Download Biomes - Wallkill Valley Regional High School

Major world biomes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Desert
Tropical Rain Forest
Deciduous Forest (temperate and tropical)
Savannah/Grasslands (temperate and tropical)
Taiga (aka Boreal forest, coniferous forest)
Tundra
Mountains
Biomes
Tropic of
Cancer
Equator
Tropic of
Capricorn
Arctic tundra (polar grasslands)
Desert
Boreal forest (taiga), evergreen coniferous
forest (e.g., montane coniferous forest)
Tropical rain forest,
tropical evergreen forest
Semidesert,
arid grassland
Mountains
(complex zonation)
Temperate deciduous forest
Tropical deciduous forest
Ice
Temperate grassland
Tropical scrub forest
Dry woodlands and
shrublands (chaparral)
Tropical savanna,
thorn forest
Biomes
Altitude
Mountain
Ice and snow
Tundra (herbs,
lichens,
mosses)
Coniferous
Forest
Latitude
Deciduous
Forest
Tropical
Forest
Tropical
Forest
Deciduous
Forest
Coniferous
Forest
Tundra (herbs,
lichens, mosses)
Polar ice
and snow
Desert
General Geographic region:
Typically near 30oN and 30oS latitude
Near interior of continents
30% of Earths surface
Climate information:
Evaporation exceeds precipitation
Tropical desert: hot and dry year round
Temperate desert: cooler in winter; more
vegetation; more precipitation than tropical
Cold desert: cold winters/hot summers
General fauna:
Desert
Lizards, snakes, kangaroo rat,
roadrunner, jack rabbit
Most animals are small, active during
cool parts of day and night, wastes
contain little water
General flora:
Cactus, yucca, agave
3 adaptations: no leaves, store water, open
stomata only at night.
Lifecycles: bloom, seed, and die quickly
Desert
Environmental concerns:
Deserts are expanding (desertification)
Storage of toxic wastes
Testing for nuclear weapons
Pictures:
Grasslands
General Geographic region:
Continent interiors
Climate information:
Enough precipitation to
support grasses and
shrubs, but fewer trees
Can be tropical,
temperate, or polar
Grasslands
General fauna:
Hoofed herbivores, grazing
animals
Giraffe, elephant, warthog,
gazelle, tiger
General flora:
Mostly grasses with deep roots, fewer trees
that are drought tolerant
Plants must be able to re-grow after
frequent fires
Grasslands
Environmental concerns:
Frequent fires, overgrazing, desertification
Pictures:
Tropical Rain Forest
General Geographic region:
Found near equator.
Covers 2% of Earth
Climate information:
Lots of warmth and direct sunlight
Lots of precipitation
Tropical Rain Forest
General fauna:
HUGE biodiversity
Monkeys, frogs, snakes, macaw, etc
Stratification to reduce competition
Contains half of terrestrial species
General flora:
HUGE biodiversity
Ground layer, shrub
layer, understory,
canopy, emergent layer
Tropical Rain Forest
Environmental concerns:
Deforestization,
Slash and burn agriculture
Pollution/resource depletion
Pictures:
45
Harpy
eagle
40
35
Height (meters)
Emergent
layer
Toco
toucan
Canopy
30
25
20
Understory
Wooly
opossum
15
10
Brazilian
tapir
5
Black-crowned
antpitta
0
Tropical Rain Forest
Shrub
layer
Ground
layer
Deciduous Forest
General Geographic region:
Further from equator
Between 30o and 60o N and S latitude
Climate information:
Significant change in
temperatures during seasons.
Precipitation fairly evenly
spread over year.
Warm summers, cold winters
Deciduous Forest
General fauna:
Many top predators have been
extirpated (wolves, cougars, bear)
Deer, raccoons, squirrel, (our area
animals)
General flora:
Trees drop leaves in winter
Fewer tree species than
TRForests, but more ground level
plant life
Deciduous Forest
Environmental concerns:
Loss of biodiversity
Large predators removed
Deforestization
Pictures:
Taiga (Boreal Forest)
General Geographic region:
Found in the north
Just south of the arctic tundra
Climate information:
Winters are long, dry, and very cold.
Winter sunlight is 6-8 hours a day.
Mild summers with 19 hours of sunlight a
day.
Taiga (Boreal Forest)
General fauna:
Moose, wolves, rabbits, bear, eagles
General flora:
Coniferous trees, some
wildflowers and grasses
Taiga (Boreal) Forest
Environmental concerns:
Drilling for oil
Deforestization
Air pollution
Pictures:
Mountains
General Geographic region:
Frequently on continent edges; where
tectonic plates collide
25% of Earth’s surface
Climate information:
Varies depending on elevation.
Higher elevation = colder
Leeward side of mountains gets less
precipitation
Mountains
General fauna:
Big horn sheep, mountain goats, taiga
animals at lower elevations
General flora:
Little flora at high elevation,
lichen, conifers as you go
down in elevation
Mountains
Environmental concerns:
Air pollution
Mining
Pictures: