Download World Biomes - Appoquinimink High School

World Biomes
• A group of ecosystems that are related by
having a similar type of of vegetation
governed by similar climatic conditions
– Major Terrestrial Biomes
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Desserts
Grasslands and Prairies
Tropical Rainforests
Temperate rainforests
Coniferous forests
Tundra
Deserts
• Very dry; hot days and cold nights; less
than 10in of rain per year
• Thorny bushes and shrubs, cacti –
scattered
Grasslands/ Prairies
• Seasonal rainfall; 10-60in of rain per year;
frequent fires; soils rich and deep
• Grass species – small and tall dependent
on rainfall; some bushes and forests
Tropical Rain Forests
• Non-seasonal; rainfall frequent and heavy;
over 95in of rain per year
• Soils thin and poor
• Average temp of 28oC (84oF)
• High diversity of broadleaf evergreens,
dense canopy, little understory, vines and
epiphytes
Temperate Forests
• Seasonal; temps below freezing in winter,
warmer summers – humid; 30-80 in of
rainfall per year; well developed soils
• Broadleafed deciduous trees; some
conifers (pine trees); shrubby undergrowth
–ferns, lichens, and mosses
Coniferous forests
• Seasonal – long cold winters, light precip
in winter, heavier in summer
• Soils acidic, much humus and litter
• Conifers – spruce, fir, pine, hemlock; some
deciduous –birch and maples; poor
understory
Tundra
• Bitter cold – except 8-10wk growing
season, precipitation is low, soils thin with
permafrost
• Low-growing sedges, dwarf shrubs,
lichens, mosses and grasses
Ecosystem Notes
• Ecology- the study of Ecosystems
• Ecosystem- an area where organisms thrive
• Biome- a group of ecosystems that share the
same climatic area. Is determined by type of
vegetation and rainfall.
• Biotic Factor- all living organisms in an
environment, humans, plants, animals
• Abiotic Factor- non-living parts of an
environment, ex- rock, soil, sun
• Habitat- an environment that meets an
organism’s needs and functions for survival.
Several niches make up a habitat.
• Species- a group of organisms that can create
offspring.
• Population- A group of organisms all of the same
species living in the same area at the same time.
• Community- A collection of several populations
that inhabit a common area.
• Population Density- How many individuals
occupying a certain area
• Limiting Factor- anything that would keep
something from surviving and reproducing
• Natural Selection- individuals ability to survive
into the next generation due to adaptations or an
individual evolving to survive.
• Niche- job an organism does within the habitat
• Carrying Capacity- amount of population an area
can contain based on resource availability
• Food chain – a chain that hierarchy of
different living things each of which feeds on
the one below; (basically what eats what…)
• Food web – an interlocking food chain within
an ecological community; (what everything
eats within an ecosystem)