Biomes

Question 1

what are the 4 different types of spheres

Answer 1

lithosphere(geosphere), atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, aquatic biome.

Question 2

characteristics of the lithosphere/geosphere

Answer 2

contains all of the soil, rock, and earth, such as mountains, pebbles, sand and tectonic plates.

Question 3

characteristics of the hydrosphere

Answer 3

contains all of the water on earth– 2.5% is freshwater, 1.7% is glaciers and icebergs, and roughly 95% is salt water (oceans)

Question 4

characteristics of the atmosphere

Answer 4

all of the gasses that surround the earth and are held in place by gravity.– atmosphere is 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen.

Question 5

characteristics of the biosphere

Answer 5

anything living on earth,– plants, animals, bacteria and humans

Question 6

what are the 7 types of biomes

Answer 6

aquatic, grassland, tropical rainforests, boreal rainforest, desert, tundra

Question 7

characteristics of aquatic biomes

Answer 7

mainly water, fresh or salt. make up 75% of the earths surface

Question 8

characteristics of grassland biomes

Answer 8

mainly flat spans of land, very even temperatures, mainly dry and are found on inner parts of continents. only found in mid-latitudinal zones, 25-55 degrees north and south.

Question 9

characteristics of tropical rainforest biomes

Answer 9

primarily located across equator, known for hot, humid weather with lots of tropical rain and storms.

Question 10

characteristics of temperate rainforest biomes.

Answer 10

has an average annual temperature of between 4-12°C located between a latitude of 40-60 degrees north and south.

Question 11

characteristics of boreal forest biomes (also known as taiga)

Answer 11

largest land biome, characterised by coniferous trees and cold temperatures. are located in northernmost areas of most continents in the northern hemisphere. they form a ring around the arctic pole and are often called circumpolar

Question 12

characteristics of desert biomes

Answer 12

located mostly across the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, 30 degrees north and south. they are the driest and hottest biomes, averaging 300mm of rain each year.

Question 13

characteristics of tundra biome

Answer 13

coldest of all biomes, receive some of the least amounts of precipitation, which is why they are sometimes considered to be a desert. located 60-75 degrees majorly in the northern hemisphere.

Question 14

what is the Hadley cell

Answer 14

The hadley cell is the name for the circulation of air in the atmosphere near the equator. At zero degrees the warm air rises and water is evaporated, this leads to cloud formation and heavy amounts of rainfall. At 30 degrees north and south the air descends meaning there is less precipitation, less vegetation and more dry biomes, such as deserts.

Question 15

characteristics of Coniferous forest soil

Answer 15

it is thick, acidic organic debris. Light coloured, acidic. Humus, iron, aluminium. Parent material

Question 16

characteristics of Tropical forest soil

Answer 16

Negligible because organic matter is decomposed and recycled quickly. Acidic, light coloured. Iron, aluminium compounds mixed with clay. Parent material.

Question 17

characteristics of Desert soil

Answer 17

Thin, humus-mineral mixture. Thick, dry, containing accumulations of clay, calcium carbonate, soluble salts. Parent material.

Question 18

what is Climate and what does it include

Answer 18

Each biome is classified by vegetation or local climate. Climate is unlike weather as it doesn’t change daily and is an average of the temperature or precipitation. The growth of plant life and success of animal communities is largely dependent on the availability of sunlight and water, meaning the Hadley cell and latitudinal effect play a major role in determining the local climate and biomes present in any given place on earth.