Terrestrial

Ecosystem
 All of these ecosystems are formed on the
land masses of continents and islands.
Terrestrial ecosystems have lower
availability of water and the consequent
importance of water as a limiting factor.
Furthermore, terrestrial ecosystems are
characterized by greater temperature
fluctuations on both a diurnal and seasonal
basis than occur in aquatic ecosystems in
similar climates.
 Light intensity and availability is greater in
terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic
ecosystem because the temperature is more
transparent in land than water. Gases like
carbon dioxide are also more available in
terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic
ecosystems. This gas serves as a substrate
for photosynthesis, while oxygen serves as
a substrate in aerobic respiration, and
nitrogen plays a role during nitrogen fixation.
 Types of
Terrestrial
Ecosystem
 Tundra
Comes from the Finnish word tuntria, is the
coldest of all biomes. It means treeless plain.
It’s most notable characteristics are:
- the presence of its frost-molded landscapes
- extremely low temperatures
- little precipitation
- poor nutrients
- short growing seasons
These two major nutrients are nitrogen and
phosphorus.
 Tundra has two types:
Artic Tundra is said to have a desert-like
environment because it has low precipitation (less 10
inches/year). It has long cold winters and short cool
summers. This biome is located in northern Alaska,
Canada and Siberia.
Meanwhile, the Alpine Tundra (in Latin word
means high mountain) are found in mountain regions
all over the world usually at an altitude of 10,000 feet
hence, it does not have trees. The alpine biome lies
just below the snow line of a mountain.
 Taiga
Also known as boreal forest is the Russian
word for forest. It is considered to be the largest
biome in the world. It is located near the top of
the world, just below the tundra biome. This
biome is characterized to be very cold during
winter with only snowfall while during winter with
only snowfall while during summer its warm, rainy
and humid. Common plant species that grow in
this biome are the coniferous trees. (EXAMPLE:
PINE TREES)
 Temperate Deciduous Forest
This type of forest are located in Eastern US,
Canada, Europe, China, and Japan. As
temperature changes, leaves change color in
autumn, fall off during winter, and grow back in
spring. This kind of adaptation allow plants to
survive during cold winter. The temperature in
this forest ranges from -30 degree Celsius to 30
degree Celsius, yearly average is 10 degree
Celsius, rainfall ranges from 750 to 1,500 mm of
rain per year.
This countries experience four types of
seasons–spring, summer, fall, winter
 Common vegetation in this forest are
broadleaf trees like oaks, maples, beeches.
 Tropical Rainforest
The tropical rainforest is a hot, moist biome found
near Earth's equator. The world's largest tropical
rainforests are in South America, Africa, and Southeast
Asia. Tropical rainforests receive from 60 to 160 inches
of precipitation that is fairly evenly distributed
throughout the year. The combination of constant
warmth and abundant moisture makes the tropical
rainforest a suitable environment for many plants and
animals. Tropical rainforests contain the greatest
biodiversity in the world. Over 15 million species of
plants and animals live within this biome.
 The hot and humid conditions make tropical rainforests
an ideal environment for bacteria and other
microorganisms. Because these organisms remain active
throughout the year, they quickly decompose matter on
the forest floor. In other biomes, such as the deciduous
forest, the decomposition of leaf litter adds nutrients to the
soil. But in the tropical rainforest, plants grow so fast that
they rapidly consume the nutrients from the decomposed
leaf litter. As a result, most of the nutrients are contained in
the trees and other plants rather than in the soil. Most
nutrients that are absorbed into the soil are leached out by
the abundant rainfall, which leaves the soil infertile and
acidic.
 Grassland Biome
Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of grasses,
flowers and herbs. Latitude, soil and local climates for the
most part determine what kinds of plants grow in a
particular grassland. A grassland is a region where the
average annual precipitation is great enough to support
grasses, and in some areas a few trees. The precipitation
is so eratic that drought and fire prevent large forests
from growing. Grasses can survive fires because they
grow from the bottom instead of the top. Their stems can
grow again after being burned off. The soil of most
grasslands is also too thin and dry for trees to survive.
 There are two different types of
grasslands; tall-grass, which are humid and
very wet, and short-grass, which are dry,
with hotter summers and colder winters than
the tall-grass prairie.
 In the winter, grassland temperatures can be
as low as -40° F, and in the summer it can be as
high 70° F. There are two real seasons: a growing
season and a dormant season. The growing
season is when there is no frost and plants can
grow (which lasts from 100 to 175 days). During
the dormant (not growing) season nothing can
grow because its too cold.
 In tropical and subtropical grasslands the
length of the growing season is determined by
how long the rainy season lasts. But in the
temperate grasslands the length of the growing
season is determined by temperature. Plants
usually start growing when the daily
temperature reached about 50° F.
 In temperate grasslands the average rainfall
per year ranges from 10-30 inches. In tropical
and sub-tropical grasslands the average rainfall
per year ranges from 25-60 inches per year The
amount of rainfall is very important in
determining which areas are grasslands because
it's hard for trees to compete with grasses in
places where the uppers layers of soil are moist
during part of the year but where deeper layer
of soil are always dry.
 Desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape
where little precipitation occurs and
consequently living conditions are hostile
for plant and animal life. The lack of
vegetation exposes the unprotected
surface of the ground to the processes
of denudation. About one third of the
land surface of the world is arid or semi-
arid. Deserts can be classified by the
amount of precipitation that falls, by the
temperature that prevails, by the causes
of desertification or by their geographical
location.
Hot Deserts
Hot deserts are warm year
round and very hot in the
summer. During the day,
temperatures often reach over
100 degrees Fahrenheit. In the
evening, the temperatures drop
sometimes below freezing. Much
of the time rain does not fall, but
when it does, it is only for a short
amount of time. The ground is
usually rocky or sandy.
 Most of the hot deserts in the
world are located just north and
south of the equator, where it is
the hottest. The largest hot
desert is the Sahara Desert in
northern Africa. The Sahara
covers over 3 million square
miles and has some areas that
receive no rainfall for years.
Other well-known hot deserts
include the Arabian, Mohave,
and Sonoran deserts.
 Cold deserts are cool year around with
very cold temperatures in the winter.
Temperatures in cold deserts are often
below freezing. Heavy snows happen during
the winter, with most of the rainfall
happening during the spring months. The
ground can be solid ice in colder
temperatures and rocky or spongy soil in
milder temperatures.
 The cold deserts of the world are mostly
located on the coasts near oceans and closer to
the north and south poles. The largest cold
desert, and the largest desert in the world, is the
continent of Antarctica. This desert is over 5
million square miles and is the driest, coldest,
and windiest place on earth. In fact, there are no
people that live permanently in Antarctica due to
the harsh conditions. Other cold deserts include
the Gobi, Great Basin, and Namib Deserts.
Antarctica is a desert, but there are no camels
or sand dunes.