Transcript Temperate Broadleaf Biome

Grassland
Tundra
Coniferous Forest
Broadleaf
Juliana F., Maria R., Jacob F. Emma S.
Grassland
Focusing on the North American
Plains and Prairies
About Grasslands
• Temperature ranges from around -40°F
in the winter and 70°F in the summer
• Annual rainfall is about 20-35in and usually
happens in late spring or early summer
• Latitude: Ranges between 55°N and 30°S
due to the diversity of grasslands
Description
Grasslands have many names, including
prairie, plain, veldts, steppes, and
pampas. They consist of different types of
grasses with deep root systems. The soil
is very rich and held together well. Many
large animals inhabit the grasslands, as
well as many small burrowing animals.
There are few, if any trees.
Plant Species
• Buffalo Grass: A hardy, heat- and coldresistant species well-adapted to the warm
summers and cold, windy winters on the
prairie. Once supplied food for huge herds
of buffalo
• Wild Oats: A weedy plant that prefers
moist soil and cool temperatures. Found
primarily on the plains or in open spaces
where seeds can be carried by wind
Animal Species
• Bumble Bee: Native to Iowa, active in
cooler temperatures than honey bees,
lives in open areas and burrows
underground, important with pollination of
early spring flowers
• Prairie Dog: Native to North American
plains, lives in burrows, prefer being able
to see far distances so they chew down
tall weeds (small saplings), much like
mere cats and squirrels
Characteristic Factors
• Mountains block the coastal climates,
isolating the grasslands and creating a
unique microclimate. Mainly hardy species
survive the harsh windy grassland climate
• Has two seasons, a moist season and a
wet season. Most plants grow during the
wet and are dormant during dry. They
have very complex root systems that keep
them alive even after grazing
Ecological Disturbance
Fires are common to the grasslands. They
remove any invasive species and also kill off
any tree and shrub saplings that have taken
root. The grasses survive because of their
deep root system. Their point of growth is
also very close to the ground, allowing the
top, leafy part of the plant to be removed
without killing it. Therefore, natural selection
has chosen these low-centered plants to rule
the grasslands. Fires also remove the buildup
of dead grass, allowing more native plants to
emerge and flower.
Sources
• http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/prairie.ht
m
• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/grasslandbiome-animals-and-plants.html
• http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/bio
mes/grasslands.php
• http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/we
eds/fab19s00.html
• TEMRPERATURE RANGE
• The short summer lasts only 6 to 10
weeks. It never gets any warmer than
45 or 50ｰ F.Winter temperatures don't
reach above 20ｰ F and average -20ｰ to 30ｰF.
ANNUAL PRECIPITATION
• Tundra receives as little precipitation
as some of the world's driest deserts,
only about 6 to 10 inches per year,
including melted snow. This is almost
as little as the world's driest deserts.
LATITUDE
• The latitude range for the tundra is
from the arctic circle to 60ｰ to 70ｰ
latitude north.
DESCRIPTION
• The tundra is the coldest of all the
biomes. Vegetation is very scarce and
there痴 almost to none trees. During
the long winters it is extremely cold
and windy. Also, the sun barely rises,
so its dark almost all day. During the
short summers the sun never leaves,
but not even that can warm up the cold
temperature and frozen landscapes.
2 PLANT SPECIES
• Caribou Moss( litchen)
• It grows on the ground and on rocks.
Lichen can make food when the
temperature gets very low and there is
little light. The tissues of lichens aren't
easily damaged by frost. This makes it a
great plant for the tundra.Lichen can
survive for long periods of time without
water. They just dry out and go dormant
when there is little water or light. They
can begin to grow again even after very
long periods of dormancy.
• Pasque Flower
• The Pasque flower, like all tundra
plants, grows low to the ground to
keep out of the cold climate. It is
also covered in fine silky hairs,
which help insulate it.
2 ANIMAL SPECIES
• Arctic fox
• The arctic fox is a scavenger so it
usually finds things to eat. They
sometimes even follow polar bears
or other predators and eat the
remains of their preys. They are
covered with white hair during the
winter and grey or blue hair during
summers which helps them keep
warm and hide prom predators.
• Snowy Owl
• The snowy owl , like other arctic animals, has
white feathers that help them camouflage
with the landscape. They also have huge
eyes and really sensitive hearing that helps
them see their preys from really far away and
a pair of long wings that allows them to fly
close to the ground in order to catch them.
The snowy owls feed on arctic fox, rabbits,
lemmings, voles, and various seabirds
• ABIOTIC FACTORS
• Strong Winds: The tundra biome is
characterized by its strong winds, which add
to the extremely cold temperatures and
doesn’t allow trees or any other tall plants to
grow.
• Little precipitation: There’s about 6 - 10
inches of rainfall every year .During the
summer, the permafrost thaws just enough
to let plants grow and reproduce, but
because the ground below this is frozen, the
water cannot sink any lower, and so the
water forms the lakes and marshes found
during the summer months.
Fire in the Tundra:
• Burning the Tundra can release
incredible amounts of carbon dioxide
that are stored in its plants and soil.
This could make the greenhouse effect
even worse, affecting the climate
pattern. It would take a long time to
recover in vegetation because the soin
is very dry in nutrients. Lichens and
moss would grow first, then grasses
and other small plants, since there can
be no tall trees in the tundra.
Coniferous Forest
• The coniferous forest biome is
characterized by its cone-shaped trees
that are adapted to heavy snowfall.
Temperature Range
• Averages 57.2˚F in the summer
• 14.0˚F in the winter
Precipitation
• 14-30 inches of rainfall per year
Taiga vs. Temperate
• The northern region of the biome is
called the taiga. The taiga ranges from
50 to 70 degrees north.
• The more southerly coniferous forests
occur in coastal regions with rainfall.
The giant redwood forests of western
North America.
Plant Species
• Pine trees are very prevalent in
coniferous forests. The waxy needleshaped leaves preserve water, while
the conical shape of the tree is sloped
so that snow slides off of the branches.
• Giant sequoias are prevalent in
temperate forests in California. They
are the largest trees in the world.
Animal Species
• Lynx are wildcats adapted to the cold climate
of northern coniferous forests. Their large
feet serve as snowshoes and allow them to
walk on snow easily and their thick coats
allow them to survive in cold weather. They
specialize in hunting snowshoe hares, and
the correlation between the snowshoe hare
population and the lynx population is a
textbook example of the sinusoidal patterns
of population density.
Animal Species Cont’d
• The crossbill is a quintessential
example of a species adapting to its
environment. The bird’s crossed bill
allows it to pry open pinecones, giving
the crossbill access to a source of food
that other birds cannot eat. This
evolutionary advantage give the
crossbills a special niche in the
coniferous forest biome.
Abiotic Factors
• Snowfall plays a large factor in many of
the northern pine forests, where many of
the trees are shaped so that snow slides
off of them and many animals have large
feet so that they can walk on the snow.
Additionally, the soil in many of these
forests is acidic, impeding the growth of
shrubs and other small plants, limiting the
undergrowth in these forests.
Effect of Ecological Disturbances
• Fire is a necessary disturbance in many
coniferous forest biomes. Without fire
to clear away plants growing in the
shade of sequoias, the sequoia cones
have no access to sunlight and
therefore cannot grow. Fire is therefore
necessary for the growth of many tree
species.
Temperate Broadleaf Biome
General Information
• The temperature range is from 30 to -30 degrees Celsius (86 to -22
farenheit)
• The annual precipitation is 75 to 150 cm a year (29.5 to 59 in)
• Temperate Broad-Leaf biomes are found at mid-latitude, between
the north pole and the tropics, generally from 23 to 38 degrees
north.
Description
• We live in a temperate broadleaf biome.
This biome houses many species of plants
and animals, including maple and oak
trees, white-tailed deer, squirrels and
chipmunks.
• There are four distinct seasons. These are
autumn, when leaves change color, winter,
when they fall off, spring, when they begin
to grow back, and summer.b
Plant Species
• American Beech: The American Beech has shallow roots and
produces seeds in the form of nuts. It grows well in this biome
because its shallow roots mean that water and nutrients have to be
available near the surface of the soil. The rich soil in this biome is
perfect for it, and the animals like chipmunks and squirrels that eat
nuts bury and forget the beech’s seeds, allowing it to grow.
• The Shagbark Hickory: This tree has deep roots and does best in
the well-drained soil found in the temperate broadleaf biome. It also
produces seeds in the form of nuts, also relying on squirrels and
chipmunks to spread them throughout the area.
Animal Species
• The White Tailed Deer: The White Tailed Deer is a species of deer
living in the majority of the North America, and they are abundant.
They are grey in the winter, but become red in the spring and
summer, coloring that is good camouflage in the temperate
broadleaf biome. They also eat twigs and the buds of some trees, as
well as green plants and acorns in the summer. These foods are
abundant in this biome. Their predators are humans, coyotes and
wolves, and they are herbivores. They live mostly in the temperate
zones, where their climate and food needs are best suited.
Animal Species Con’t
• Coyote: The coyote can be 15 to 44 lbs, and it is grayish
tan. Coyotes are omnivores, eating small mammals like
rabbits, mice, etc. If attacking a big animal, the coyotes
form a group. Their coloring gives them good
camouflage in the temperate broadleaf biome, and the
foods they eat are abundant there. They do live in some
other biomes, but their needs are best suited by the
temperate grassland and broadleaf biomes.
Abiotic Factors
• The soil is very fertile, allowing for a lot of
vegetation.
• The climate, warm summers and cold,
snowy winters, dictate four distinct
seasons in which trees’ leaves change
color, fall off and grow back cyclically.
Ecological Disturbances
• If there was a fire in the temperate broadleaf
zone, the first to grow back would be the birch
trees and the smaller shrub, which both need a
lot of sun (like the White Pine). After them, other
trees would begin to grow as their seeds would
be brought in by the wind. Next would be
insects. When food was available, the smaller
animals, like rabbits, birds and squirrels, would
return, followed by their predators, like coyotes
and wolves. Eventually smaller trees would grow
under the birch, and when they fell, these trees
would shoot up.
Bibliography
• http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Bi
ome/biotemperate.php
• http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/f
orests.php#temperate
• http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_ani
mal_page.htm
• http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_ani
mal_page.htm
• http://www1.broward.edu/~arodrigu/Environment
al/Berg_Visualizing/biomes_summary.pdf