the other three seasons. The animals
have adapted to the land by trying the
plants in the forest to see if they are good
to eat for a good supply of food. Also the
trees provide shelter for them. Animal use
the trees for food and a water sources.
Most of the animals are camouflaged to
look like the ground.
• Water: Adequate
• Temperature: Cool season and warm
season
• Soil: Fertile soil
• Plants: Deciduous trees (trees that loose
their leaves), shrubs, ground cover
• Animals: Many mammals, birds, reptiles,
insects, arachnids, etc.
• The word "Deciduous" means "falling off or
out at a certain season". That explains why
deciduous forest means a forest in which
the leaves fall off the trees when the winter
comes.
• The soil is very fertile. In fact, some of the
great agricultural regions are found in this
biome. That is one of the reasons there
aren't a lot of original deciduous forests left
in the world. Almost all of the forests in
North America are second growth forests
but it still has the biggest variety of original
plant species. In Europe there are only a
few species of original trees left. Most of
the forests have been cleared for
agriculture. China has been clearing the
natural trees for at least 4,000 years and
most of the forests are man-made.
Coniferous Forest
• The northern coniferous forest, or taiga,
spans northern North America and Eurasia
and is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth
• Precipitation varies; some have periodic
droughts and others, especially near coasts,
are wet
• Winters are cold and long while summers
may be hot (e.g., Siberia ranges from –50C
to 20C)
• Taiga is the Russian word for forest and is
the largest biome in the world. It stretches
over Eurasia and North America. The taiga is
located near the top of the world, just
below the tundra biome. The winters in the
taiga are very cold with only snowfall. The
summers are warm, rainy, and humid. A lot
of coniferous trees grow in the taiga. The
taiga is also known as the boreal forest. Did
you know that Boreal was the Greek
goddess of the North Wind?
• Conifers such as pine, spruce, fir, and
hemlock dominate
• The conical shape of conifers prevents too
much snow from accumulating and
breaking their branches
• Animals include migratory and resident
birds, and large mammals such as moose,
brown bears, and Siberian tigers
• There are not a lot of species of plants in
the taiga because of the harsh conditions.
Not many plants can survive the extreme
cold of the taiga winter. There are some
lichens and mosses, but most plants are
coniferous trees like pine, white spruce,
hemlock and douglas fir.
• Coniferous trees are also known as
evergreens. They have long, thin waxy
needles. The wax gives them some
protection from freezing temperatures and
from drying out. Evergreens don't loose
their leaves in the winter like deciduous
trees. They keep their needles all year long.
This is so they can start photosynthesis as
soon as the weather gets warm. The dark
color of evergreen needles allows them to
absorb heat from the sun and also helps
them start photosynthesis early.
Tundra
• Tundra covers expansive areas of the Arctic;
alpine tundra exists on high mountaintops
at all latitudes
• Precipitation is low in arctic tundra, and
higher in alpine tundra
• Winters are long and cold (below –30C)
while summers are relatively cool (less than
10C)
• Permafrost = layer of permanently frozen
subsoil Strong winds -no trees, small plants
Plants = mosses, lichens, grasses Animals =
arctic fox, caribou
• Mountain ranges Polar ice caps (Arctic)