WHAT CREATES AN ECOSYSTEM? Energy and nutrient flows create ecosystems. There are four main factors that determine the nature of biomes/ecosystems and their location. Climate (temperature, precipitation, light intensity, wind) Landform (altitude, angle of slope, direction of slope) Soil Competition between species

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ECOSYSTEM? A biome is a large (global) ecosystem. It contains many smaller ecosystems that are influenced by local conditions. There are a number of different classifications of biomes. Some say there are eight, others as many as 16. In each, there are many smaller ecosystems.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BIOMES? Tropical Rainforest Tundra Taiga Temperate forest Temperate grassland Savanna: tropical grassland Mediterranean Desert

TROPICAL RAINFOREST Almost all rain forests lie near the equator The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets higher than 34°C or drops below 20 °C More than half of all the world's plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests Tropical rainforests produce 40% of Earth's oxygen.

MAP OF TROPICAL RAINFORESTS

TUNDRA: Long cold winters Short cool summers Low precipitation Limited tree growth Permafrost

TUNDRA

TAIGA Taiga: Russian for forest Cold winters, short summers. In Canada, called boreal forest In the southern Taiga regions, predominantly coniferous trees (softwoods, cone bearing) 29% of world’s forests

TAIGA

TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST: Deciduous or broad leafed trees (hardwoods) Cool winters, warm summers Moderate precipitation Region often settled and cleared for agriculture

TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FORESTS

TEMPERATE GRASSLAND Warm summer Cool to cold winter Fertile soils Largely grasses Known as prairies in North America, steppe in Russia, pampas in Argentina, veld in South Africa

SAVANNA: TROPICAL GRASSLANDS Generally warm climate Not enough rain to support forest but some trees (not thick) Found between rainforest and desert Often distinct wet and dry seasons

TEMPARATE AND TROPICAL GRASSLANDS

MEDITERRANEAN Hot dry summers Cool wet winters Mixture of trees and shrubs

MEDITERRANEAN

DESERT 1/5 of the earth Hot and dry, cold and dry (the tundra is actually a type of desert) Under 200 mm per year (we get about 1300 mm per year in Nova Scotia)

DESERT