Download Ecosystem/Biomes - Uplift Community High School

Ecosystem/Biomes
Ecosystem
•
Ecosystems are dynamic interactions between
plants, animals, and microorganisms and their
environment working together as a functional
unit. Ecosystems will fail if they do not remain in
balance. No community can carry more
organisms than its food, water, and shelter can
accomodate. Food and territory are often
balanced by natural phenomena such as fire,
disease, and the number of predators. Each
organism has its own niche, or role, to play
Biomes
•
A biome is a large area with similar flora, fauna,
and microorganisms. Most of us are familiar
with the tropical rainforests, tundra in the arctic
regions, and the evergreen trees in the
coniferous forests. Each of these large
communities contain species that are adapted to
its varying conditions of water, heat, and
soil. For instance, polar bears thrive in the arctic
while cactus plants have a thick skin to help
preserve water in the hot desert.
Major Biomes of the World
• Mountain
• Tundra
• Mid Latitude Temperate Forest
Deciduous Forest, Coniferous Forest
• Marine/Island
• Desert
• Tropical Dry Forest
• Taiga (Boreal Forest)
• Prairie
• Steppe
• Savannah
• Tropical Rain Forest
Mountain Biome
Mountain Biome
• All mountain ecosystems have one major
characteristic in common--rapid changes in
altitude, climate, soil, and vegetation over very
short distances
• An example of the mountain's wide variety of
organisms can be seen in California's Sierra
Nevada range. It has been estimated that this
range alone houses 10,000 to 15,000
DIFFERENT species of plants and animals! This
is all mainly due to elevation changes, which
produces belts, or zones, of differing climates,
soils, and plant life.
Mountain Biome
• The mountain people, which mainly
consist of indigenous people, ethnic
minorities, and refugees, have been able
to cope with this harsh environment of the
mountain ecosystem. They live as
nomads, hunters, foragers, traders, small
farmers, loggers, and miners, etc. Most
mountain people all share one attribute -material poverty.
Tundra Biome
• Tundra: The Frozen Prairie
• Climate: Sub Polar
Tundra Biome
• This biome circles the world in the highest
northern latitude and in the southern hemisphere
is found only in the Antartic Peninsula and
Islands close by. Here temperatures often reach
about -50°F in the winter. Tundra covers about
one-fifth of the Earth's land surface. Because of
the cold climate it is impossible for trees to grow,
thus leaving room for low-growing plant life and
wildflowers. For this reason the Tundra biome
looks like a frozen-over prairie land
• The freezing temperatures leave deeper layers
of soil frozen throughout most of the year- this
condition is called permafrost. Only the top layer
on the surface is able to thaw out in summer
conditions
• Despite these harsh living conditions animals
still manage to survive here. During the Tundra's
brief summer, insects hatch out of eggs which
were frozen in the top soil. Creating a vast
feeding ground for birds, thousands migrate
here during this time to feed on these insects.
Millions of migrating waterfowl and shore birds
come to the shore and lake areas in the artic
tundra of Alaska during the summer months
Temperate Forest Deciduous
Forest
Mid latitude Deciduous Forest
Climate: Humid Continental
Deciduous Forest
• The temperate forest biome is found in the
middle latitudes around the globe and this biome
is very seasonal
• Temperate forests dominate the mid-latitudes in
eastern North America, western Europe, and
eastern Asia.
• Because temperate forests are highly seasonal
they have warm summers and cold winters. The
trees being deciduous (meaning they drop their
leaves in the fall) change colors as the seasons
cycle: the green leaves of summer give way to
the grey bare branches of winter.
Deciduous Forest
• The Temperate forest biome is one of the most
altered biomes on the planet. By looking at a
map you will see that our population density very
closely corresponds to the distribution of
Temperate Forests. We use the wood of these
trees for construction, firewood and art. They
have been cleared for farming and to build
communities. These human activities have led to
the decline and loss of these forests in many
parts of the world.
Tiaga or Boreal Forest
• Coniferous Forest; found between Tundra
and middle Latitude Forest.
• Climate: Subarctic
Temperate Rain Forest
• Coniferous Forest
• Climate: Marine West Coast
Tiaga or Boreal Forest
• This cold climate that supports coniferous trees
(which means that they carry cones) is found at
very high latitudes extending across Eurasia and
North America. Rainfall in this climate is
moderately high but is spread throughout the
course of the year, with snow covering the
ground in winter. Very little water is evaporated
by the sun, thus ponds, lakes and bogs also
known as "muskegs" are found everywhere,
especially in glacially carved areas.
Tiaga or Boreal Forest
• Trees in the taiga (Taiga is a Russian word) use a lot of
energy to grow their leaves, thus they have found a way
to keep their needles all year round. This way, when the
sun comes out again in the spring these trees are
already gathering much needed sunlight instead of
wasting more energy to grow new leaves. In addition
they have adapted their needles to be filled with a
chemical that repels grazing animals, and their thick bark
resists the loss of moisture in the cold winters. Trees of
this biome are also known as boreal or the Northern
coniferous forests, usually have shrubs underneath them
with blueberries (which is a favorite food of many
animals) which act as heath plants
Temperate Rain Forest
• The obvious element of climate in the temperate
rain forest is precipitation. At least 200 cm of
it, perhaps up to 350 centimeters in warmer
areas. The precipitation can fall in the form of
rain or snow, with snow becoming more likely at
higher elevations. The average annual
temperature is above 0° C, largely influenced by
the nearby ocean. The warmest of the
temperate rainforests may have average annual
temperatures around 20° C.
Temperate Rain Forest
• This is a small biome in terms of area
covered. The main stretch of this habitat is
along the northwestern coast of North
America from northern California though
southern Alaska.
• Big coniferous trees dominate this habitat,
including Douglas fir and Western red cedar,
Mountain hemlock, Western hemlock, Sitka
spruce and Lodgepole pine. In addition, a
number of deciduous trees are found here,
particularly in warmer spots. One of these is
Big-Leaf Maple.
Tropical Rain Forest
• Climate: Tropical Wet
Tropical Rain Forest
• Amazon rainforests produce about 40% of
the world's oxygen
• One in four pharmaceuticals comes from a
plant in the tropical rainforests
• 1400 rainforest plants are believed to offer
cures for cancer
• 40% of tropical rainforests have already
been lost in Latin America and Southeast
Asia
Tropical Rain Forest
• Technically, this type of forest can be defined as
a forest in the tropics receiving 4-8 meters of
rain each year. Tropical rainforests are found in
Central and South America, Southeast Asia and
islands near it, and West Africa. There are
smaller rainforests in northern Australia and
other small islands. All tropical rainforests are
found along the equator where the temperatures
and the humidity is always high, with the days
being equal to the
Tropical Rain Forest
• Despite covering only 2% of our planet's surface, over half of the
earth's animal, insect species, and flora live there.
•
Within a four mile square area of a tropical rainforest, you would
find:
• Over 750 species of trees
• 1500 different kinds of flowering plants
• 125 species of mammals
• 400 species of birds
• 100 reptiles
• 60 amphibians
• countless insects
• 150 species of butterflies
• **Only 1% of these species has ever been studied**
Desert
• The Desert: Land of Little Rain
• Climate: Arid
Desert
• Of all the biomes of the world, the desert biome has the
driest climate
• The great expanses of the world's desert lie between 20
degrees to 30 degrees north and south latitude. It is here
that equatorial air falls down toward the Earth's surface
and rainfall is rare because rain usually occurs when air
begins to rise, not fall. The equatorial air that is falling
prevents most air from rising. North Africa, southwestern
North America, the Middle East, and Australia support
the largest deserts, but there are smaller deserts in other
regions such as on the Pacific coast of South America
(the Atacama) and the Atlantic coast of southern Africa
(the Namib), where moisture from cold water currents is
evaporated immediately by the hot land masses adjacent
to the currents.
Desert
• Since rainfall is so scarce, plants in the
desert are almost always drought-tolerant,
meaning they can survive without water for
a long time. With unique features such as,
thick or waxy leaves, large root systems,
and water storage systems-like in the
cactus, these adaptive plants are built to
store water, find water quickly or live with
the littlest amount of water possible.
Steppe
• Climate: Semi-Arid
• Located between Forest and Deserts
Steppe
• This dry, cold, grassland is found on all of
the continents except for Australia and
Antarctica. There is a low amount of
humidity because the steppe is located
away from the ocean, but close to
mountain barriers. The steppe is halfway
between a forest and a desert.
Steppe
• Vegetation
• The main plants are a variety of grasses. The
grasses very in size from 4 1/2 ft. to 1 1/2 ft. It is
very hard to grow plants because of the poor
soil.
• ANIMALS
• Most of the animals in the Steppe are grazing
herbivores, like rabbits, mice, antelopes, and
horses.
•
Prairie
• Climate: Humid Continental to Semi-Arid
• This is a very cold and dry climate
because there is no nearby ocean to get
moisture from. Winds from the arctic aren't
blocked by any mountains either. These
are known as the Russian and Asian
steppes.
Prairie
• A grassland is a region where the average
annual precipitation is great enough to support
grasses, and in some areas a few trees. The
precipitation is so eratic that drought and fire
prevent large forests from growing. Grasses can
survive fires because they grow from the bottom
instead of the top.
• tall-grass, which are humid and very wet, and
short-grass, which are dry, with hotter summers
and colder winters than the tall-grass prairie.
Prairie
• Prairie Grassland biomes can be found in
the middle latitudes, in the interiors of
continents. They can have either moist
continental climates or dry subtropical
climates. In Argentina, South America, the
grasslands are known as pampas. The
climate there is humid and moist.
Savanna
• Climate: Tropical Wet and Dry
• Located just north or south of Tropical
Rain Forest Biome
Savanna
• Dominating the continent of Africa, savannahs
are also found in India and the northern part of
South America.
• Savannahs are in fact tropical grasslands for
they are located at tropical latitudes, however
much drier than many tropical forests. Rainfall in
this biome is between 20 to 60 inches a year,
and can be very seasonal (usually falling within
a time period of a couple weeks). Growth after
the rainfall occurs, however long periods of
drought follow.
Savanna
• Throughout the savannahs, the dominant plant
life are grasses and small plants. Trees are
sparse throughout this semi arid landscape, only
growing where there are cracks in the surface or
deep soil. In many savannahs around the world
palm trees play an important role in the
landscape. The most dominate wooded form in
the savanna are the thorn woodlands. Often
following the thorn woodlands come tropical dry
forests. There is a large amount of wild fruittrees, which provide food for many birds and
animals.
Savanna
• Savannah Animals
• Types of birds found in the Savannah biome are shrikes,
hornbills, grey louries, flycatchers, knysna, purplecrested louries, green pigeons, rollers and raptors.
Larger mammals of this biome are lions, leopards,
cheetahs, elephants, buffalos, rhinoceroses, giraffes,
hippopotami, gazelles, zebras, kudus, waterbucks,
oryxes and many others.
• Human activities
• Out of the entire savannah biome, only 8.5% is
protected. Such protected areas are parks and reserves,
such as the Kruger National Park, Kalahari Gemsbok
National Park, the Umfolozi-Hluhluwe and many other
reserves.
•
Ecosystem/Biome Project
• Each student will select an Ecosystem
• Investigation of the Ecosystem should
include the following:
• Description of the climate found in the
Biome
• Description of the Vegetation found in the
biome including specific information on the
major type of vegetation.
Ecosystem/Biome Project
• Animals of the Biome What are the major types
of animals found in the region. Describe the
main animal or animals found in the region..
• Human activities found in the region. How do
humans use this Biome.
• What are major issues facing the biome as it
relates to human activities.
• Why is this Biome important to understand?
Ecosystem/Biome Project
• This should be written in paragraph form
and typed. (3 to 4 pages long)
• Then create a power point presentation of
your Biome based on the your paper.