BIOMES

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UNIT 4

• BIOMES

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Some Typical Biomes
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I. Climate

• Different amounts of precipitation, light and
  temperature cause large geographic areas with
  similar weather patterns.

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Biomes from the Equator to the Poles

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The Different Amounts of Sunlight
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High and Low Pressure Patterns
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High pressure is associated with

• Clear skies
• Colder, denser air
• Sinking air
• Little precipitation

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This H pressure system cause a major drought in
the US
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Low pressure is associated with

• Cloudy skies or pptn
• Warmer, less dense air
• Rising air

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Hadley Cells

• Are large systems of high and low pressures
• They determine the type of climate

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Hadley Cells
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Global Winds

• Large wind patterns around the globe
• They affect ocean currents and climate

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Global Winds
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II. Biomes

• Areas with characteristic-
• Temperature
• Precipitation
• Soil
• Plants
• Animals

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A. Desert

• Pptn lt 25 cm/ year
• Temp. HOT! Extreme temps.
• Soil poor, little organic matter, sandy
• Vegetation little adapted to less water
• Animals adapted to heat night hunters, reptiles

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A Desert Biome
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Hot Deserts Cold Deserts

• Sahara
• Mohave
• Sonoran
• Death Valley

• Gobi
• Tibetan
• (due to high altitude)

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B. Tropical Rainforest

• Pptn gt 500 cm/ year
• Temp very hot, humid year round
• Soil poor, shallow, organic matter immediately
  used by plants
• Plants thick, greatest biodiversity, canopy 45m
  high, fewer dominant species
• Animals greatest biodiversity, birds, insects,
  reptiles, amphibians, etc.

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A typical rainforest
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Some of the worlds rainforests

• Amazon
• Congo
• Malaysian
• New Guinea

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C. Grasslands

• Pptn too little for trees, more than desert,
  can be seasonal in the savannah
• Temp. moderate changes, warm
• Soil very rich, deep topsoil
• Plants mostly grasses
• Animals grazers and their predators

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Temperate Grasslands
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Tropical Savannah
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D. Temperate Forest

• Pptn moderate
• Temp change of seasons
• Soil very rich
• Plants deciduous trees, understory oak, beech,
  maple, tulip poplar, sycamore, etc
• Animals varied squirrel, birds, deer, fox,
  opossum, skunk

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A typical temperate forest
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E. Taiga (Coniferous Forest)

• Pptn moderate, often as snow
• Temp very cold, long winters, seasons
• Soil moderately good, acidic
• Plants conifers, adapted to cold
• Animals adapted to cold, moose, bear, deer,
  cougars, etc.

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A typical taiga
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F. Tundra

• Pptn too little for trees
• Temp COLD! June July August Winter
• Soil poor, some is permafrost
• Plants sparse, grow close to the ground, short
  growing season
• Animals well adapted to cold, polar bear,
  moose, caribou, wolves, arctic fox

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The tundra in winter
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The tundra in summer
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Different Biomes From Low to High Latitudes
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Biomes can change with an icrease in altitude
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III. Aquatic Biomes
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A. Freshwater Biomes

• 5 of all water
• Lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, etc.
• Succession in lakes (eutrophication)

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B. Estuaries

• Where salt and fresh water mix
• Unique habitat

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An Estuary
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C. Salt Water

• 95 of worlds water
• Oceans, coral reefs
• Many are overfished!!!!

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Overfishing in the oceans
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