Terrestrial Biomes Flashcards
What are terrestrial biomes?
Large terrestrial regions on our planet with a similar climate and vegetation
What are aquatic systems?
Ecosystems shaped by similar movement and physical properties of water
How are terrestrial biomes and geography related?
Biomes follow more or less the location of latitudes based on mean annual temp and mean annual precipitation sum
What does a climate diagram show?
Absolute and relative information about average climate properties at a location on our planet
What absolute values can we collect from a climate diagram?
How hot/cold it was throughout the year
How much precipitation there was
How much of the year is frost-free
What is the relative arrangement of curves on climate diagrams?
When do periods of drought or extensive periods of rain occur?
What does no shading (on the x-axis) of a climate diagram mean?
The mean minimum temp is less than 0° (frost)
What does shading (on the x-axis) of a climate diagram mean?
The mean minimum temp is greater than 0°
What does the relative position of temperature and precipitation on a climate diagram represent?
Water availability
What do yellow areas on a climate diagram mean?
Periods of drought (temp>2x precipitation)
What do light blue areas on a climate diagram mean?
Indicates lack of drought (temp<2x precipitation)
What do dark blue areas on a climate diagram mean?
Excessively moist periods
Usually there is a scale switch
What are the features of the tropical rainforest?
High temperatures
High precipitation
Low seasonality
Biomass-rich, evergreen forest vegetation
What are the features of the desert?
Low or high mean annual temperature
Very low precipitation
Strong-moderate seasonality in temperature
Spare, short-stature, mostly tree-less vegetation
What are the features of temperate grasslands?
Low mean annual temperatures
Low mean annual precipitation
Strong seasonality in temperature
Dominated by grass and shrubs
Fertile soils, highest land loss due to agriculture