Transcript Biomes PPTx - Idaho Adventure Learning

Biomes
Where the plants and the animals
live
Biomes
Large regions with
plants and animals that
are well adapted to the
soil and climate of the
region
Biomes
➢Ice
➢Tundra
➢Taiga/Boreal/Coniferous
Forests
➢Temperate Deciduous
Forests
➢Chaparral
➢Grasslands
➢Savanna
➢Deserts
➢Tropical Rain Forests
➢Fresh Water
➢Wetlands
➢Ocean
Ice
▪Below freezing all year
round
▪No plants, but some
algae live in the ice
▪Few animals live on the
ice including polar bears,
penguins, seals
▪Some live in the waters
near and under the ice
including fish and whales
▪Examples: Polar Caps,
Greenland, high
mountains such as the
Andes, Himalayas
▪A cold and treeless area
▪Very little precipitation,
Tundra
similar to a desert (15 to 25
cm annually)
▪Alpine tundra is above the
tree line in mountains
throughout the world
▪Frozen layer called
permafrost just below the
surface never thaws
▪Lichens, moss, and short,
hardy, shallow-rooted plants
▪Mosquitoes, flies, other
insects
▪Caribou, reindeer, mountain
goats and sheep, snowshoe
rabbits
Coniferous Forests
▪Average of 25 to 100 cm
annual precipitation
(mostly snow)
▪Cooler temperatures
reduce evaporation
▪Short summers
▪Long, cold, dry winters
▪Lower plant and animal
diversity due to harsh
winters
▪Pine, spruce, douglas
fir
▪Elk, moose
▪Squirrels, snowshoe
hare
▪Lynx, bobcat
Taiga/Boreal
Forests
Deciduous Forests
▪Receive between 70
and 150 cm annual
precipitation
▪Four distinct seasons
▪Leaves fall off in the
fall
▪Trees include oak,
elm, maple, willow
▪Animals include
squirrels, deer, foxes,
bears
▪Found in North
America, Europe, and
Asia around 0° to 50°
north latitude
Chaparral
▪Generally receive 25 to 60
cm or less annual
precipitation
▪A little more rain than
deserts, primarily during
mild winters
▪Summers long, hot, and
arid
▪Dominant plants
generally have hardened
evergreen leaves
▪Animals include coyotes,
jackrabbits, mule deer,
lizards
▪Occur in California, South
Grasslands
▪Large, rolling terrains of
grasses, rich and fertile
soil
▪Enough precipitation to
keep deserts from
forming but not enough
to support forests (50 to
89 cm annually)
▪Dominated by grazers
and burrowers such as
bison, wild horses,
prairie dogs, coyotes
▪Plants include buffalo
grass, clovers, asters
▪Examples: North
America’s shortgrass and
tallgrass prairies, South
▪Between tropical
Savanna
rainforests and deserts
▪Enough precipitation to
keep deserts from
forming but not enough
to support forests (38 to
64 cm annually)
▪Long, dry winters, short
rainy seasons
▪Dominated by grazers
and burrowers for
example elephants,
zebras, meerkats, lions,
kangaroos
▪Plants include bermuda
grass, acacia and
eucalyptus
▪Receive less than 10 cm
Deserts
annual precipitation
▪Cover about 20% of the
earth’s land area (and
increasing)
▪Can be very hot during the
day and very cold at night
▪Some are cold all the time
▪The plants and animals
have adaptations to cope
▪Plants are spread out,
spiny, thick outer layers
▪Animals include coyotes,
jack rabbits, lizards, snakes,
owls
▪Examples: Arabian,
Atacama, Australia,
Tropical Rainforests
▪Annual mean
temperature of 25° C (77°
F)
▪Regular, heavy rainfall
▪Humidity of at least
80%
▪Evergreen trees drop
leaves and produce new
ones year round
▪Litter does not
accumulate because
decomposition is rapid
▪Very thick and diverse
plant and animal
populations
▪Band around the
equator, between the
Tropic of Cancer and the
Tropic of Capricorn
▪South America, West
Freshwater
▪Ponds and Lakes
▪Streams and Rivers
▪Make up less than
half of one percent
of the world’s water
▪Supply half of the
drinking water
▪Supply one third of
the irrigation water
Wetlands and Intertidal Zones
▪Marshes
▪Freshwater
▪Saltwater
▪Swamps
▪Bogs
▪Estuaries – where
freshwater rivers flow
into the sea
▪Intertidal Zones
▪Rocky shores
▪Sandy and Muddy
shores
▪Plants include reeds,
cattails, lilies, cypress
▪Animals include ducks,
herons, beavers,
moose, shrimp
Ocean
▪Cover nearly three-
fourths of the world’s
surface
▪Supports more life
forms than all the other
biomes combined
▪The smallest creatures
can be seen only with a
microscope, the largest
creature, the blue
whale, can be up to 110
feet long
Biosphere
Made up
of all the
ecosyste
ms on
Earth
Questions?