Download Where are the Earth`s major climate regions?

Chapter 2 , Section 4
How Climate Affects Vegetation
• Where are the Earth’s major climate
regions?
• What kinds of vegetation grow in
each climate region?
Chapter 2 , Section 4
Climate and Vegetation
•
Plants have features, called adaptations, that enable
them to live in a particular climate.
•
Over a very long time, small, accidental changes in a
few individual plants made them better able to survive
in a particular place.
•
Therefore, geographers can predict the kinds of plants
they will find in a climate. Each climate has its unique
vegetation, or plants that grow there naturally.
•
Geographers discuss five broad types of climates:
• Tropical
• Dry
• Moderate
• Continental
• Polar
Chapter 2 , Section 4
Tropical and Dry Climates
Tropical Climates
Dry Climates
Tropical Wet
Tropical Wet and Dry
Arid
Semiarid
Temperature
Hot
Hot
Moisture
Wet
Dry
Tropical rain forest: Because
there is so much light, heat,
and rain, thousands of kinds
of plants grow here. The
uppermost branches of tall
trees create a canopy, and
plants more adapted to
shade grow beneath.
Sparse: Because there is so
little rain, plants grow far
apart and have shallow
roots adapted to absorb
scarce water before it
evaporates. Some plants
flower only when it rains.
Types
Vegetation
Chapter 2 , Section 4
Moderate Climates
Moderate Climates
Types
Temperature
Moisture
Vegetation
Mediterranean, Marine West Coast, Humid Subtropical
Seasonal, but almost never below freezing
Moderate rain
In General: A wide variety—forests of deciduous trees, tall
shrubs, low bushes, a variety of grasses
Humid Subtropical: Has the most heat and precipitation
and many types of vegetation
Marine West Coast: Mountainous and cooled by ocean
currents—supports more forests than grasses
Mediterranean: Rainy winters and hot, dry summers lead
to plants with leathery leaves, which hold in moisture
during the dry summers.
Chapter 2 , Section 4
Continental and Polar Climates
Continental Climates
Polar Climates
Humid Continental
Subarctic Continental
Tundra, Ice Cap,
Highlands, Ice Pack
Temperature
Humid: Moderate to hot in the
summer; very cold winters
Subarctic: Cool summers and cold
winters
Cold all year long: The
tundra has short, cold
summers, and even colder
winters.
Moisture
Subarctic climates are much drier
than the humid climates.
Varies
Humid: Supports grasslands and
forests (grass is tall).
Subarctic: Much shorter grasslands,
some areas have huge coniferous
forests.
Sparse: No trees, low
shrubs during brief
summers, mosses, lichens,
low grasses
Types
Vegetation
Chapter 2 , Section 4
A Vertical Climate
•
A mountain is an example of a vertical climate, where the
climate changes according to the mountain’s height. A hike
up a tall mountain in a moderate climate would go something
like this:
•
Grasslands surround the base, and temperatures are warm.
•
You soon enter a region with less precipitation than below—
there are short grasses, as in a continental climate.
•
Next, you move through deciduous forests where it is cooler
and drier. Slowly the forests change to coniferous forests.
•
Then, you find only scattered, short trees and finally only low
shrubs and short grasses. Soon it is too cold and dry even for
them and you begin to see mosses and lichens of a tundra.
•
At the mountaintop is an icecap climate, with no vegetation.
Chapter 2 , Section
Chapter 2 , Section 4
How Climate Affects Vegetation–Assessment
Why do polar climates have sparse vegetation?
Vegetation is scarce in polar regions because the
temperatures are so cold.
What climate region has the most varied vegetation? Why?
Moderate climates have the most varied vegetation because the
temperature is rarely freezing, and rainfall is moderate.
How are continental climates different from moderate climates?
Moderate climates have a wide variety of vegetation. Deciduous
trees grow here, as do shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses.
Continental climates have grasslands and forests. Certain areas
support deciduous or coniferous forests.