1. Walk Thru The Biomes
and Ecology Part 2

2. Biomes
 Terrestrial ecosystems that cover a large region of Earth
 Characterized by communities of plants and other organisms adapted to the
climate and other abiotic factors

3. Major Terrestrial Biomes
 Temperate Woodland/shrubland
Tropical Rainforest (Chaparral)
Tropical Dry Forest  Temperate forest
Tropical Savannah  Northwestern Coniferous
Desert  Boreal Forest/Taiga
Temperate Grasslands (Prairie)  Tundra
What You Need To Find For Each Biome:
Temp:
Precipitation:
Soil:
Plants:
Animals:
Human Impact/degradation:
Other Facts:

4. What You Need To Find For Each Biome:
Temp:
Precipitation:
Soil:
Plants:
Animals:
Human Impact/degradation:
Other Facts:

5. Tropical Rainforest
 Canopy: dense covering of tree
tops
 Understory: 2nd story of shorter
trees and vines under the canopy
 Fern Gully/Medicine Man

6. Tropical Dry Forest
 Deciduous trees: broad leaves that fall
 Wet/Dry season
 “Jungle Book” forest

7. Tropical Savannah
 In the tropics
 Wet/dry season
 Large mammals keep large trees from
growing in
 Less rainfall than tropical Dry forest
 Organisms ADAPT to fires during dry
season
 Think “Lion King”

8. Desert
 Around 25-35o Latitude N and S
 Hot Days and Cold Nights
 Plants and animal adaptations
 Spines, waxy cuticles, scales
 Think “The Mummy” and “The Sahara”
 Rain shadow effect

9. Rain shadow
Effect
 Warm air on coast
rises rapidly because
of mountain
 “Orographic lifting”
 Lots of precipitation
on one side=lush
vegetation
 Other side very dry
air=desert like
conditions

10. Temperate
Woodland/Shrubland/Chaparral
 Dense shrubs
 Mediterranean, California coast
 Brush fires

11. Temperate Grassland
 prairies
 Midwest (Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri)
 Brush fires
 Think movie “Twister” “Wizard of Oz” and
“Little House on the Prairie”

12. Temperate Forest
 Mix of coniferous and deciduous trees
 Humus (HUE-Mus) material formed from
decaying leaves….very fertile!!!
 Forests with leaves that change colors
 Think fairy tale forest “Snow White” and
“Sleeping Beauty”

13. Northwestern Coniferous
 “Rainforest” of the temperate climate
zone…very DIVERSE vegetation
 Mild, moist temperatures
 Think “Twilight” “New Moon” “Eclipse”

14. Boreal Forest/ Taiga
 Bitter cold winters
 Coniferous trees
 Make the timberline…border between taiga
and the tundra…LINE of TREES
 Think “X-Men Origins”…Wolverine’s home

15. Tundra
 Permafrost: layer of
permanently frozen subsoil
 “Ice Age”

16. Other interesting
ecosystems…
 Mountain Ranges
 On all continents
 Abiotic and biotic factors change with ELAVATION (as u go
up)
 Therefore plants and animals change VERTICALLY
 Grassland at base woodland/pines spruce/conifer
forest tundra like open area at summit with
wildflowers
 Polar Ice Caps
 Border the Tundra
 Cold year round
 Characterized by ice and snow
 Plants and algae are few but include Mosses and Lichens
 North Pole
 Sea ice and ice cap that covers Greenland
 Polar bears, seals, insects and mites
 South Pole
 5 km thick layer of ice
 Penguins and marine mammals