Download Biome UNIT Vocabulary

BIOME UNIT VOCABULARY
Climate – The typical weather patterns (precipitation, temperature) in an area over a long period of time
Biotic – Living factors in an ecosystem (trees, flowers, animals, etc.)
Abiotic – Non-living factors in an ecosystem (rocks, sun, precipitation, soil, etc.)
Biome – A group of land ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
Adaptation – a behavior or physical characteristic that allows an organism to survive or reproduce in its environment
Ecosystem – the community of organisms that live in a particular area along with their nonliving surroundings
Emergent – the trees in a tropical rainforest that rise above the canopy
Canopy – A leafy roof formed by tall trees
Understory – A layer of shorter trees and vines below the canopy
Forest floor – the leaves and detritus layer on the ground of the forest
Tropical Rainforest – Humid biome that receive lots of rain (250 to 400 cm yearly) and temperatures between 27 ºC–
32 ºC with a large variety of plant and animal species; located near the equator
Desert – An area that receives less than 25 centimeters of rainfall per year with a temperature low -3.9 deg C and
high of 38 deg C.
Grassland – An area that is populated mostly by grasses and other non-woody plants, receives 50 to 90
centimeters of rainfall each year, and has a wet season and dry season.
Savannah/Tropical Grassland – A grassland close to the equator and near a tropical rainforest that receives as much
as 120 centimeters of rainfall per year
BIOME UNIT VOCABULARY
Tundra – An extremely cold, dry biome and found near the north pole.
Permafrost – Soil that is frozen all year and only found in the Tundra.
Taiga/Boreal Forest/Coniferous Forest – Colder climate region, with coniferous trees; cold snowy winters and rainy
summers that are warm enough to melt the snow
Coniferous tree – A tree that produces its seeds in cones and that has needle-shaped leaves
Temperate deciduous forest – an area that has all four seasons and contains trees that shed their leaves and grow
new ones each year
Deciduous tree – A tree that sheds its leaves and grows new ones each year
Chaparral – an area located on a coast line with wet winters and dry summers that are prone to fires
Freshwater ecosystem – an ecosystem that is classified as having lakes, ponds, rivers, or streams, but can include a
variety of habitats
Marine/Saltwater – Ecosystem that is contains salt water, and include the following: estuaries, intertidal zones, neritic
zones, and the ocean
Estuary – A habitat in which the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean
Salinity - the amount of salt
BIOME UNIT VOCABULARY/NOTES
VOCABULARY WORDS ARE IN BOLD AND UNDERLINED:
Savannas and Prairies are both grasslands but Savannas are warmer and wetter. Savannas are found in Africa and
Prairies in North America. Savannas are grasslands found near the equator with fauna such as elephants, giraffes,
gazelles, lions, cheetahs, and wildebeest. The Savanna has dry and wet season with very few trees. The acacia and
the baobab are the two main trees in the Savanna. Savannas can turn into deserts if the grass is destroyed by
drought or fire and does not grow back.
The chaparral is a mountainous biome found on the coast of most continents and includes animals such as lizards,
jackals, and coyotes.
The Tropical Rainforest includes ferns, woody vines, layers, monkeys, sloths, and snakes. The Tropical rainforest has
biotic flora and fauna such as mahogany tree, anaconda & ocelot.
Desert plants have adapted by growing prickly and thick outer layers and by growing tap roots into ground water.
The Desert has biotic fauna such as gila monster & sidewinder. Hot and dry, semiarid, coastal and cold are all types
of Deserts. Desert climate is hot days, cool nights and little precipitation.
The Grasslands cover about 20 percent of earth and have a dry summer and wet fall. The prairie Grassland has
fertile soil and grows wheat and barley.
The Tundra and Desert receive the least amount of precipitation.
The Taiga is the world’s largest biome and has evergreen conifer trees such as spruce and fir. The Taiga has cold
winters and short cool summers and coniferous needle like trees such as spruce and douglas fir.
Tundra animals have adapted by growing thick fur and camouflaging with snow. The Tundra has fauna like caribou,
polar bears and flora like moss In the winter there are about 6 weeks of total darkness and in the summer the sun is
present 24 hours a day. Permafrost is frozen soil found in the Tundra that prohibits trees from growing.
The Temperate Deciduous Forest has trees that lose their leaves such as maple and oak. Temperate deciduous forest
has 4 seasons, and leaves that fall off in winter from trees such as maple and oak.
The order from wettest to driest biome: Tropical rain forest, temperate deciduous forest, grasslands, tundra, desert.