Biomes Flashcards
Tropical rainforests
Af climate. Very high rainfall - much runoff. Oxisols w/ extreme leaching. High biodiversity. Perennial streams (little seasonal variation).
Tropical savanna
More seasonal than rainforests.
More fertile soils - types vary.
Mostly grassland with sporadic trees.
Intermittent streams.
Tropical seasonal forest and scrub
Tropical monsoon (Am) and tropical savanna (Aw).
Discontinuous forest to woodland scattered shrubs.
Soils vary.
Hydrology transitional.
Midlatitude broadleaf and mixed forest
Humid continental climates (Cfa, Cfb, Cwa, Cwb).
Alfisols and ultisols.
Broadleaf deciduous, mixed with conifers.
Perennial streams.
Needleleaf and montane forests
Mostly humid continental with warm summer (Dfb), Subarctic cool summer (Dfc).
Spodosols and gelisols.
Smalls streams dry during winter and large ones ice covered.
Temperate rainforest
Marine West Coast (Cfb, Cfb).
Several soils.
Mix of needle and broadleaf trees, thick undergrowth.
Perennial streams.
Mediterranean shrubland
Mediterranean climate (Csa, Csb).
Aridisols and others.
Shrubs with waxy leaves adapted to dry conditions.
Fire important.
Most streams intermittent (summer dry, winter wet).
Midlatitude grassland
Steppe climates (BS).
Mollisols.
Drier regions short grass. Wetter regions tall grass.
Small streams ephemeral, large ones perennial.
Warm and cold deserts
Desert climates (BW).
Aridisols.
Warm deserts bc subtropical high pressure. Cold deserts bc rain shadow effect.
Ephemeral streams.
Exotic streams; perennial (source outside desert).
Arctic and alpine tundra
Tundra (ET) and Highland (H).
Gelisols soils.
Low plants cover ground.
Hydrology; small streams dry in winter, large ones perennial and ice covered in winter.
Peak runoff early summer when snow melts.
Altitudinal zonation
Similar plant changes with elevation and latitude.
Mimics change you would see if you traveled from Equator to North Pole.
Von Humbolt
Noticed altitudinal zonation in Andes.
