1. Ecological Succession & (Terrestrial) Biomes
By Aaliyah Collings and Autumn McMillan

2. What is a biome?
Often referred to as ecosystems- similar climatic conditions such as communities of plants or animals
two main factors that determine type of biome- rainfall and temperature (reference climograph pg in IB Study Guide)
Biomes of the world make the biosphere- thin layer of interdependent and interrelated ecosystems and biomes that cover the Earth

3. Major Terrestrial Biomes of the World
Tundra
Tropical Rainforest
Temperate and Deciduous forest
Shrubland
Grassland
Desert

4. Tundra (aka Arctic Tundra)
Very low temperatures
Little precipitation (mostly as snow)
Very small trees
Occupies northern hemisphere
Vegetation poor in nutrients
Under layer of soil remains completely frozen permafrost
Animals adapted to environment with extra layers of fat and the ability to
Ex: Polar bears, squirrels, penguins, grey wolves

6. Tropical Rainforest Rainfall high to very high
Hot or very hot in all seasons
Huge diversity of plants (ex: herbs, shrubs, evergreen trees, etc.)
Occurs within latitude 28º North or South of the equator
Can be found in places like: South America, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean Islands

8. Temperature and Deciduous Forest
Moderate rainfall
Warm summers and cool winters
Trees shed leaves in winter
Grow between the tropics and polar regions in Northern and Southern Hemispheres with 4 distinct seasons
Animals adapt to cold winters and hot summers
Vegetation exists in layers (ex: lichens and moss on ground level to large trees stretching to the sky)

10. Shrubland Cool wet winters Hot dry summers Often fires
Plants adapt to fire caused by frequent lightning
Drought resistant
Located in west coastal regions between 30º and 40º south latitude
Ex: Mexico, southwest Africa and Australia
Vegetation includes aromatic herbs, shrubs, and short trees
Usually surrounding grasslands and deserts

12. Grassland Rainfall low Warm or hot summers and cold winters
Vegetation dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants
Occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica 6Q

14. Desert Very low rainfall Warm to very hot days Very cold nights
Very few plants- some store water and some grow quickly after rain
4 types:
Hot and dry (ex: Sahara Desert)
Cold (ex: Antarctic Desert)
Semi-arid (ex: Caatinga Desert)
Coastal (ex: Atacama Desert)
27% of land-mass

16. SPOT THE BIOME!

17. https://mcdn1. teacherspayteachers

18. Ecological Succession
Series of changes to an ecosystem caused by interactions between a community of living organisms and the abiotic environment
Community causes abiotic features to change but overtime a stable community develops climax community
2 types of succession:
Primary
Secondary

19. Abiotic features that occur.
Amount of organic soul increases
Organic matter helps to bind mineral matter together
Soil structure improves
Binding action of roots reduce soil erosion
Mineral recycling increases

20. Primary Succession
Ecological succession begins in virtually lifeless area with no soil- can take hundreds to thousands of years
Initial life forms are autotrophic bacteria then go through photosynthesis to colonize area
Soil develops gradually
Area eventually becomes colonized
Ex: Volcanic ash released during the eruption of a volcano, in a adjacent areas mosses spread over the ash. Small herbs begin to form. Shrubs enter the community, shrub gradually becomes deciduous forest.

21. Secondary Succession
When a disturbance has cleared away an existing community but left the soil intact
Disturbances- events such as storms, fires, floods, or human activities that damage biological communities and alter availability of resources.
Human activity causes secondary succession.

22. Succession in general
Recently disturbed site provides environment that is favorable to select species
Plants and animals reproduce in huge numbers
Community causes abiotic environment to change
Climax community occurs

23. Bibliography
Allot, Andrew. Biology for the IB Diploma. Second ed. Oxford, New York: British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data, Print. IB Study Guides.
Arial view of deciduous treetops. Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum. Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum, n.d. Web. 20 Apr <
Biomes. YouTube. YouTube, 23 Feb Web. 20 Apr <
Cows lining fence in front of deciduous trees changing color. NASA Earth Data. NASA, n.d. Web. 20 Apr <
Dry, brown shrubs cracked ground. Polyploid.net. Patrick Alexander, n.d. Web. 20 Apr <
Gradwell, James. Birds eye view of namib desert at sunrise. Inspiration Feeed. Wordpress.com, n.d. Web. 21 Apr < view-of-namib-desert-at-sunrise-namibia-by-james-gradwell.jpg>.
Green chaparral. Blue Planet Biomes. Brynn Schaffner, n.d. Web. 20 Apr

24. Bibliography cont’d
Misty, foggy air surrounding tall trees. Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com. Irina Gray, n.d. Web. 20 Apr <
Przyborski, Paul, ed. "Shrubland." NASA Earth Observatory. EOS Project Science  Office, n.d. Web. 21 Apr <      Experiments/Biome/bioshrubland.php>.
Red, yellow, and orange tree. Ak9.picdn.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr < deciduous-forest-pal-anamorphic.jpg>.
Snowcapped mountain range in tundra with brown grass and river. Designzzz. Designzzz, n.d. Web. 20 Apr <
Snowcapped mountains with pink flowers and green grass surrounding small body of water in tundra. Netpo3aboack. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr < content/uploads/2014/10/ _large_Tundra_Pond_Mount_McKinley_Denali_National_Park_Alaska.jpg>.
"View of devil's tower and caracass in Wyoming." The Fab Web. The Fab Web, n.d. Web. 21 Apr <
Waterfall and green foliage in rainforest. Nora Tobin: Thrive. devinewebstudio, n.d. Web. 20 Apr <