Transcript Climate & Vegetation

Climate & Vegetation
5 types of climate:
1. Equatorial/Monsoon
2. Warm temperate
3. Cold temperate
4. Hot desert
5. Tundra
Climate & Vegetation
The Koppen Climate Classification system
 Designed by Koppen (1846-1940), a
German climatologist and botanist.
 By 1900, he included plant communities in
his selection of some temperature criteria
Climate & Vegetation
The Koppen Climate Classification system
 He added letter symbols to designate
climate types (eg. Af for tropical rainforest)
 Later, he reduced the role played by plants
in setting boundaries and moved his
system towards strictly climatological
empiricism.
Climate & Vegetation
The Koppen Climate Classification system
 First wall map showing world climate (coauthored with his student) was introduced
in 1928 and was soon widely used.
 The map constantly went under revision
until Koppen’s death.
Climate & Vegetation
The Koppen Climate Classification system
 Koppen used average monthly
temperatures, average monthly precipitation
and total annual precipitation to
circumscribe spatial categories and
boundaries on his climatic map.
Note: boundaries are transition zones of
gradual change. What is more crucial are
the trends and overall patterns of
boundary lines.
Climate & Vegetation
The Koppen Climate Classification system
Climate & Vegetation
The Koppen Climate Classification system
A – Tropical (equatorial regions)
B – Dry (deserts and steppes; arid and
semiarid regions)
C – Mesothermal (humid subtropical,
Mediterranean, marine west coast regions)
D – Microthermal (humid continental,
subarctic regions)
Climate & Vegetation
The Koppen Climate Classification system
E – Polar regions
H – Highland (compared with lowlands at the
same latitude, the highlands have lower
temperatures)
Capital letters are used to designate climatic
categories by latitude, from the equator (A) to
the poles (E) + H category for the special case
of highlands.
Climate & Vegetation
The Koppen Climate Classification system
Of the six categories, all but B are based
purely on temperature criteria.
Within each climate classification, additional
lower-case letter are used to signify
temperature and moisture conditions.
Climate & Vegetation
Climate characteristics
A. Equatorial climate
• High temperatures throughout the year
• High humidity (thick cloud cover) ensures
that temperatures are not exceedingly high
• Rain falls every month (annual amount is
high)
• Rainfall evenly distributed throughout the
year
Climate & Vegetation
Climate characteristics
B. Tropical Monsoon climate
• Found between 10°N/S and 25°N/S
• Has a hot and cool season
• Larger annual range of temperature than
in equatorial region
• Distinct dry and wet seasons
Climate & Vegetation
Climate characteristics
C. Temperate climate
• Experienced between 30°N/S and 70°N,
60°S
• Characterised by four seasons
• Great variations in temperatures and
rainfall depending on location
• Can be sub-divided into warm, cool and
cold temperate climate
Climate & Vegetation
Climate & Vegetation
Climate, in particular rainfall and
temperature, determines the type of natural
vegetation found in an area.
Natural vegetation: plant life that has not
been planted by people.
Natural vegetation may be classified as
forests, grasslands and deserts.
Climate & Vegetation
References
Chong, M. (2001) Aspects of Physical
Geography, Singapore: Pekoe Books.
Waugh, D. (2000) Geography – An
Integrated Approach, UK: Nelson.
• For more info on Koppen Classification:
http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011700b.htm