Topic 7.1 - Large Ecosystems (biomes) And Their Distribution (Finishedish) Flashcards
What are biomes?
Biomes are large scale global ecosystems with distinctive vegetation and animals
What is an ecosystem?
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
Why do different parts of the world have different biomes?
As they have different climates
What is the Tundra’s climate like?
Temp: 5 - 10 ° C during summer and under -30 ° winter
Precipitation: <= 250 mm / year
Sunlight: Nearly all day in summer, dark winter
What is the climate like in the boreal forest?
Temperature: 10 - 20 ° summer, -20 ° winter
Precipitation: Less than 500mm / year
Daylight: lots in summer little in winter
What is the climate like in the Temperate forest?
Temp: around 18 ° in Summer, 5 ° winter
Precip: around 1000 mm / year
What is the climate like in the temperate grassland?
Temp: up to 40 ° in summer, -40 ° winter
Precip: 250-500 mm / year
Varying light levels
What is the climate like in the deserts?
Temperature: 45 ° C in day, 0 ° C at night all year
Precipitation: Under 250 mm/ year
Daylight: More light in summer than winter
What is the climate like in the Tropical grassland?
Temperature: 15 - 30 ° all year
Precip: 800 -900 mm /year
Lots of sun all year
What is the climate like in the Tropical forest?
Temperature: 20 - 28 ° C all year
Precip: around 2000 / year
Daylight: 12 hours day all year
What is the vegetation like in the Tundra?
- Mosses, grasses, low shrubs, few trees
What is the vegetation like in the Boreal forest?
Mostly evergreen trees
Moss, lichen
Coniferous trees
What is the vegetation like in the temperate forest?
- Deciduous trees (e.g. oak)
- Shrubs and undergrowth
What is the vegetation like in the temperate grasslands?
Grasses and small plants with very few trees
What is the vegetation like in the deserts?
Sparse plant growth appart from a few plants like cacti and thornbushes
What is the vegetation like in the tropical grasslands?
- Grass, scrub and small, plants
- Some scattered trees
- Drought adapted plants
What is the vegetation like in the tropical forest?
Evergreen trees, lots of plants and a dense canopy
Order the biomes from furthest from the equator to nearest (roughly)
Tundra, boreal forest, temperate forest, temperate grassland, desert, tropical grassland, tropical forest
What local factors affect biome distribution?
Altitude, rock type, soil type, drainage
How and why does altitude affect biome distribution?
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.
Why does rock type affect biome distribution?
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.
How does soil type affect biome distribution?
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)
What are biotic and abiotic components?
The biotic components form the living part of a biome and abiotic the non-living parts
How can biotic components of an ecosystem affect abiotic ones by weathering?
Some organisms cause biological weathering so they break up rocks in the ground, releasing nutrients to the soil (e.g. tree roots)
How can (biotic) vegetation in biomes affect (abiotic) soil?
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
How does water availability (abiotic) affect plants (biotic)?
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
Biotic and abiotic components of biomes ___
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