A biome tour

Where do we live?

Temperate deciduous forest

What’s special about temperate deciduous forest? –Trees lose leaves in winter. WHY? Difficult to photosynthesize when light is low, temperatures are cold, and water is scarce (frozen) Deciduous leaves (broadleaves) are “cheap” and easy to make again in spring –Strong seasonality Warm summers, cold winters (temperate means “not too hot or too cold”) Rain and snow

Temperate Forest Oak Hickory Beech Hemlock Maple Basswood Cottonwood Elm Willow Spring- flowering herbs

Bank Vole Bank Vole Black Bear Black Bear Gray Squirrel Gray SquirrelRaccoon White-tailed Deer White-tailed Deer Wild Boar Wild BoarCardinal Goshawk Goshawk Turkey Turkey Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Rat Snake Rat Snake Spring Peeper

Temperate Forest

Tundra Deciduous Forest Savanna Taiga Chaparral Rainforest Grassland Desert Alpine Desert-Scrub

Tropical rainforest Hot, with little variation High rainfall but can have dry season

Characteristics of the tropical rainforest Many species of plants Long growing season—so lots of plant biomass

Tropical rainforest About 12 hours of daylight year-round Little variation in temperature Long growing season –Year-round, or nearly so (may be limited by a short dry season)

Leaf-cutter ants. Cut leaves from trees and bring them back to their nest. They DON’T eat the leaves, however...

Notice the shape of the tree trunk  called ``buttresses”

Tundra Deciduous Forest Savanna Taiga Chaparral Rainforest Grassland Desert Alpine Desert-Scrub

Boreal forest = taiga Most months freezing or below Little precip so trees must have adaptation to low water Short, warm, most summers

Taiga: most extensive forest Trees shaped to shed snow Covers more area than any other forest

Boreal forest (taiga) Long, cold winter Short, warm, moist summer –Growing season relatively short –10-50 days shorter than temperate deciduous forest

Boreal forest (taiga) Needles, not broad leaves. WHY? Less surface area  less evaporation –In winter, water is frozen, so trees can’t replenish water lost Trees are green in winter, but no photosynthesis—no water. –But the leaves are ready to photosynthesize when short growing season begins.

Boreal forest (taiga) Needles are like a leaf rolled up. Low surface area Waxy outer layer

Boreal forest (here, in Siberia) wetlands—bogs, swamps—are common

Tundra Deciduous Forest Savanna Taiga Chaparral Rainforest Grassland Desert Alpine Desert-Scrub Biggest biome

Which of the following is an adaptation to freezing winters? A) Trees lose their leaves B) Trees keep needles, but make them tough C) Trees store water in their trunks D) A and B E) A and B and C

Which kind of forest has the shortest growing season? A)Temperate deciduous forest B) Taiga C) Tundra D) Tropical rainforest

Which forests cover the most area in the world? A) Tropical rainforest B) Boreal forest C) Taiga D) Temperate deciduous forest