MODULE 10 - BIOMES Flashcards
- different regions of our planet that have different climates, plants and animals
- A grouping terrestrial ecosystems on a given continent that are similar in vegetation, structure, physiognomy, features of the environment and characteristics of their animal communities
biomes
types of terrestrial biomes
- desert biome
- tundra biome
- coniferous forest biome
- rainforest biome
- grassland biome
- deciduous forest
- Climate: very hot and dry
- Temperature: Hot during the day and cold during the night.
- Soil: Sandy, dry and loose; contains minerals like calcite
Plant Adaptations:
Spines
Succulents
Thick, waxy cuticle
Shallow, broad roots
- DESERT
Animal Adaptations:
coyote
Kangaroo mice
Thorny devil
Spare foot toads
Rattle snake
iguana
jackrabbit
gilamonster
4 major types of desert
- hot and dry desert
- semiarid desert
- cold desert
- coastal desert
- Characterized by cold winters with snowfall and high overall rainfall throughout the winter and occasionally over the summer.
- Have a short, moist and moderately warm summers with fairly long, cold cactus winters.
- Usually occur in Antarctic, Greenland and Nearctic realm
cold desert
- The seasons are generally warm throughout the year and very hot in the summer. The winters usually bring little rainfall.
- The 4 major North American deserts of this type are the Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin.
hot and dry desert
- Summers are moderately long and dry and like hot deserts
- Winters normally bring low concentration of rainfall
- Summer temperatures usually average between 21-270C. It normally does not go above 38 0C and evening temperatures are cool at around 10 0C.
- Major deserts of this type include the sage brush of Utah, Montana and Great Basin
semiarid desert
- The cool winter’s coastal deserts are followed by moderately long, warm summers. The average summer temperature ranges from 13-24 0C; winter temperatures are 5 0C or below.
- The maximum annual temperatures are about 35 0C and the minimum is about -4 0C.
- These deserts occur in moderately cool to warm areas such as the Nearctic and Neotrophical realm. A good example of this is Atacam and Chile.
coastal desert
- “treeless plain”
- Found north of the Arctic Circle
- coldest biome
- Climate :Cold and limited sunlight
- Temperature: Average temperature is 23F or 5 0C
- Soil: Ground covered with little snow. Below the surface soil is permanently frozen (permafrost). Decomposition is very slow because of the extreme cold
<25 in/year
Short growing season
Tundra Plant Adaptations:
Growing close to the ground
Having shallow roots to absorb the limited water resources.
Trees grow less than 1 m high!
- TUNDRA
- Reindeer lichen
- cottongrass
- Woody shrubs
- Perennials
- Heaths
— snowy owl
— Arctic fox
— Grizzly Bear
types of tundra
- arctic tundra
- alpine tundra
- Located between the North Pole and Coniferous Forest or Taiga region. It is extremely cold temperatures and land that remains frozen year-round.
- A layer of permanently frozen subsoil called permafrost exists consisting mostly of gravel and finer material.
- The growing season ranges from 50-60 days.
- Location:
a. North America- Northern Alaska, Canada, Greenland
b. Northern Europe- Scandinavia Northern Asia- Siberia
arctic tundra
- Located on mountains throughout the world at high altitude where trees cannot grow.
- The growing season is approximately 180 days.
- very windy.
- typically covered in snow for most of the year.
- Location:
a. North America - Alaska, Canada, U.S.A. and Mexico
b. Northern Europe - Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden
c. Asia - Southern Asia (Mt. Himalayan) and Japan (Mt. Fuji)
d. Africa - Mt. Kilimanjava
e. South America - Andes Mountains
alpine tundra
Threats to the Tundra
- One of the most fragile biomes on the planet
- Oil drilling is proposed in Alaska and other areas
- slow to recover from damage
- Northern Coniferous Forest; Boreal Forest
- Found only in Northern Hemisphere
- Northern parts of Alaska, Canada, Asia and Europe
- “coming from the cones”
- Very long and cold winter lasting to about half a year; precipitation is in the form of snow about 60 cm.
- Below -20 0C in winter and about 15 0C in summer
Soil:
* not fertile. It takes very long for needlelike leaves to decompose, and decomposition is very slow in cold weather.
* A layer of snow covers the ground during much of the year. Soil beneath the snow is grayish on top and brown below and lacks minerals needed by plants to grow.
- Taiga/Coniferous Forest
Winters are long and cold
Averages 100 in/yr precipitation —mostly snow
Soil poor in nutrients and very acidic
Growing season is very short
Taiga
- Abiotic factors
Coniferous (needle-bearing) trees are abundant
Roots long to anchor trees
Needles long, thin and waxy
Low sunlight and poor soil keeps plants from growing on forest floor
Taiga Plant adaptations
- Balsam Fir
Adapt for cold winters
Burrow, hibernate, warm coat, insulation, etc
Animal Adaptations of the Taiga
- Great Grey Owl
- deer
- mosquito
- bear
- hares
- porcupine
- squirrel
Threats to the Taiga
- Mining operations can irreparably damage this fragile ecosystem
- Road construction
- Clear cutting accelerates soil erosion, degrades wildlife habitat and leads to the loss of diversity
- types of rainforest biome
- tropical rainforest
- temperate rainforest
- covers about 6-7% of the earth’s land surface.
- It is located close to the equator, in 85 different countries, and the most are in Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world.
- The seasons do not change, and it has been hot and wet for millions of years. The average temperature ranges from 70-85 degrees. It rains about 100-400 inches per year.
tropical rainforest
high biodiversity and biomass
both hot and moist;
ideal for bacteria and other microorganisms; they quickly decompose matter on the forest floor allowing nutrients to be recycled
Soil:
* Lacks minerals and contains little remains of dead plants and animals.
* Decomposition is rapid on warm wet soil.
* <1 cm of topsoil; not very fertile
tropical rainforest abiotic factors
Sunlight is a major limiting factor
Shallow, wide roots since soil is so thin and poor in nutrients
Little sun reaches the floor
Tropical rainforest is the richest source of plants life on earth.
Plants grow in layers (canopy receives most light). It is the perfect place for growing plants.
Tropical Rainforest Plant adaptations
- Bougainvillea
- Bangul Bamboo
- Many animals are specialists and require special habitat components to survive
- Camouflage is common
- Many symbiotic relationships
- Live in different levels of canopy
Tropical Rainforest Animal Adaptations
- Silvery Gibbon
- Wagler’s pit viper
- Slender Loris
Threats to the Tropical Rainforest
Humans strip the rainforests for uses including logging and cattle ranching.
entire civilizations of people are also without a home.
You can help by promoting sustainable use of the rainforests’ products
- found near coastal areas along the Pacific coast of Canada at the USA, and in New Zealand, Tasmania, Chile, Ireland, Scotland and Norway
- Also wet, but not as rainy as tropical rainforest.
- Rains about 100 inches per year.
- It is cooler than tropical rainforests but the temperature is still mild.
- has 2 distinct seasons: one long wet winter and a short drier summer.
Soil:
* Typically much thicker than the tropical rainforest.
* It is structurally more complex, comprising several layers.
* Generally much deeper and more fertile than those of tropical rainforests.
Plants:
* There are about 10-20 species of trees on temperate rainforests that are mostly coniferous. Trees in the temperate forest can live for 500-1000 years.
temperate rainforest
Temperate Forest & Its Animals
- bobcat
- Cougar
- Chipmunk
- characterized as lands dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs
- grassland
________ & ________: Grassland areas
They are called by different names:
- _____ or _____ in North America,
- _____ in Argentina,
- _____ in Soviet Union, and
- _____ in South Africa
- Prairie and Steppe
- plains or prairies
- pampas
- steppes
- veldt
- Dry, cold, grasslands
- Found in Russia and the Ukraine
- Precipitation:50-75 cm/yr
- high Winds = occurs in all continents
steppe
- most abundant are plants called ___________, fine bladed grasses that grow in clumps to preserve water
- Bunch grasses
Plant adaptations of the Steppe
- tumbleweed
- Sweet Vernal
Many migrate, hibernate or burrow during extremes in temp and precipitation
Adaptations of Steppe Animals
- Saiga Antelope
- Gazelle herd
- Lynx
- Milk vetch
- Corsac fox
Threats to the Steppe
Overgrazing…nomadic tribes have started to spend more time in one location
Infrastructure development (roads, buildings, etc)
Unmanaged hunting and poaching is destroying herds of animals
- _________: Sod-forming grasses that won’t dry out or blow away in wind.
- _________: Many adaptations to survive in extremes temperature and precipitation
- Prairie Plant Adaptations
- fleabane - Prairie Animal Adaptations
- Geoffrey’s cat
- Prairie dog
- Bobcat
2 main divisions of grassland
- savannah tropical grassland
- temperate grassland
- Contain the greatest number of grazing animals on Earth.
- Found in the tropics…near equator
- Amount of precipitation supports tall grasses but only occasional trees.
- The word _______ stems from an Amerind term for plains
- savanna
Savannas (Tropical Grasslands)
- Rainy and dry season
- 25-150 in/yr precipitation
- Fire plays a large role in this ecosystem
- Tropical Savanna Abiotic Factor
Grows in Tufts
Resistance to Drought
Many plants have thorns and sharp leaves to protect against predation.
- Adapt for short rainy season—migrate as necessary
- Reproduce during rainy season— ensures more young survive
- Tropical Savanna Plant Adaptations
— Umbrella Thorn Acacia
— Whistling Thorn
— Kangaroos Paws
— Baobab - Tropical Savanna Animal Adaptations
— Chacma Baboon
— Zebras
— Elephant
— Koala
Threats to the Tropical Savanna
Invasive species
Changes in fire management
Because of their low elevation, some savannas are threatened by minor rises in sea level associated with global climate change
This grassland is characterized as having grasses as the dominant vegetation.
- The major manifestations are veldts of South Africa, the puszta of Hungary, the pampas of Argentina, the steppes of the former Soviet Union and the prairies of Central America
Climate:
*hot summers and cold winters.
*Rainfall is moderate. The amount of annual rainfall influences the height of the grass land vegetation with taller grasses in other regions.
Soil:
- The soil in a temperate grassland is deep and dark with fertile upper layers. It is nutrient –rich from the growth and decay and many branched grass roots. The rotted roots hold the soil together. The soil is fertile because of the remains of plants and animals and dried leaves of plant fell on the ground.
Temperate grassland
- Milk vetch
- Grasses
- Sweet vernal
— giraffe
— cheetah
— lion
found in temperate zone (about 480 North lat)
Much of the human population lives in this biome
- Temperate Deciduous Forests
Characterized by an Abiotic Factors abundance of deciduous (leaf bearing) trees
Soils: Deep soil layers, rich in nutrients
Precipitation: 30–100 in/yr in all forms (snow, rain, hail, fog, etc.)
- Characterized by 4 seasons
Temperate Deciduous Forests Abiotic Factors
- More diversity in the deciduous forest vs. the coniferous forest due to increased sunlight.
- Trees adapt to varied climate by becoming dormant in winter
- Deciduous forests grow in layers
- More sunlight reaches the ground compared to a rainforest so you will find more ground dwelling plants.
Temperate Deciduous forest Plant adaptations
- Lady Fern
- White Birch
- Geulder Rose
Lose Winter Coat
Adapt to many seasons
Eat from different layers of the forest
Temperate Deciduous Forest Animal Adaptations
- Least Weasel
- Fat Dormouse
- bald eagle
Threats to Temperate Deciduous Forests
- Many forests are cleared to provide housing for humans.
- Careful use of the resource can provide a renewable system if we don’t take too much habitat away
Biomes as “the world’s major communities”, are classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment”.
The importance of biomes cannot be overestimated.
Thus, conservation and preservation of biomes should be a major concern to all.
Because we share the world with many other species of plants and animals, we must consider the consequences of our actions.
It is important to preserve all types of biomes as each houses many unique forms of life.
