Terrestrial Biomes

Question 1

How does depletion of nutrients from soil work?

Answer 1

When plants are cleared, nutrients in the soil are depleted because plants were making nutrients for the soil. However, in deciduous forests and the like, saplings and tree seedlings will often fall, so if plants are cleared the soil can retain its nutrients.`

Question 2

Taiga (Boreal Forest)

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 2

• very cold temperatures with low precipitation and nutrient poor soil, long freezing winters and short moderately warm summers
• Europe, Russia and North America
• very poor in nutrients due to slow decomposition
• 50° and 60° north
• 8-79 inches of rain per year (modest)
• provides mass amounts of lumber for paper `

Question 3

Temperate Rainforests

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 3

• mild (one long wet winter and a short drier summer)
• coastal, mountain ranges / South America, southeastern North America, eastern Australia, southern China, Korea and Japan, all of New Zealand
• • no rapid nutrient cycling; plants in temperate zones don’t strip the soil of the nutrients fast enough from the decaying matter on the forest floor
• between 40- 60 degrees north
• 60-200 inches (high)
• These forests host the oldest and largest organisms. They are a major source of timber and wood products

Question 4

Temperate Seasonal Forests (Deciduous Forests)

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 4

• Winters are cold and summers are warm
• Between 25 and 50 degrees latitude / Eastern part of the United States and Canada, most of Europe and parts of China and Japan
• slower nutrient cycling than tropical regions
• Between 30 and 60 inches of rain (modest)
• Temperate deciduous forests serve mainly as habitats to many species. Not only humans use it, as wildlife species rely heavily on the environment for resources, shelter, and food.

Question 5

Tropical Rainforests

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 5

• Consistently warm and moist, high average temperatures and humidity
• Near the equator / Latitude - 23.5°N (the Tropic of Cancer) and 23.5°S (the Tropic of Capricorn)
• Africa, India/Southeast Asia, Central America/South America, Australia, Indonesia/New Guinea, tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean
• Lots of competition, soil is thin and nutrient-poor
• 60-200 inches of rain per year (highest)
• as a wide variety of plants and animals and tropical rainforests absorb substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and also release substantial amounts of oxygen, which is very important for humans

Question 6

Shrubland (chaparral)

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 6

• Hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters
• Between 30° and 40° North and South / Coast of Southern California, southern South America, southwestern Australia, southern Africa, large region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea
• Soil is low in nutrients due to leaching by winter rains
• 8 to 39 inches of rain per year (low)
• Ideal conditions for growing grapes to make wine

Question 7

Temperate Grassland

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 7

• Warm summers, cold winters, moderate rainfall
• Center of continents, usually separated from the coast, relatively flat / mainly between 40 and 60 degrees north and south of the equator
• American Great Plains, the Central Asia, Argentina, east Australia
• soil is rich in nutrients and promotes much vegetation growth
• 20-35 inches of rain
• wheat and grain production

Question 8

Savanna

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 8

• wet and dry climate
• mainly between 40 and 60 degrees north and south of the equator / areas of Australia, India, Africa, and South America
• the soils are low of nutrients, and it only has a thin layer of humus which gives nutrients vegetation.
• 30-40 inches of rain usually, although some areas of a savannah might get only 6-10 inches
• the savannah biome provide a habitat for many different species of birds, and have a very natural diversity among plants and animals

Question 9

Tundra

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 9

• long, windy, cold winters
• found on the tops of mountains, in areas with high elevation, often covered with snow / Antartica, Alaska, Greenland and parts of Canada
• between 60° and 75° of latitude
• very low nutrient availability, growing seasons are short
• 15 inches (winter) - 25 inches (summer)
• The tundra biome has permanently frozen soil (permafrost) below the surface layer and is used to track climate change for centuries, as changes in temperature leave marks on the permafrost / the melting of the permafrost also releases methane (greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere, furthering climate change

Question 10

Desert

• Climate
• Location on the Globe/Latitutde
• Nutrient Availbility
• Precipitaiton
• Biome’s Importance

Answer 10

• Extremely dry and arid, hottest/coldest temperatures on Earth are found in deserts
• 30 to 50 degrees latitude (mid latitudes)
• high nutrient availability due to low amounts of organic matter
• less than 1 inch of rain to 10 inches of rain a year (lowest)
• the desert provides many resources, such as important minerals, sand, and a large portion of the Earth’s oil supply. It is also important because the animals and plants that live in the desert ecosystem can only survive in that environment and are necessary for other uses