Transcript Biomes

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Tundra
*artic
*alpineForests*taiga(boreal conifer)
*Dedciduous (seeds
and nuts)
*rainforest-jungle
Grasslands
grasslands
*savannahs
*mediterean scrub
*California scrub
Desert
*desert-scrub
Freshwater
Marine (saltwater)
Tundra
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Extremely cold climate
Low biotic diversity
Simple vegetation structure
Limitation of drainage
Short season of growth and
reproduction
Energy and nutrients in the form of
dead organic material
Large population oscillations
Types of Tundra
Artic –
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northern hemisphere extending south to a band of
conifer trees.
desert-like – percipitation varies
liver worts, mosses, grass, low shrubs
winter ave. temp -30F*,summer ave. temp. 34-54* (and
increasing)
Permafrost (frozen soil) – gravel and fine minerals
Wildlife- black flies, polar bears, seals, penguins,
migratory birds, whales, trout, deep cold water fish/
shell fish: haddock, salmon, king crab, etc.
Reptiles and amphibian are few or absent due to cold
Artic Tundra
Alpine Tundra
► Mountains
► Good soil drainage
► Vegetation similar to artic tundra -tussock grasses,
dwarf trees, small-leafed shrubs, and heaths
► Animals well adapted to land- Mammals: pikas,
marmots, mountain goats, sheep, elk
► Birds: grouselike birds
► Insects: springtails, beetles, grasshoppers,
butterflies
Alpine Tundra
Forests
► Taiga
– cone-bearing (near artic pole) –
spruce, firs and pines (think X-mas tree)
► Temperate (deciduous forest –loses leaves)oaks, maples, poplar, hickory,
► Rain Forest – jungle
► Animal and plant fauna vary with food
source, rainfall and latitude
Taiga (Boreal Forest)
► Rain
Forests – mountain, swamp-like, jungle
Temperate Forest (dedciduous)
Desert
► Desert
biomes can be classified according to
several characteristics.
There are four major types of deserts:
► Hot and dry –low humidity & percip.
► Semiarid- 2-4 inches of rain per year
► Coastal –along chile – cold frozen winter
► Cold – snow fall, barren cold environments
(artic desert)
Deserts
Hot/dry
Semiarid
Cold
desert
Grassland
Grasslands are characterized as lands
dominated by grasses rather than large
shrubs or trees.
There are two main divisions of grasslands:
► Tropical grasslands or savannas
► Temperate grasslands
savannah
•Savanna
Savanna is grassland with scattered individual
trees.
•cover almost half the surface of Africa (approx.
five million square miles- central Africa) and large
areas of Australia, South America, and India
soil of the savanna is porous, with rapid drainage of
water.
•Has thin layer of humus (the organic soil created by
partial decomposition of plant or animal matter), which
provides vegetation with nutrients
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Temperate
Grassland
► Dominant
fauna is grass
► Have hot summers and cold winters
► Rainfall is moderate
► Like savannahs, fire is an important restorer
of nutrients
► a few trees, such as cottonwoods, oaks, and
willows grow in river valleys, and some
nonwoody plants, specifically a few hundred
species of flowers, grow among the grasses.
Savannah and temperate grasslands
African Savannah
Animals: zebra, elephants,
antelopes, giraffe, hyena, lions,
etc.
Colorado Temperate
Grassland
Animals: bison, prairie dogs,
antelope, grouse, meadow larks
Freshwater
► Freshwater
is defined as having a low salt
concentration — usually less than 1% salt
► Freshwater species have adapted to low or no salt
environments
► There are different types of freshwater regions:
► Ponds and lakes
► Streams and rivers
► Wetlands
Ponds and Lakes
► Can
be small (ponds < 3 acres) or very
large (Great Lakes> 1000 km)
► Many ponds are seasonal, lasting just a
couple of months (such as sessile pools)
while lakes may exist for hundreds of years
or more.
► Lakes and ponds are divided into three
different “zones” from closest to shore to
farthest out – littoral zone (shallow-warm),
limnetic (middle-currents), profundal (dense
and deep)
Ponds and Lakes
Rivers and Streams
► These
are bodies of flowing water moving in
one direction
► Streams and rivers can be found
everywhere
► they get their starts at headwaters, which
may be springs, snowmelt or even lakes,
and then travel all the way to their mouths,
usually another water channel or the ocean
Streams and Rivers
Wetlands
► Wetlands
are areas of standing water that support
aquatic plants
► Marshes, swamps, and bogs are all considered
wetlands. Marshes, swamps, and bogs are all
considered wetlands.
► Wetlands have the highest species diversity of all
ecosystems
► Wetlands are not considered freshwater
ecosystems as there are some, such as salt
marshes, that have high salt concentrations
Wetlands