BIOMES Created by Nancy Robbins, Sunnyside

What is a Biome? Environment Land Water Plants Animals This is a biome map. What type of map it? What does it tell you?

Tropical Rain Forest Receives high levels of precipitation, 100-160 inches a year Temperatures, 80-90 degrees F Tall trees, canopy Thin soil, lacks nutrients Animals live in tree branches – monkeys, birds, insects Review what precipitation is: any form of water that falls to the earth

Desert Receives very little precipitation, less than 10 inches annually – dry Poor soil, little organic matter Supports little life Cacti, birds, snakes, rodents, big horn sheep

Temperate Deciduous Forest Temperatures are moderate Precipitation year round Many deciduous trees Rich soil – lots of organic matter Deer, birds, fox, squirrel, earthworms

Grassland Area covered with grass Not enough precipitation to support trees, more than 10 inches a year Fertile and deep top soil – good farmland, wheat Bison, cattle, sheep, horses

Chaparral Temperate shrub land Cool, rain in winter Hot summers Very little rain Poor soil, precipitation leaches the soil Short woody plants with simple evergreen leaves Flammable – fire helps seed germinate Great horned owl, chipmunks, lizards

Temperate Rain Forest High levels of precipitation, 150 – 200 inches annually Moderate temperatures rarely drop below freezing Tall coniferous trees, ferns, fungi Deer, salmon, arachnids

Taiga Northern Coniferous Forest Long, cold winters Short summers Soil is either very cold or very dry Precipitation is mostly snow Elk, deer, caribou, wolves, black bears

Tundra Treeless plains of northern region Dark, cold, long winters Intense sun in summer Thin layer of soil, frozen below Low grasses and shrubs Soil is mostly frozen