The 6 Biomes By Cole Hayes

The Tundra You find Tundras north and at the tops of mountains. Its extremely cold to where not even trees can grow there.   A special characteristic of the tundra is known as permafrost.   Permafrost is the soil beneath the top, thawed layer. At the highest temperature in a Tundra is 45 F to 50 F. At the lowest is can get 10 below 0 F.

Tundra animals Because of how cold it is and the limited amount of plant life, living in the tundra is rough. One of the animals that can make it in the Tundra is the Artic Fox, it has thick fur so the cold doesn’t affect it as much. Another animal is the White Hare, it has a white coat that helps the hare blend in with the snow.

Tundra Plants Because only 6-10 inches of precipitation, which is mostly snow, falls each year in a Tundra. Many plants cannot survive in this environment, but there are a few that can. The Yellow Tundra Flower is a flower that has shallow roots and it blooms during the summer. Reindeer Moss can also survive in the Tundra because it can grow on bare rocks.

Yellow Tundra Flower Reindeer Moss

The Tropical Rainforest The Tropical Rainforest is considered one of the world wonders. You can find them near the equators in tropical regions, like South America. Its full of animal and plant life and has the most animal and plant species in the world. The annual precipitation is between 50-200 inches of rainfall a year. It’s a hot and tropical climate and it never snows. The temperature is usually between 68 F to 93 F.

Rainforest Animals An example of an animal in the rainforest is a Jaguar and a Toucan. The Jaguar’s fur is spotted so it can blend in with its environment. The Toucan has bright colors to attract mates.

Rainforest Plants One of the many plants in Rainforests is the Wild Nutmeg. The Wild Nutmeg has a hard outer shell that helps protect it. Another plant is the Amazon Lily that takes advantage of the heat in the Rainforests to bloom twice a year.

Toucan Jaguar Amazon Lily Wild Nutmeg

The Grasslands The Grasslands is a large terrain of grasses, flowers, and herbs. You can find Grasslands in North America, parts of Europe, and in Africa. The pioneers in North America called the grasslands in the west the prairie. The precipitation in Grasslands is between 24-59 inches and the temperature can sometimes be as low as -40 F to as high as 70 F.

Grassland Animals One of the most common animals in grasslands is the bison. Bison are like a wild cow that has horns, and stay in herds. Bobcats, which is one of the top predators in grasslands, has fur that blends in with yellow grass.

Grassland Plants One of the most common plants is buffalo grass that just thrives in grasslands. Sunflowers also live out in the open prairie. Sunflowers attract bees and other insects which pollinates all the plants.

Sunflower Bobcat Buffalo Grass Bison

Desert The Desert is one of the driest biomes in the world. You can find Deserts in southwest North America, parts of Africa, parts in India, and in the Middle East. The annual precipitation varies from different deserts, in some there is 0 cm of precipitation, while in others its 28 cm. Hot and Dry Deserts temperature ranges from 20 to 25° C. The extreme maximum temperature for Hot Desert ranges from 43.5 to 49° C. Cold Deserts temperature in winter ranges from -2 to 4° C and in the summer 21 to 26° C a year.

Desert Animals The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is one of the top predators in the southwest North American Desert. It can grow 7ft long and can swallow its prey whole so it can go long periods without food. The Kangaroo Rat is pretty much a mouse that can jump high. It lives in burrows that it hides in when predators are near.

Desert Plants Aloe is a cacti that grows in the desert and it has spines along its leaves that keeps animals from eating it. Ocotillo is a shrub that sheds its small leaves during the drought season.

Ocotillo Kangaroo Rat Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Aloe

Taiga You can find a Taiga biome in North America and parts of Eurasia. Its precipitation 12-33 inches and the temperature -65F to 30F.

Taiga Animals Wolfs are one of the top predators in the Taiga Forests and have thick fur to protect them from the cold and they hunt in packs to bring down big game. Moose is one of the biggest animals in the Taiga Forests and the males have big antlers to fend off predators.

Taiga Plants White Spruce is cone shaped so the snow doesn’t harm the tree. Douglas Fir is a lot like the white spruce except is gets taller.

Moose Wolf Douglas Fir White Spruce

Temperate Forest The Temperate Forest is pretty much the average forest in the United States and in most parts of Europe. The average precipitation is usually between 30-60 inches and the average temperature is about 50F.

Temperate Animals One that I’m sure everybody has heard about is the Deer. The Deer is a graceful animal that is has no special qualities other than its speed. The Grizzly Bear is one of the top predators in Temperate Forests. You mainly find a Grizzly in the northern parts of North America. Grizzlies are omnivores which helps it keep up its huge size in Temperate Forests.

Temperate Plants The Oak tree is one of the most common trees in a Temperate Forest. Oak Trees take 150 years to mature and becomes one of the thickest trees in the forest. The Maple tree is found more in northern Temperate Forests. Maples are famous for their sap which makes maple syrup.

Grizzly Bear Maple Tree Oak Tree Deer

Main Website http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/ was my main website. The only other website I used was http://www.google.com to find pictures and facts about animals and plants.