Transcript Biomes of the World

Biomes of the
World
What is a Biome?
Biome- is a group of
land ecosystems
with similar climates
and organisms.
– What is an ecosystem?
• An ecosystem is a
community of
organisms that live in a
particular area, along
with their nonliving
surroundings
Climate
• Climate vs. Weather… what’s the diff?
– Climate: The typical weather pattern in an area
over a long period of time
– Weather: the condition of Earth’s atmosphere at
a particular time and place
• Factors contributing to climate
– Average rain fall
– Average temperature
– Average amount of sunlight during seasons
Tundra
Deciduous
Forest
Savanna
Taiga
Chaparral
Rainforest
Grasslands
Desert
Alpine
Desert-scrub
Biomes &
Climate
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Temperate Rainforests
The word “temperate”
means mild
temperatures.
Rainforests receive
lots of rain. Average
annual temperatures
are between 39° F
and 54° F (4-12° C).
Annual rainfall is
about 5 to 16 feet.
Majority of the world’s temperate rainforests
can be found along the Pacific Coast of North
American stretching from Oregon to Alaska,
some can also be found on the Southeast coast of
Chile, and a few others can be found on the coasts of
the United Kingdom, Norway, Japan, New Zealand,
and southern Australia
Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Rainforests
This biome is usually
located near the
equator. The
temperature is
warm and
precipitation is
high. Between 4
and 22 ft of rain fall
each year. Average
temperature is
between 68°F and
93°F ALL YEAR!
57% of all tropical rainforests are
found in Latin America. One third of
the world's tropical rainforests are in
Brazil. Other tropical rainforests are
located in Southeast Asia and the
Pacific Islands (25% of the world's
tropical rainforests) and West Africa
(18%).
Desert
Desert
The desert is an
area that receives
less than 25 cm
of rainfall a year.
The climate is
usually hot and
dry.
Although most deserts, such as the Sahara of
North Africa and the deserts of the
southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Australia are
hot, another kind of desert, cold deserts, occur
in the basin and range area of Utah and Nevada
and in parts of western Asia.
Grasslands
Grassland
The temperature is moderate and little precipitation. An area
populated by grasses and other “non wood” plants because
there is not much rain. The precipitation is so inconsistent that
drought and fire prevent large forests from growing.
Savannahs are warmer grasslands (tropical) and they cover almost half of
Africa.
Temperate grasslands, commonly called prairies or steppes have more
varyingtemperatures and can be found in South Africa, North America,
Hungary, Argentina, and Uruguay.
Deciduous Forest
Deciduous Forest
Trees in this
biome shed
their leaves
and grow new
ones each
year. Rainfall
(30 – 60in.)and
temperatures
(50°F) are
moderate
Deciduous biomes are located primarily in the eastern half of the
United States, Canada, Europe, parts of Russia, China, and Japan.
Tundra
This area is extremely cold and dry!
Tundra
Since the tundra is so cold, most of the soil is
frozen all year called permafrost. Plants are
especially hardy to grow here.
The tundra is located around the North Pole in the Arctic Circle
Tiaga (Boreal Forest)
Taiga (Boreal Forest)
Similar to the tundra, but
not as bitterly cold all
year. The taiga’s climate
is cool (very cold in
winter, moderately warm
in the summer). The
dominant trees are
coniferous trees.
Most of Canada and Russia are covered in Taiga/Boreal Forrest.