Sustainable Biomes Flashcards
What is the concept of biomes?
The concept of biomes is an attempt to describe on a global scale how similar climates in different places support similar vegetation.
What does the biosphere encompass?
The biosphere encompasses all living things.
What does the biosphere include?
All living organisms and their excrement and dead remains. Also the non living environment, which is made up of rocks, water and air.
What is a biome?
A very large ecosystem made up of specific vegetation types and their associated fauna.
What is an ecosystem?
The non living or physical attributes of an area, such as temperature, precipitation, soils and topography on land, clarity and salinity of water.
What is a community?
Several populations that live together within a particular habitat.
What is a population?
A group of organisms of the same species living together in the same area.
What are organisms?
Simply any form of life. There are important classifications/distinctions of organisms; producers (plants), consumers (most animals), and decomposers (bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter for recycling.
Why are deserts and grasslands mostly near the equator?
It’s hotter there.
List all biomes
Wetlands, temperate forests, tropical forests, grasslands, deserts and polar regions.
Describe the rainforest biome:
There are two types of rainforests: tropical and temperate. Tropical rainforests are found closer to the equator. Temperate rainforests are found near the cooler coastal areas further north or south of the equator.
They are found between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
Average temperature is 20-25.
Eg. Amazon, Eurobodalla
Describe the Arctic Tundra biome:
The tundra is the coldest of the biomes. The tundra is a type of biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons.
Located in regions south of the ice caps of the arctic and extending across North America, Europe and Siberia.
Average temperatures -40 to 18
Describe the desert biome:
Desert biomes are the driest of all the biomes. Desert life is usually well adapted to the dry weather.
Located between 15 and 35 degrees
Average temperatures between -3.9 and 38.
Sahara Desert
Describe the grasslands biome:
Grasslands are generally open and continuous, fairly flat areas of grass.
Average temperatures -20 to 30.
Eurasian Steppes
Describe the deciduous forest biome:
A deciduous forest is a biome dominated by deciduous trees which lose their leaves seasonally.
Average temperatures -30 to 30
Northeast China Plane
Describe the coniferous forest biome:
The coniferous forest biome is south of the arctic tundra. It supplies the bulk of the worlds commercial softwood timber.
Located in Canada, Europe, Asia and the US
Average temperatures -40 to 20
Northern Boreal Forest
How do people alter biomes for food production?
- over half of the worlds land area that is considered habitable has now been converted into farmland or housing to provide food, fibre, shelter and fuel.
- Biomes are being converted into farms
Changes to the natural environment facts
- Approximately 50% of total habitable land has been converted into farm land for agriculture.
- Farming releases gases such as methane, which contributes to climate change.
- Climate change leads to loss and effect of habitats, which may result in salt being brought to the surface.
- Streams have been diverted to irrigate crops and pasture.
What are abiotic factors?
Abiotic factors are the non-living parts of the environment that can often have a major influence on living organisms. Abiotic factors include water, sunlight, oxygen, soil and temperature.
What are biotic factors?
Biotic factors are the living components of an ecosystem. They are sorted into three groups: producers or autotrophs, consumers or heterotrophs, and decomposers or detritivores.
What is arable land?
land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land that is temporarily fallow;
