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Lesson Overview
Biomes
Lesson Overview
4.4 Biomes
Lesson Overview
Biomes
The Major Biomes
What abiotic and biotic factors characterize biomes?
abiotic factors climate and soil type
biotic factors  plant and animal life.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Factors that affect global climate
Latitude
heat
area’s proximity
to an ocean or
mountain range.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Defining Biomes
 Biomes  Classification of Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems based
on regional climate communities.
 Major biomes include:
tropical rain forest,
tropical dry forest,
tropical grassland/savanna/shrubland,
desert,
temperate grassland,
temperate woodland and shrubland,
temperate forest,
northwestern coniferous forest,
boreal forest,
tundra.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Defining Biomes
The map shows the locations of the major biomes.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
–home to more species
than all the other biomes
combined.
–get at least 2 meters of
rain a year!
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
Canopy:
Tall trees
dense, leafy covering
50 to 80 meters above the
forest floor.
Understory:
 below the canopy,
shorter trees and vines
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
Epiphytic plants
grow on the
branches of tall
plants as opposed to
soil.
This allows the
epiphyte to take
advantage of
available sunlight
while obtaining
nutrients through its
host.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
Biotic Factors – Animal Life
–active all year.
–Many use camouflage
to hide from predators or
to match their
surroundings.
–Animals that live in the
canopy have adaptations
for climbing, jumping,
and/or flight.
Leaf Insects
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TROPICAL DRY FOREST
Abiotic Factors
–warm year-round, with
alternating wet and dry
seasons.
–rich soils which are
subject to erosion.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
Adaptations:
–extra thick waxy layer
on leaves to reduce
water loss,
– or they store water in
their tissues.
-seasonal loss of leaves
to survive the dry
season.
–A plant that sheds its
leaves during a
particular season is
called deciduous.
TROPICAL DRY
FOREST
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Biotic Factors – Animal Life
Adaptaions:
–Emigration of animals
in dry season
–reduce need for water
by estivation.
Estivation long
period of inactivity.
similar to hibernation,
but typically takes
place during a dry
season.
TROPICAL DRY
FOREST
Snails in estivation
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TROPICAL
GRASSLAND/SAVANNA/SHRUBLAND
Abiotic Factors
–warm, with seasonal rainfall.
–Compact soil
–frequent fires set by lightning.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TROPICAL
GRASSLAND/SAVANNA/SHRUBLAND
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
Adaptations
waxy leaf coverings to
prevent water loss.
seasonal leaf loss.
Some grasses have a
high silica content that
makes them less
appetizing to grazing
herbivores.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TROPICAL
GRASSLAND/SAVANNA/SHRUBLAND
Biotic Factors – Animal Life
Adaptations:
Migration in dry
season to search for
water.
Some smaller
animals burrow and
remain dormant
during the dry
season.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Abiotic Factors
low precipitation and variable
temperatures.
Their soils are rich in
minerals, but poor in organic
material.
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
Adaptations:
Plants like cacti store water in
their tissues
Small leaf surface area to cut
down on water loss.
 Cactus spines are actually
modified leaves.
DESERT
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
DESERT
–Modified photosynthesis-some plants leaf pores open
only at night, so they can
conserve moisture on hot,
dry days.
Biotic Factors – Animal Life
–get the water from the food
they eat.
–nocturnal—to avoid the day
time heat.
–Large or elongated ears,
many blood vessels close to
the surface to help the
animal lose body heat and
regulate body temperature.
Long-eared Jerboa,
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Honey pot ants & Camels Desert animals
•Get nectar from plants
•The ants feed some particular ants
in the colony with nectar until their
whole abdomen swells up with
honey.
•During the drought, other ants will
feed on the honey, and the ants'
abdomens shrink back to its normal
size.
•The honey-pot ants save food in
this way.
•They are also a source of food
supply for other desert animals,
including humans!
Lesson Overview
Biomes
–Plains and prairies once
covered vast areas of the
midwestern and central
United States.
–Periodic fires and heavy
grazing by herbivores.
Abiotic Factors
–Soil is rich in nutrients and is
ideal for growing crops.
–warm to hot summers
–cold winters,
–moderate seasonal
precipitation.
TEMPERATE
GRASSLAND
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TEMPERATE GRASSLAND
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
–Grasses are resistant
to grazing and fire.
–Wind dispersal of
seeds
–grassland plants help
establish and retain
deep, rich, fertile topsoil.
Biotic Factors – Animal
Life
–Open, exposed
environments make
predation a constant
threat for smaller
animals.
–Camouflage and
burrowing are two
common protective
adaptations.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TEMPERATE WOODLAND AND SHRUBLAND
–Communities that are
more shrubland than
forest are known as
chaparral.
Abiotic Factors
–hot dry summers
–cool moist winters.
–thin, nutrient-poor soils
–periodic fires.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TEMPERATE WOODLAND AND SHRUBLAND
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
–tough waxy leaves that
resist water loss.
–Some seeds are fire
resistant
–Some seeds need fire
to germinate.
Biotic Factors – Animal Life
–varied diets of grasses,
leaves, shrubs etc.
–camouflage is common.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
TEMPERATE FOREST
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
–Deciduous trees drop their
leaves and go into a state
of dormancy in winter.
–Conifers have needlelike
leaves that minimize water
loss in dry winter air.
Biotic Factors – Animal Life
–Some animals hibernate,
–Others migrate to warmer
climates.
–Animals that do not
hibernate or migrate may
be camouflaged to escape
predation in the winter.
Abiotic Factors
–cold to moderate
winters and warm
summers.
–year-round
precipitation and fertile
soils.
–The fertile soils are
rich in humus
material formed from
decaying leaves and
other organic matter.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
NORTHWESTERN CONIFEROUS FOREST
–moist air from the Pacific
Ocean influenced by the
Rocky Mountains provides
abundant rainfall to this
biome.
–Due to the lush
vegetation it is sometimes
called a “temperate rain
forest.”
Lesson Overview
Biomes
NORTHWESTERN CONIFEROUS FOREST
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
Abiotic Factors
Trees  among the world’s
–mild temperatures
tallest.
–abundant precipitation Biotic Factors – Animal Life
in fall, winter, and spring.
–Camouflage helps insects
–Summers cool &dry.
and ground-dwelling
–Soils rocky & acidic.
mammals avoid predation. .
–Variation in seasonal
–Many animals eat a varied
temperature results in
diet—an advantage in an
less diversity.
environment where
vegetation changes
seasonally.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
BOREAL FOREST
–Also called taiga.
–Occurs mostly in the
northern part of the
Northern Hemisphere.
–The word boreal comes
from the Greek word for
“north.”
Lesson Overview
Biomes
BOREAL FOREST
Abiotic Factors
–long cold winters and
short mild summers.
–moderate precipitation
and high humidity.
–soil is acidic and nutrientpoor.
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
–conical shape of
conifers sheds snow,
–wax-covered needlelike
leaves prevent excess
water loss.
–dark green color of most
conifers absorbs heat
energy.
Biotic Factors – Animal Life
–Most have small
extremities and extra
insulation in the form of
fat or downy feathers.
–Migrate in winter.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
–characterized by
permafrost
permafrost a
layer of permanently
frozen subsoil.
TUNDRA
Lesson Overview
TUNDRA
Biomes
Abiotic Factors
–strong winds and low
precipitation.
–short and soggy
summers
–long, cold, and dark
winters
–Poorly developed soil
Biotic Factors – Plant Life
–mosses and other low-growing
plants.
–Seed dispersal by wind.
–legumes, which have
symbiotic bacteria on their roots
that fix nitrogen to the soil
Biotic Factors – Animal Life
–Some migrate to warm areas.
–Those that live here yearround display adaptations such
as
natural antifreeze,
small extremities that limit
heat loss,
a varied diet.
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Mountain Ranges
–not easily classified
into a biome
–exist on all continents
and in many biomes.
–temperature,
precipitation, exposure
to wind, and soil types
all change with
elevation, and so do
organisms.
Yaks and Sherpas at the Foot of
Himalayan Mountain Range
Lesson Overview
Biomes
Polar Ice Caps
–not easily classified into
a biome
–border the tundra and
are cold year-round.
–Plants are few, though
some algae grow on snow
and ice.
–mosses and lichens may
grow where ground is
exposed
–Marine mammals,
insects, and mites are the
typical animals.