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Tropical Rainforest

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Tropical Rainforest Located around the Equatorial regions Hot temperatures and rain year round No seasons Convectional rainfall Layers Emergent Layer giant trees ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Tropical Rainforest


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Tropical Rainforest
  • Located around the Equatorial regions
  • Hot temperatures and rain year round
  • No seasons
  • Convectional rainfall

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Layers
  • Emergent Layer giant trees thrust above the
    dense canopy layer and have huge mushroom-shaped
    crowns.
  • These trees enjoy the greatest amount of sunlight
    but also must endure high temperatures, low
    humidity and strong winds.
  • Canopy Layer The broad, irregular crowns of
    these trees form a tight, continuous canopy 30 to
    50 m above the ground. The branches are often
    densely covered with other plants (epiphytes) and
    tied together with vines (lianas).

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  • Understory
  • Dark, relatively open and contains young trees
    and leafy herbaceous plants that tolerate low
    light.
  • Forest Floor
  • The forest floor receives less than 2 of the
    sunlight and consequently, little grows here
    except plants adapted to very low light. On the
    floor is a thin layer of fallen leaves, seeds,
    fruits and branches that very quickly decomposes.
  • Only a thin layer of decaying organic matter is
    found, unlike temperate forests.

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  • Tress buttressed at the base
  • Leaves large
  • Thousands of species but individual species
    spaced widely apart
  • Nutrients are in the biomass not the soil

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  • Nutrient Recycling Constant warmth and moisture
    promote rapid decay of organic matter. When a
    tree dies in the rain forest, living organisms
    quickly absorb the nutrients before they have a
    chance to be washed away.
  • When tropical forests are cut and burned, heavy
    rains can quickly wash the released nutrients
    away, leaving the soil even more impoverished.

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  • Vegetation protects the soil.
  • Through the nutrient cycle, vegetation helps to
    maintain the soil fertility
  • When it rains, nutrient entre the soil
  • Plant roots quickly absorb the dissolved
    nutrients
  • Small organism eat leaves and litter

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  • The rain forests are home to half of the Earth's
    plant and animal species.
  • They are winter homes to many birds that breed in
    temperate latitudes.
  • home to tribal cultures that have survived
  • The forests are a potential source of medicinal
    plants that may benefit everyone on Earth.
  • Tropical rain forests help maintain global rain
    and weather patterns.

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  • The rainforest contains more than half of Earth's
    plant and animal species, even though rain
    forests cover only about 6 of the earth's
    surface.
  • The average humidity in the rainforest is high,
    ranging from 77 to 88. The average temperature
    is at least 28 to 35 degrees.

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Tropical Monsoon
  • Less precipitation and dry season
  • Lush vegetation but more open and lose leaves in
    the dry season
  • Growth not as great and fewer species
  • Mesotherms adjust to moderate heat

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  • Many lianas (woody vines) and herbaceous
    epiphytes (air plants, such as orchids are
    present.
  • Monsoon forests are especially well developed in
    Southeast Asia and are typified by tall teak
    trees and thickets of bamboo.

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Tropical Savannah
  • Grasses
  • Parkland
  • Wet/dry seasons

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Tundra
  • Long cold winters and short summers
  • Permafrost

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  • Cold climate leads to short growing season
  • Soil is poor in nutrients
  • An under-layer of soil called permafrost remains
    completely frozen at all times allows no room for
    deep rooting plants and trees. This also
    prevents water from percolating into the ground
    and as a result, bogs, ponds and small lakes
    cover the landscape providing a perfect breeding
    ground for mosquitoes and other insects.
  • This abundant food brings many waterfowl to
    nesting grounds in the tundra.

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  • Plants are extremely resilient with short,
    shallow roots close to the surface,adapt to wet
    soil in the short summer
  • Plant life consists of shrubbery, lichen, and
    moss. No trees!

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Taiga, Boreal Forest
  • Taiga is also know as Coniferous or Boreal
    Forest.
  • Largest terrestrial biome on earth which includes
    a variety of climate conditions, from moderate to
    severe.
  • Generally, winters are long and cold, and
    summers are mild and short.

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  • Precipitation is moderate (20 to 60 cm) and
    evaporation is low.
  • Soils are thin, nutrient poor and acidic
  • Trees adapt by producing a dense network of
    shallow roots, grow small needle shaped, wax
    coated leaves, shed their needles

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  • In the summer the soil is often waterlogged,
    forming acidic bogs (muskegs)
  • Dominated by black spruce, fir, pine, poplar, and
    aspen.

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Temperate Rainforest
  • Temperate rainforests are among the rarest
    ecosystems in the world, and originally comprised
    less than .02 per cent of Earth's land surface.
  • Approximately half of all original temperate
    rainforests have been logged.
  • Also called Coniferous Evergreen Forest

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  • temperate rainforests are found in the middle
    latitudes. Where milder climates prevail,
    deciduous tree species dominate, while coniferous
    tree species prevail where colder winters occur.
  • Favorable growing conditions - a moderate
    climate, minimal changes in the seasons, and
    ample rainfall - allow trees to grow all year in
    temperate rainforests. Trees are often enormous..
    For example, in Washington State's Olympic
    Peninsula, a 127-metre (420 foot) Douglas fir was
    chopped down in 1895. Redwoods dominated
    California's temperate rainforests, and this fir
    tree was taller than a modern-day Redwood by 18
    metres (60 feet). Sitka spruce, cedar and
    hemlock, fir are typical trees found in this
    biome.

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  • Coastal temperate rainforests have four defining
    characteristics a proximity to oceans, presence
    of coastal mountains, cooler summer temperatures
    and high rainfall levels
  • One of the most fascinating aspects of the
    coastal temperate rainforest is the blurred
    boundary between terrestrial and marine
    ecosystems.
  • These forests have abundant epiphytes (plants
    that live on other plants) and they have a dense
    shrubby understory, even the surfaces of trees
    support other plants and lichens.
  • Conifers have adapted to poor,acidic soil by
    developing a root systems which picks up
    nourishment from the top soil layer
  • Trees cone shape with thin flexible branches so
    snow will fall off easily and strong winds will
    not break branches.
  • Cones protect seeds from cold winter weather and
    waxy needles minimize water loss through
    transpiration in the summer.
  • Problems
  • Clear Cutting
  • Logging
  • Salmon at risk
  • Species depletion

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Temperate Deciduous Forest
Found in the mid-latitudes Characteristics of
this biome influenced by patterns of temperature
and precipitation. There are four definite
seasons.
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  • During the fall, trees change color and
    then lose their leaves. This is in preparation
    for the winter season which is cold. Trees have
    adapted to the winter by going into a period of
    dormancy or sleep. They also have thick bark to
    protect them from the cold weather. Trees flower
    and grow during the spring and summer growing
    season. Many different kinds of trees, shrubs,
    and herbs grow in deciduous forests. Most of the
    trees are broadleaf trees such as oak, maple,
    beech, hickory,aspen and chestnut. There are also
    several different kinds of plants like mountain
    laurel, azaleas and mosses that live on the shady
    forest floor where only small amounts of sunlight
    get through.  
  • Leaf litter adds nutrients to the soil
    annually and enjoyed by the bugs.

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Mid-Latitude GrasslandSteppe, Prairie
  • Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of
    grasses, flowers and herbs.
  • Latitude, soil and local climates for the most
    part determine what kinds of plants grow in a
    particular grassland.


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  • 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. Their stems can grow again after
    being burned off.
  • Grasses can be tall (1.5m) or short. Species
    distribution depends on moisture availability and
    heat.

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Mediterranean, Schlerophyll
  • This subtropical Mediterranean biome is composed
    of small scattered trees (often less than 3m
    high),thorny bushes and shrubs.
  • Also called the Maquis in Europe or Chaparral in
    California.
  • Cactus and other water storing plants do well in
    this environment. The cacti often form dense
    thickets.
  • The climate in this area is unique with the wet
    season occurring in winter and summer drought
    (annual rainfall of 15-40 inches)

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Olive
Broom
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  • Most of the plant growth is leafy, leathery and
    relatively short. It is important for plants to
    be drought resistant, to survive the short wet
    winters and long dry summers. Plants often have
    deep roots to tap water, but also help stabilize
    the soil during the brief rainy season.
  • The geography of this region begins at the
    seashore and extends through rolling farmlands,
    with grazing and cultivation, into the mountains
  • Fire is a major factor in the dynamics of this
    plant community, and plants are adapted to fire,
    ie. Crown-sprouting shrubs,and annual
    fire-followers. Important as fire thins out the
    vegetation. Extreme heat needed to develop some
    varieties of seeds.

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Deserts
  • Deserts cover about 1/5 of the planet
  • Deserts found in most latitudes
  • Evaporation exceeds precipitation, often rain
    evaporates before it hits the ground

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Desert Adaptations
  • Soil coarse, sandy
  • Vegetation limited but specialized
  • Plants are short, spaced widely apart, leaves are
    small, roots can be long (tap root)

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  • Some xerophytic plants have extensive root
    systems to capture moisture in the soil.
  • Others have waxy leaves or fleshy tissues to
    store moisture. Enlarged green stems like those
    found on cacti take over the function of leaves
    in photosynthesis.
  • Some desert vegetation may shed parts of branches
    during extreme drought.
  • Thorns for protection
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