The document discusses factors that influence Earth's climate and ecosystems. It explains that solar energy drives ocean currents, wind, and the water cycle, which produce different climates around the world. Mountains also impact weather patterns and temperature variation. Life requires nutrients, energy, water, and an appropriate temperature range. The distribution of terrestrial biomes is determined by rainfall and temperature, and some of the major biomes discussed include tropical rainforests, savannas, deserts, chaparral, grasslands, temperate deciduous forests, coniferous forests, and tundra. Each biome has characteristic environmental conditions and plant communities.
Figure: 30_09 Title: The tropical rainforest biome Caption: (a) Towering trees draped with vines reach for the light in the dense tropical rain forest. Amid their branches dwells the most diverse assortment of organisms on Earth, including (b) a fruit-eating toucan, (c) a golden-eyed leaf frog, (d) a tree-climbing orchid, and (e) a howler monkey.
Figure: 30_UN03 Title: Savannas Caption:
Figure: 30_11 Title: The African savanna Caption: (a) Elephants roam beneath a rainbow. (b) A red-billed oxpecker looks up at a sleeping white rhino. Oxpeckers feed on parasites that live on rhino skin. (c) Large herds of grazing animals, such as zebras, can still be seen on African preserves. The herds of herbivores provide food for the greatest assortment of large carnivores on Earth. (d) A cheetah feasts on its prey.
Figure: 30_UN04 Title: Deserts Caption:
Figure: 30_13 Title: The desert biome Caption: (a) Under the most extreme conditions of heat and drought, as in these sand dunes of the Sahara Desert in Africa, deserts can be almost devoid of life. (b) Throughout much of Utah and Nevada, the Great Basin Desert presents a landscape of widely spaced shrubs, such as sagebrush and greasewood. These shrubs often secrete a growth inhibitor from their roots, preventing germination of nearby plants and thus reducing competition for water. (c) The kangaroo rat is an elusive inhabitant of the deserts of North America.
Figure: 30_UN05 Title: Chaparral Caption:
Figure: 30_15 Title: The chaparral biome Caption: This biome is limited primarily to coastal mountains in dry regions, such as the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California. Chaparral is maintained by frequent fires set by summer lightning. Although the tops of the plants may be burned off, the roots send up new sprouts the following spring.
Figure: 30_UN06 Title: Grasslands Caption:
Figure: 30_16 Title: Tallgrass prairie Caption: In the central United States, moisture-bearing winds out of the Gulf of Mexico produce summer rains, allowing a lush growth of tall grasses and wildflowers such as these coneflowers. Periodic fires, now carefully managed, prevent encroachment of forest.
Figure: 30_18 Title: Sagebrush desert or shortgrass prairie? Caption: The shortgrass prairie field on the right has been overgrazed by cattle, causing the grasses to be replaced by sagebrush.
Figure: 30_19 Title: The temperate deciduous forest biome Caption: (a) In temperate deciduous forests of the eastern United States, (b) the white-tailed deer is the largest herbivore, and (c) birds such as the blue jay are abundant. (d) In spring, a profusion of woodland wildflowers (such as these hepaticas) blooms briefly before the trees produce leaves.
Figure: 30_UN09 Title: Taiga Caption:
Figure: 30_21 Title: The taiga (or northern coniferous forest) biome Caption: (a) The small needles and pyramidal shape of conifers allow them to shed heavy snows. (b) Winter is a challenge not only for the trees but also for animals such as this snowshoe hare and the bobcat that preys on it. The hare is also prey for (c) the great horned owl.
Figure: 30_UN10 Title: Tundra Caption:
Figure: 30_23 Title: The tundra biome Caption: (a) Life on the tundra is adapted to cold. (b) Plants such as dwarf willows and perennial wildflowers (such as this dwarf clover) grow low to the ground, escaping the chilling tundra wind. Tundra animals, such as (c) caribou and (d) arctic foxes, can regulate blood flow in their legs, keeping them just warm enough to prevent frostbite, while preserving precious body heat for the brain and vital organs.
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