What is a Biome?

• The major terrestrial ecosystems are classified into units called biomes

• A biome is a large region characterized by certain conditions, including a range of climate, precipitation, and plants and animals that have adapted to those conditions.

• Every place on earth is part of one biome or another.

• Driest biome on Earth• Precipitation: less then 25 cm a year

– When it does rain it evaporates rapidly, so the soil retains very little moisture

– Because there is little water, plants are spread widely apart and the ground is mostly bare

• Few large animals are found because there is not enough food or water to support them.

• The desert supports little plant life• Plant adaptations:

– Cactus plants, spiny leaves,• large, shallow roots that quickly absorb water

• Animals and adaptations: – Owl, iguanas, fox, lizards – Kangaroo rat

• Never need to drink water; they get moisture from the food they eat

• They are only active in the early morning or late afternoon when the temperatures are less extreme

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• Precipitation: 200 cm to 225 cm each year

• Temperatures are warm and stable

• Tropical rain forests are lush, productive ecosystems containing more then half of all the species that exist on Earth.

• Plants:– Over 700 species of trees – Over 1,000 species of flowering plants

Plants: Vines, orchids, moss, ferns Adaptations: orchids grow on trees to get more

sun light- many plants have large leaves to catch

more sunlight

• Animals– 150 different types of butterflies– Snakes, Lizards, Salamanders, Monkeys,

Bats, Jaguars– Birds: toucans, cockatoos, hummingbirds

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• Found in northern and southern hemispheres

• Regions usually have 4 seasons a year

• Precipitation: 75 cm to 150 cm yearly

• When the weather gets colder and trees lose their leaves some animals migrate to warmer regions– Other animals hibernate

• Plants– Coniferous trees ( pines)– Deciduous trees (oak, maple, hickory)

• Animals – Raccoon , Bald eagle, White tail deer , Red

Fox

• There are grasslands on almost ever continent

• Precipitation: 25 cm to 75 cm yearly– They have a dry season with little to no rain– This prevents larger plant from growing here

• Main plant is grass

• Plants: Grass such as:– Wheat, Oats, Barley, Corn – Grasses have extensive root systems that can

absorb water when it rains and can withstand drought during long dry spells

• Animals– Kangaroos, Wildebeests, Zebras, Prairie Dogs

• They eat the stems, leaves, and seeds of grass plants

• Is located near the north pole

• Cold, dry, treeless region and is covered with ice most of the year

• Winters are 6 to 9 months long

• Precipitation ~ less then 25cm a year

• Plants:– lichens (reindeer moss) , True mosses,

Grasses, Small shrubs

• Animals - in the summer – Mosquitoes– Birds (Geese, ducks, snowy owls)– Mice, voles, lemmings, artic hares, caribou,

musk oxen

• Which biome gets the least amount of precipitation?

• What is the difference between a ecosystem and a biome?