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Chapter 5
Climate and Terrestrial
Biodiversity
Opening Video: Cloud Forests
Weather and Climate
 Weather is a local area’s short-term physical
conditions such as temperature and precipitation.
 Climate is a region’s average weather conditions
over a long time.
• Latitude and elevation help determine climate.
Earth’s Current Climate Zones
Figure 7-2
Animation: Climate and Ocean Currents Map
Animation: Air Circulation and Climate
Solar Energy and Global Air Circulation:
Distributing Heat
 Global air circulation
is affected by the
uneven heating of
the earth’s surface
by solar energy,
seasonal changes in
temperature and
precipitation.
Winter (northern hemisphere tilts
away from sun) 23.5 °
Spring
(sun aims directly
at equator)
Solar
radiation
Summer
(northern hemisphere
tilts toward sun)
Fall
(sun aims directly at equator)
Coriolis Effect – Global air circulation is affected by Earth’s
rotation
Energy Transfer by Convection
in the Atmosphere
Convection Cells
 Heat and moisture are
distributed over the
earth’s surface by
vertical currents, which
form six giant
convection cells at
different latitudes.
Figure 7-6
Cell 3 North
Cold,
dry air
falls
Moist air rises — rain
Polar cap
Arctic tundra
Evergreen
60°coniferous forest
Temperate deciduous
forest and grassland
30°Tropical Desert
POLAR
CELLS
Cell 2 North
Cool, dry
air falls
Cell 1 North
deciduous
forest
0°Equator
Tropical
deciduous
30°forest
Tropical
rain forest
Desert
Temperate
deciduous
60°forest and
grassland
Cell 1 South
Cool, dry
air falls
Cell 2 South
Polar cap
Cold,
dry air
falls
HADLEY
CELLS
FERREL
CELLS
Moist air rises — rain
Cell 3 South
Fig. 7-6, p. 144
Animation: Air Circulation
Air Pressure, Fronts and Precipitation





Pressure: Measured in mb or inches of Hg
Low Pressure: Converging, CCW in N.H.
High Pressure: Diverging, CW in N.H.
Fronts: Cold, Warm, Stationary, Occluded
Severe Weather: Thunderstorms, tornadoes,
hurricanes
Greenhouse Gases Warm the
Lower Atmosphere
 Greenhouse gases
•
•
•
•
H2O
CO2
CH4
N2O
 Greenhouse effect
 Human-enhanced global warming
Flow of Energy to and from the Earth
Animation: Greenhouse effect
Animation: Increasing Greenhouse
Gases
Ocean Currents:
Distributing Heat and Nutrients
 Global warming:
• Considerable scientific evidence and climate
models indicate that large inputs of greenhouse
gases from anthropogenic activities into the
troposphere can enhance the natural greenhouse
effect and change the earth’s climate in your
lifetime.
Animation: Upwelling Along Western
Coasts
Animation: El Nino Southern Oscillation
Topography and Local Climate:
Land Matters
 Interactions between land and oceans and
disruptions of airflows by mountains and cities
affect local climates.
Figure 5-8
Prevailing winds
pick up moisture
from an ocean.
On the windward side
of a mountain range,
air rises, cools, and
releases moisture.
On the leeward side of
the mountain range, air
descends, warms, and
releases little moisture.
Fig. 7-7, p. 145
Animation: Coastal Breezes
Biomes: Climate and Life on Land
 Different climates lead to different communities
of organisms, especially vegetation.
• Biomes – large terrestrial regions characterized
by similar climate, soil, plants, and animals.
• Each biome contains many ecosystems whose
communities have adapted to differences in
climate, soil, and other environmental factors.
Earth’s Major Biomes
Figure 5-9
Tropic of
Cancer
Equator
High mountains
Polar ice
Polar grassland (arctic
tundra)
Temperate grassland
Tropical grassland
(savanna)
Chaparral
Coniferous forest
Temperate deciduous forest
Tropical forest
Desert
Tropic of
Capricorn
Fig. 5-9, p. 106
Natural Capital: Average Precipitation and
Average Temperature as Limiting Factors
Figure 5-10
Polar
Tundra
Subpolar
Temperate
Coniferous
forest
Desert
Deciduous
Forest
Grassland
Chaparral
Tropical
Desert
Rain forest
Savanna
Tropical
seasonal
forest
Scrubland
Fig. 5-10, p. 107
Biomes: Climate and life on land
 Parallel changes occur in vegetation type occur
when we travel from the equator to the poles or
from lowlands to mountaintops.
Figure 5-11
Science Focus: Staying Alive
in the Desert
 Plant adaptations
 Animal strategies and adaptations
There Are Three Major Types of Deserts
 Tropical deserts
 Temperate deserts
 Cold deserts
 Fragile ecosystem
•
•
•
•
Slow plant growth
Low species diversity
Slow nutrient recycling
Lack of water
Climate Graphs of Three Types of
Deserts
Stepped Art
Fig. 7-11, p. 149
Video: Desertification in China

From ABC News, Environmental Science in the Headlines, 2005 DVD.
Key Organisms in a Desert Food Web
 The flora and
fauna in desert
ecosystems
adapt to their
environment
through their
behavior and
physiology.
Page S53
There Are Three Major Types of
Grasslands (1)
 Tropical
 Temperate
 Cold (arctic tundra)
There Are Three Major Types of
Grasslands (2)
 Tropical
• Savanna
• Grazing animals
• Browsing animals
 Temperate
• Tall-grass prairies
• Short-grass prairies
There Are Three Major Types of
Grasslands (3)
 Arctic tundra: fragile biome
 Adaptations of plants and animals
 Permafrost
 Alpine tundra
Climate Graphs of Tropical, Temperate,
and Cold Grasslands
Stepped Art
Fig. 7-12, p. 151
Monoculture Crop Replacing Biologically
Diverse Temperate Grassland
Temperate Shrubland: Nice Climate,
Risky Place to Live
 Chaparral
 Near the sea: nice climate
 Prone to fires in the dry season
Chaparral Vegetation in Utah, U.S.
Video: Caribou
Video: Tundra Flyover
Key Organisms in Temperate Grasslands
 Temperate tall-grass
prairie ecosystem in
North America.
Page S54
Polar Grasslands
 Polar grasslands are
covered with ice and
snow except during a
brief summer.
Page S55
There Are Three Major Types of
Forests (1)
 Tropical
 Temperate
 Cold
• Northern coniferous and boreal
There Are Three Major Types of
Forests (2)
 Tropical rain forests
• Temperature and moisture
• Stratification of specialized plant and animal
niches
• Little wind: significance
• Rapid recycling of scarce soil nutrients
• Impact of human activities
There Are Three Major Types of
Forests (3)
 Temperate deciduous forests
•
•
•
•
Temperature and moisture
Broad-leaf trees
Slow rate of decomposition: significance
Impact of human activities
There Are Three Major Types of
Forests (4)
 Evergreen coniferous forests: boreal and taigas
•
•
•
•
Temperature and moisture
Few species of cone: bearing trees
Slow decomposition: significance
Taiga is the intermediary between boreal forest
and tundra
 Coastal coniferous forest
 Dry Coniferous forest
 Temperate rain forests
Climate Graphs of Tropical, Temperate,
and Cold Forests
Stepped Art
Fig. 7-15, p. 154
Some Components and Interactions in a
Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystem
Ocelot
Harpy
eagle
Blue and
gold macaw
Squirrel
monkeys
Climbing
monstera palm
Katydid
Green tree
Slaty-tailed
snake
trogon
Tree frog
Ants
Bacteria
Bromeliad
Fungi
Producer
to primary
consumer
Primary to
secondary
consumer
Secondary to
higher-level
consumer
All producers and
consumers to
decomposers
Fig. 7-16, p. 155
Stratification of Specialized Plant and
Animal Niches in a Tropical Rain Forest
45
40
Emergent
layer
Harpy
eagle
35
Toco
toucan
Canopy
Height (meters)
30
25
20
15
Under
story
Wooly
opossum
10
Brazilian
tapir
5
0
Black-crowned
antpitta
Shrub
layer
Ground
layer
Fig. 7-17, p. 156
Temperate Rain Forest in Washington
State, U.S.
Temperate Deciduous Forest
 Most of the trees
survive winter by
dropping their
leaves, which
decay slowly and
produce a nutrientrich soil.
Page S56
Evergreen Coniferous Forests
 Consist mostly of
cone-bearing
evergreen trees that
keep their needles
year-round to help
the trees survive long
and cold winters—
why does this allow
them to survive?
Page S57
Video: Sequoias
Mountains Play Important
Ecological Roles
 Majority of the world’s forests
 Habitats for endemic species
 Help regulate the earth’s climate
 Can affect sea levels
 Major storehouses of water
• Role in hydrologic cycle
Mount Rainier National Park in
Washington State, U.S.
Humans Impact Terrestrial Biomes
 Human activities have damaged or disturbed
more than half of the world’s terrestrial
ecosystems.
 Humans have had a number of specific harmful
effects on the world’s deserts, grasslands,
forests, and mountains.
Major Human Impacts on Terrestrial
Ecosystems
NATURAL CAPITAL
DEGRADATION
Major Human Impacts on Terrestrial Ecosystems
Deserts
Grasslands
Forests
Clearing for
Large desert cities Conversion
agriculture,
to cropland
Soil destruction by Release of CO2 livestock grazing,
off-road vehicles
to atmosphere timber, and urban
from burning development
Soil salinization
grassland
Conversion of
from irrigation
diverse forests to
Overgrazing tree plantations
Depletion of
by livestock
groundwater
Damage from offOil production road vehicles
Land disturbance and off-road
and pollution from vehicles in
Pollution of
mineral extraction arctic tundra forest streams
Mountains
Agriculture
Timber extraction
Mineral extraction
Hydroelectric dams
and reservoirs
Increasing tourism
Urban air pollution
Increased ultraviolet
radiation from ozone
depletion
Soil damage from off-road
vehicles
Fig. 7-20, p. 158
Video: Eagle Fishing
Video: Gopher
Video: Grizzly Bears
Video: Owl Hunting