BIOMES

What is a Biome?

• A biome is a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plants & animal communities.

• Described by their vegetation.– Plants that grow in an area determine the other

organisms that can live there.

Chaparral

Temperate Grassland

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Taiga (northern coniferous forest )

Tundra (polar grasslands)

Savanna

Tropical scrub forest

Tropical deciduous forest

Tropical Rain Forest,Tropical Evergreen Forest

Desert

Ice

Mountains(complex zonation)

Semi-desert,arid grassland

Tropic ofCapricorn

Equator

Tropic ofCancer

Consider this hierarchy model:

BIOSPHERE

BIOMES

SMALLER ECOSYSTEMS

What factors determine which plants can grow in a certain area?

• Remember that biomes are defined by their plant life

• Climate– Refers to the weather conditions, such as temperature,

precipitation, humidity, & winds, in an area over a long period of time.

• Temperature & Precipitation– Determines a region’s climate– All organisms need water, and the larger an organism is,

the more water it needs.

Polar

Subpolar

Temperate

Tropical

Desert

Desert

Deciduousforest

Deciduousforest

Coniferous forestConiferous forest

ChaparralChaparralGrasslandGrassland

SavannaSavanna

ScrublandScrublandTropical

seasonalforest

Tropicalseasonal

forest

Rain forestRain forest

TundraTundra

Latitude & Vegetation

• Biomes, climate, and vegetation vary with latitude & altitude.

• Latitude is the distance north or south of the equator and is measured in degrees.

• Altitude is the height of an object above sea level.

Initial pattern of air circulation

Deflections in the paths of air flownear the earth’s surface

30°S

Easterlies

Westerlies

Southeasttradewinds

(Doldrums)

Northeasttradewinds

Westerlies(from the west)

Easterlies(from the east)

60°S

equator

30°N

60°N

Climate type

Cold

Cool Temperate

Warm Temperate

Tropical

(equator)

Tropical

Warm Temperate

Cool Temperate

Cold

Fig. 6.6a, p. 125

Tundra

Taiga

DeciduousForest

TropicalRain

Forest

Tropical Rain Forest

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Taiga Tundra

LowHigh Moisture Availability

HighLow

Elevation

MTNs (Ice & Snow)

Polar Ice

Polar (ice)

Subarctic (snow)

Cool temperate

Warm temperate

Dry

Tropical

Highland

Major upwelling zones

Warm ocean current

Cold ocean current

River Fig. 6.4, p. 124

Review

• Why is it hard for trees to survive at the tops of very high mountains?

• Which biome would you expect to find a warm to hot conditions with a large amount of moisture?

• Coniferous trees can be found in both the subarctic taiga and in warm chaparral regions. What kind of conditions have these trees in these areas adapted to?