Topic 7.1 - Large Ecosystems (biomes) And Their Distribution (Finishedish)

Question 1

What are biomes?

Answer 1

Biomes are large scale global ecosystems with distinctive vegetation and animals

Question 2

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 2

An ecosystem includes all the biotic (living) and non-biotic (non-living) aspects of an environment where all biotic and non-biotic interact between each other and themselves

Question 3

Why do different parts of the world have different biomes?

Answer 3

As they have different climates

Question 4

What is the Tundra’s climate like?

Answer 4

Temp: 5 - 10 ° C during summer and under -30 ° winter
Precipitation: <= 250 mm / year
Sunlight: Nearly all day in summer, dark winter

Question 5

What is the climate like in the boreal forest?

Answer 5

Temperature: 10 - 20 ° summer, -20 ° winter
Precipitation: Less than 500mm / year
Daylight: lots in summer little in winter

Question 6

What is the climate like in the Temperate forest?

Answer 6

Temp: around 18 ° in Summer, 5 ° winter
Precip: around 1000 mm / year

Question 7

What is the climate like in the temperate grassland?

Answer 7

Temp: up to 40 ° in summer, -40 ° winter
Precip: 250-500 mm / year
Varying light levels

Question 8

What is the climate like in the deserts?

Answer 8

Temperature: 45 ° C in day, 0 ° C at night all year
Precipitation: Under 250 mm/ year
Daylight: More light in summer than winter

Question 9

What is the climate like in the Tropical grassland?

Answer 9

Temperature: 15 - 30 ° all year
Precip: 800 -900 mm /year
Lots of sun all year

Question 10

What is the climate like in the Tropical forest?

Answer 10

Temperature: 20 - 28 ° C all year
Precip: around 2000 / year
Daylight: 12 hours day all year

Question 11

What is the vegetation like in the Tundra?

Answer 11

• Mosses, grasses, low shrubs, few trees

Question 12

What is the vegetation like in the Boreal forest?

Answer 12

Mostly evergreen trees
Moss, lichen
Coniferous trees

Question 13

What is the vegetation like in the temperate forest?

Answer 13

• Deciduous trees (e.g. oak)

- Shrubs and undergrowth

Question 14

What is the vegetation like in the temperate grasslands?

Answer 14

Grasses and small plants with very few trees

Question 15

What is the vegetation like in the deserts?

Answer 15

Sparse plant growth appart from a few plants like cacti and thornbushes

Question 16

What is the vegetation like in the tropical grasslands?

Answer 16

• Grass, scrub and small, plants
• Some scattered trees
• Drought adapted plants

Question 17

What is the vegetation like in the tropical forest?

Answer 17

Evergreen trees, lots of plants and a dense canopy

Question 18

Order the biomes from furthest from the equator to nearest (roughly)

Answer 18

Tundra, boreal forest, temperate forest, temperate grassland, desert, tropical grassland, tropical forest

Question 19

What local factors affect biome distribution?

Answer 19

Altitude, rock type, soil type, drainage

Question 20

How and why does altitude affect biome distribution?

Answer 20

Higher altitudes are colder so fewer plants grow there and less animal species can survive. Soils are also thinner and steeper (mountains) at higher altitudes so plants find it hard to root in.

Question 21

Why does rock type affect biome distribution?

Answer 21

Some rocks are easily weathered to add nutrients to soil and different rocks contain different minerals, affecting how nutrient rich the soil is. Some rocks are permeable and some impermeable, permeable rocks create dry soil due to quick drainage of water and impermeable ones wet soils.

Question 22

How does soil type affect biome distribution?

Answer 22

More nutrient rich soil can support more plants. The acidity and drainage of soils also vary affecting what plants can grow (e.g. acid tolerant plants)

Question 23

What are biotic and abiotic components?

Answer 23

The biotic components form the living part of a biome and abiotic the non-living parts

Question 24

How can biotic components of an ecosystem affect abiotic ones by weathering?

Answer 24

Some organisms cause biological weathering so they break up rocks in the ground, releasing nutrients to the soil (e.g. tree roots)

Question 25

How can (biotic) vegetation in biomes affect (abiotic) soil?

Answer 25

The type and density of vegetation that grows can affect the type of soil that forms and vice versa. E.g. lots of vegetation means lots of leaves falling which add nutrients to the soil supporting more plants

Question 26

How does water availability (abiotic) affect plants (biotic)?

Answer 26

If soils are very dry due to little water only desert plants (e.g. cactus) can grow, if there is too much only flood proof plants can

Question 27

Biotic and abiotic components of biomes ___

Answer 27

Interact!