Chapter 4: Kinds of Ecosystems Chaparral, Desert, Tundra

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Chapter 4 Kinds of EcosystemsChaparral,
Desert, Tundra

• Environmental Science

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Question

• What defines a desert?
• What is the biggest threat to the chaparral
  regions?

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Chaparral

• coastal biome with a Mediterranean climate and
  low-lying vegetation

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Chaparral

• They are similar to deserts, but have more
  vegetation
• Smallest Biome

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Temperature

• Between 30 and 100 Degrees F or 12 and 22 Degrees
  C.
• hot, dry summers and mild wet winters

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Climate (Mediterranean Climate)
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Climate (Mediterranean Climate)
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Precipitation

• 10 to 17 inches of precipitation annually
• During summer it rarely rains

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Soil

• nutrient poor b/c of erosion

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Plant Life

• The most common type of chaparral contains plants
  like large shrubs, corn oak, and scattered scrub
  that are densely packed together.

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Plant Life

• Adaptations- small, leathery leaves that resist
  water loss
• Chaparral plants can resprout from small bits of
  surviving tissue

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Animal Life

• quail, fox, lizards, chipmunks
• Adaptations- Many blend in with the environment

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Global Position

• California, around the Mediterranean, Southwest
  Australia

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Desert

• biome that receives less than 10 inch of
  precipitation a year
• Cover 1/5th of the world

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Temperature

• Average temperature is around 64 degrees F.
• Days can get up and over 100 degrees

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Climate (Dry Tropical )
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Precipitation

• Under 10 inches, but around only 1 inch in many
  places

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Soil

• Extremely Poor

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Plant Life

• Cacti
• Adaptations- Thick leaves with waxy coating to
  retain water
• Some plants die during droughts, their seeds
  fall, and new plants grow

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Animal Life

• Lizards, bobcat, coyote, spade foot toad
• Adaptations- Toads (estivating) bury themselves
  in the ground and sleeping through the dry season
  
• Adaptations- Live in the ground and come out at
  night

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Global Position

• Many deserts (Sahara, Great Victoria, Mojave,
  Syria)

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Tundra

• biome without trees, where grasses and tough
  shrubs grow in the frozen soil

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• Temperature- average annual temperature -70
  degrees F
• Climate- Tundra Climate
• Precipitation- 6 to 10 inches a year (Snow)
• Soil- Poor, Permanently Frozen
• Plant Life- lichens, mosses, Sedges, Perennial
  Forbs, dwarfed shrubs, Heaths, Birches Willows
• Adaptations- small and close to the ground, wide
  roots to anchor them to the ground.
• Animal Life- buffalo, wolf, bald eagles, gray
  falcons, ducks, gulls, geese, swans, waterfowl,
  and polar bears.
• Adaptations- Thick Fur, Color-Changing fur or
  feathers
• Global Positions- Northern Canada, Alaska,
  Greenland, Northern Russia

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