Biomes

What is a Biome? The earth is covered by many different types of ecosystems Scientists group similar ecosystems into Biomes. A biome is a large area with a specific climate and certain plants and animals.

There are 10 main land biomes Polar ice Tropical rainforest* Temperate forest* Taiga* Tropical savanna Temperate grassland* Chaparral* Desert* Tundra* Mountains

Biomes and Vegetation (plants) Biomes are described by the plants that grow in them because the plants determine what animals will live there Plants in a biome will all have characteristics that allow the plants to survive better in that biome These characteristics include size, shape and color

Biomes and Vegetation (plants) cont. Ex. A cactus that lives in the hot desert does not have leaves because leaves let out water. In a hot desert having leaves would mean the cactus would dry out and die

Biomes and Climate Climate refers to weather conditions like: temperature rainfall humidity wind Temperature and rainfall are the 2 most important factors

Temp. and Precip. The climate of a biome is determined by it’s average temperature and it’s average amount of rainfall. Most organisms have a certain temperature range that they can live in. They also must live in an area that gets enough water to keep them hydrated.

Latitude and Altitude Biomes, climates and the things that live there change with latitude and altitude. Latitude is how far north or south of the equator you are. As your latitude increases you get farther from the equator which means there is less direct sunlight and the climate gets colder Altitude is how high above sea level you are. It also gets colder as the altitude increases (as you go up a mountain) The colder climates change the plants that grow there.

Biome Bag Project/Presentation