Ch. 6 Key Terms Flashcards
Biome
A large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plants and animal communities.
Climate
Weather conditions, such as temperature, precipitation, humidity, and winds, in an area over a long period of time.
Latitude
The distance north or south of the equator and is measured in degrees.
Altitude
The height of an object above sea level.
Tropical Rain Forest
Located in a belt around the Earth near the equator.
Emergent Layer
The top layer of the rain forest.
Canopy
The primary layer of the rain forest.
Epiphyte
Plants that use the entire surface of a tree as a place to live.
Understory
Below the canopy where very little light reaches.
Temperate Rain Forest
Rain forests with large amounts of precipitation, high humidity, and moderate temperatures.
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Trees drop their broad, flat leaves each fall
Taiga
Northern coniferous forest that stretches in a broad band across the Northern Hemisphere just below the Arctic Circle.
Savanna
Located in tropical and subtropical areas near the equator and between tropical rain forest and desert biomes.
Temperate Grassland
A biome that is dominated by grasses and that has very few trees.
Chaparral
Type of temperate woodland biome that is dominated by more broad-leafed evergreen shrubs than by evergreen trees.