Biomes

What is a biome?

• Definition: A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities– Climate = temperature and precipitation

• The __________ can be broken down into biomes

biosphere

Types of Biomes

Aquatic Terrestrial

Marine Tundra

Estuary Taiga

Freshwater Desert

Wetlands Grassland

Temperate Forest

Rain Forest

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Marine

• Definition: a salty body of water (oceans, seas, some lakes)

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Temperature, availability of light, depth,

salinity, tides

• What biotic factors are important here?

Marine Biotic Factors

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Estuary• Definition: a coastal

body of water, partially surrounded by land, in which freshwater and salt water mix

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Temperature, run-off,

availability of light, depth, salinity, tides

• What biotic factors are important here?

Estuary Biotic Factors

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Freshwater

• Definition: body of water that is not salty

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Temperature, availability of light, depth,

salinity, run-off

• What biotic factors are important here?

Freshwater Biotic Factors

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Wetlands

• Definition: where the land meets the water– Examples: swamps (have trees), marshes

(don’t have trees), and bogs (water from rain)– Found in inland and coastal regions

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Temperature, run-off, precipitation, salinity

• What biotic factors are important here?

Wetlands Biotic Factors

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Tundra

• Definition: treeless land surrounding the north pole with long summer days and short periods of winter sunlight

• Other Characteristics: – temperatures never above freezing for

long

– top layer of soil frozen until summer = shallow-rooted plants only

– permafrost

Tundra Continued

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Temperature, sunlight,

precipitation

• What biotic factors are important here?

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Taiga• Definition: south of the tundra; continuous belt

of coniferous trees around the north pole– aka Boreal or Northern coniferous forest

• Other characteristics: – long, severe winters and short, mild summers– Topsoil = decaying coniferous needles; poor in

minerals

Taiga Continued

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Temperature, sunlight, precipitation, fires,

logging

• What biotic factors are important here?

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Desert

• Definition: arid region with sparse to almost nonexistent plant life>25 cm of precipitation annually

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Temperature, precipitation, water supply

• What biotic factors are important here?

Desert Biotic Factors

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Grassland

• Definition: large communities covered with rich soil, grasses, and similar plants

• Other Characteristics: – Dry season– Insufficient water for forests– Attract herds of grazers

• aka. Prairie, “Breadbaskets

of the world”

Grasslands Continued

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Precipitation, fertilizers, fires

• What biotic factors are important here?

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Temperate Forest• Definition: dominated by broad-leaved

hardwood trees that lose their foliage annually– aka. Deciduous forests

• What abiotic factors are important here?– Logging, precipitation, light, water, fire

• What biotic factors are important here?

Temperate Forest Biotic Factors

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Rain Forest

• Definition: identified by extensive amounts of moisture supplied by rainfall or coastal clouds and fog

• Other characteristics:– Support vast numbers of species– Vertical layering

> 200 cm of rain annually

• Two types: Temperate and tropical

Rain Forest Continued• What abiotic factors

are important here?– Precipitation,

deforestation, sunlight availability

– *Conservation efforts*

• What biotic factors are important here?

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Ok…So where are these places?

Terrestrial Biomes

Biodiversity “Hotspots” (highlighted in red)

What trend(s) do you notice about these areas?