Integrated Science:: Earth’s Biomes

XI. Earth’s Biomes – major type of ecosystem; determined by climate; has altitude and latitude, supply of water and sunlight

Biome	Tundra	Grassland	Desert	Coniferous Forest	Temperate Deciduous Forest	Tropical Rainforest
Location	Circles under arctic ocean and all around the north pole	Africa, North America, Central Asia, South America, Neat Coast Australia	Western North America, West Coast of S.A., Western Asia, Central Australia		Canada, Europe, Japan, China, Australia	South America, SE Asia, Central America, Africa
Climate	Short summer days and short periods of winter sunlight; yearly temperatures less than -5 degrees	Dry season where insufficient water exists to support forests	Extreme heat during the day and extreme cold at night	Long cold and dry winter (sunlight of 6-8 hours a day) short summer; mild to warm temp. (sun shines for 19 hours a day); 10 degrees summer – 40 degrees winter	Four season (winter, spring, summer and fall)	Normally warm and relatively constant temperature (about 25 degrees) high humidity
Rainfall	Less than 25 cm of annual rain and snow fall	25-26 cm annual rainfall	Less than 25 cm annual rainfall	25-100 cm annual rainfall	At least 75 cm	At least 200 cm of annual rainfall (with daily rains)
Growing Season	Brief spring and summer (which last a total of three months)	Short growing season	Depends on precipitation levels	Brief summer	Summer	Year-round
Rate of Decomposition				Slow due to cold climate	Rapid due to warm and moist conditions; forest floor is rich in nutrients; floor is covered with plants and animals; pollination is dependent on insects	Rapid recycling of nutrients; much of the nutrients is stored in biomass (large trees); soil is poor in nutrients
Dominant Vegetation	Lichens, dwarf shrubs, mosses, sedges	Grasses, cereal grains	Cactus	Conifers – cone-bearing trees; spruce, fir, pine, birch, aspen, redwood trees	Deciduous – shed leaves in winter, grow new ones in spring, stay green in summer and drop leaves in fall	Varied, green year-round
Examples (trees and plants)	Dwarf willows, grasses, dwarf shrubs, mosses, sedges	Thistle, sunflower, blazing stars, buffalo grass, wheat grass, bluegrass, needle grass	Aloe, saguaro cactus, sagebrush, preakly pear, creosote bush, Palo Verde	Spruces, pine, fir, redwood	Oak, maple, beech, birch, hickory, poplar, aspen, sycamore, maple, elm	Lianas (large woody vines) balsa, teakwood, epiphytes
Examples (birds)	Ducks, geese, sandpipers, snowy owl, plover, ptarmigans, arctic tern	Titmouse, woodpecker, hawk	Desert bird	Warbler, gray jay, crossbill, great horned owls, spruce grouse, chickadees, siskin, woodpeckers, warblers	Ruffled grouse, blue jay, mallard ducks, woodpecker, warblers, grouse	Eagle, toucan, parrots
Examples (animals)	Caribou, wolves, musk, oxen, lemmings, fox, polar bear, hares	Buffaloes, antelopes, lion, prairie dogs, bison, rodents, ground squirrels, coyotes, wolves, snakes, badgers, bobcat	Lizards, kangaroos, rats, gecko, scorpions	Moose, lynx, beaver, weasel, caribou, wolves, squirrel,, grizzlies, moose, chipmunks, bobcat, shrews	Coyote, fox, salamander, badger, weasel, raccoon, deer, squirrels, bear, bobcat	Tapir, boa constrictor, jaguar, tamandua
Unique Features/Key Words/ Adaptation	Permafrost, carpet-like vegetation, midnight sun, during summer, Finnish word: barren land, found at mountain slopes and near the poles	Grasses with complex network of grass roots, wildfire helps renew the vegetation, herbivores are grazers and browsers, has the largest number of herbivores, savannas – grasslands with scattered or few trees because of low and erratic precipitation	Extreme temperature, burning hot during day time, freezing cold at night, driest biome on earth	Waxy needle-like leaves; low plant diversity due to harsh winter conditions and acidic soil or poor nutrient soil	Usually dominated by 2 – 3 species of trees; mild and moderate climate	Greatest plant and animal diversity; broadleaf evergreen trees, canopy; 200 cm rainfall
Ecotone	With taiga: animals – caribou, ptarmigan, snowy owl		Chaparrals – found a t the edges of deserts, Savannas found in Africa

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