Parts of the Biosphere: Biomes

What factors cause different plants and animals to be found indifferent places on earth? How are these environments categorized?

• Regional climate differences– Differential heating by the sun

– Wind patterns and ocean currents

– Unique precipitation and temp. patterns

• Biomes of the Earth– Tropical rainforest

– Savanna

– Desert

– Chaparral/dry shrub & woodlands

– Temperate grassland

– Temperate deciduous forest

– Coniferous forest

– Tundra

– Freshwater provinces

– Ocean provinces• Estuaries and intertidal zones

• Hydrothermal vents

• Coral reefsA biome is a large subdivision of the biosphere with unique

vegetation due to unique moisture and temperatures. Thereare approximately ten subdivisions, with the ocean the largest.

Differential Solar Heating

Hadley Cells of Rising and Falling Air

Hadley Cells and the Major Winds

Hadley cell anim

Coriolis Effect

Objects Moving in a Circle and Along a Straight Line are Seemingly Deflected when Moving Across Areas Moving More Slowly

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Biomes as a Function of Temperature vs. Precipitation

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Tropical Rainforest

• Greater than 80" of rain per year

• Huge biodiversity

• Rapid organic decay, nutrients largely in the vegetation instead of the soil (soil relatively poor)

• Dense foliage, parasitic plants

• Animals: butterflies, toucans, anacondas, orangutans, tigers, chimpanzee, gorilla, piranha

• Found in Brazil, Central Africa, Central America, Philippines

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Savanna (Tropical Grassland)

• 40-60 inches of rain per year

• Sod grasses hold moisture year-round

• Severe dry season and short wet season

• Frequent fires

• Scattered and few trees

• Animals: Herds of gazelles, zebras, giraffes, and kangaroos (in Australia)

• Found in Central Africa, Eastern South America, Australia

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Desert

• Found at 30o N or S latitude or in rain shadows

• < 10 inches (25 cm) of rain per year

• Both hot and cold deserts exist (tundra a cold desert)

• Plants are often spiny with minimal leaves and thick cuticles

• Animals are nocturnal, living burrows, conserve water (e.g. lizards, kangaroo rats, coyotes)

• Found in the Mojave of California, the Sonoran of W. Central America, the Chihuahuan in Texas, the Great Basin of Utah, the Sahara of Egypt, the Gobi of Australia

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Chaparral

• Long, hot and dry summers

• Mild, rainy winters

• Frequent fires and drought

• Spiny shrub adapted for fire like manzanita, coyote brush, ceanothus, live oak

• Animals include lizards, mule deer, cinnamon towhees

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Temperate Grasslands: Prairie, Steppes, Pampas

• Distinct hot/cold seasons

• Fewer fires than in the savanna

• No trees except around water courses

• Sod grasses hold soil and water - fertile and under cultivation in the US

• Animals include prairie dogs, rattlesnakes, meadowlarks, mice

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Temperature Deciduous Forest

• Warm/mild summers

• Moderate rainfall in the winters (light snow)

• Trees are broadleaf, deciduous and include oak, birch, maple, and cottonwoods

• Rich soil

• Animals include bobcats, foxes, chipmunks, raccoons, and wolves

• Found in Eastern US, Europe

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Northern Coniferous Forest

• Coniferous-evergreen trees including firs, pines, larches and spruces

• Cold hard and long winters with much snow

• Animals include moose, caribou, hares, jays, beaver, bears

• Northernmost edge of con. forest sometimes classified as a different biome (taiga) with stunted trees

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Tundra

• Short grasses, herbs, dwarf shrubs, lichens

• Relatively flat with some low hills

• Permanently frozen soil (permafrost) extending some 300 feet deep in northern areas

• Short growing seasons, huge explosion of insect populations

• Animals include caribous, reindeer, foxes, lemmings

• Very sensitive ecologically; soil disturbance produces ponds and lakes that take several hundreds of years to return to tundra

Map of the Major Biomes of the World

Marine and Aquatic Waters

• Fresh water provinces

• Plants include lilies, algae, milfoil, Elodea

• Animals include frogs, salamanders, turtles

• May freeze over in the winter

• Saltwater (marine) provinces - the ocean

• Covers 3/4 of the earth's surface

• Huge gradient in sunlight and temperature

• Huge gradient in pressure

• Large amount of photosynthesis at the surface

• Animals include whales, dolphins, otters, fish, arthropod crustaceans

Altitude and Biome-like Communities

Every 1000 feet gain in altitude equivalent to + 10o N or S latitude

Biomes Map Used on Exams