Transcript Biomes: The Low Down on the Biosphere!

Biomes: The Low Down on the
Biosphere!
What is a Biome Exactly?
A biome is a large geographical area of
distinctive plant and animal groups, which are
adapted to that particular environment.
The climate and geography of a region
determines what type of biome can exist in
that region
Biomes of the World
To understand a world biome, you
need to know:
• What the climate of the region is like.
• Where each biome is found and what its
geography is like.
• The special adaptations of the vegetation.
• The types of animals found in the biome and
their physical and behavioral adaptations to
their environment.
Grassland
Climate- A grassland is a region where the average annual
precipitation is great enough to support grasses, and in
some areas a few trees. The precipitation is so erratic that
drought and fire prevent large forests from growing.
Grasses can survive fires because they grow from the
bottom instead of the top.
Plants:
Cone Flower
Animals:
Prairie Dog
Buffalo Grass
Bobcat
Indian Grass
Milk Weed
Buffalo
deer
Deciduous Forest
Climate- The average annual temperature in a deciduous
forest is 50° F. The average rainfall is 30 to 60 inches a
year. The deciduous forest has four distinct seasons,
spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In the autumn the
leaves change color. During the winter months the trees
lose their leaves.
Plants:
Beech
Animals:
Bear
Oak
Birch
Raccoon
Blackberries
squirrel
deer
Desert
Climate- Most Hot and Dry Deserts don't have very many
plants. The only animals they have that can survive have
the ability to burrow under ground. This is because they
would not be able to live in the hot sun and heat. They
only come out in the night when it is a little cooler.
A cold desert is a desert that has snow in the winter
instead of just dropping a few degrees in temperature like Plants:
they would in a Hot and Dry Desert. It never gets warm
enough for plants to grow. Just maybe a few grasses and
mosses. The animals in Cold Deserts also have to burrow
but in this case to keep warm, not cool. That is why you
might find some of the same animals here as you would
Joshua Tree
in the Hot and Dry Deserts.
Brittle bush
Animals:
Bursage
Coyote
Kangaroo Rat
Cactus Wren
Savanna
Climate- A savanna is a rolling grassland scattered with
shrubs and isolated trees, which can be found between a
tropical rainforest and desert biome. Not enough rain
falls on a savanna to support forests. Savannas are also
known as tropical grasslands. They are found in a wide
band on either side of the equator on the edges of
tropical rainforests.
Plants:
Boabab
Animals:
Bulbul
Acacia
Impala
Elephant Grass
Zebra
Bermuda Grass
Lion
Rainforest
Climate-The tropical rain forest has an average of 125 to 660
cm. of rain fall yearly.
The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 34 °C or
drops below 20 °C; average humidity is between 77 and 88
Almost all rain forests lie near the equator.
Scientists estimate that more than half of all the world's plant
and animal species live in tropical rain forests. Tropical
rainforests produce 40% of Earth's oxygen.
Plants:
Bamboo
Animals:
Gibbons
curare
Cobra
Kapok tree
Strangler Fig
Fruit Dove
Bengal Tiger
Alpine
Climate- The Alpine biome is one of the coldest
biomes in the world. It is so cold because of its high
altitudes. Summer temperature range between -12
degrees Celsius to 10 degrees Celsius. The average
precipitation is 30 cm a year. It is like the Tundra in
that it is cold and dry but it is only found in high
altitudes.
Plants:
Bristle Cone Pine
Animals:
Mountain Goat
Bear Grass
Alpine Phacelia
Condor
Alpine Grass
Snow Leopard
Rocky Mountain
Columbine
Chinchilla
Tundra
Climate-Tundras are among Earth's coldest,
harshest biomes. Tundra ecosystems are treeless
regions found in the Arctic and on the tops of
mountains, where the climate is cold and windy
and rainfall is scant. Tundra lands are snowcovered for much of the year, until summer brings
a burst of wildflowers.
Plants:
Animal s:
Climate- he winters in the taiga are
very cold with only snowfall. The
summers are warm, rainy, and
humid. A lot of coniferous trees
grow in the taiga. The taiga is also
known as the boreal forest.
Taiga
Plant :
Fir tree
Animal :
Pine
Spruce