1. Chapter 6 Biomes

2. Section 1 What is a Biome?

3. Biome
A biome is a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plants and animal communities.

4. Biomes and Vegetation
Biomes described by vegetation because they are the most noticeable characteristics.
Plants determine organisms that can live there.
Plants have adaptations to allow them to survive.
Cacti conserve and retain water.

5. Biomes and Climate
Climate refers to the weather conditions, such as temperature, precipitation, humidity, and winds, in an area over a long period of time.
Temperature and Precipitation
Biomes where rainfall is not frequent – cacti and desert shrubs
Biomes with rainfall – large trees
Latitude and Altitude
Latitude – the distance north or south of the equator
Altitude – height of an object above sea level
As both increase, biomes and vegetation change
Rainforests – close to equator

6. Section 2 Forest Biomes

7. Tropical Rain Forests
Located in a belt around the Earth near the equator.
Help regulate world climate and play vital roles in the nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon cycles.
Always humid and warm

8. Tropical Rain Forests Nutrients
Most nutrients in the plants, not in the soil.
Organic matter decays quickly in hot, wet conditions. Plants quickly take up nutrients.
Removed so efficiently that water running out of the soil may be as clear as distilled water.

9. Tropical Rain Forests Layers
Emergent Layer – tallest trees. Trees emerge into direct sunlight.
Canopy – Primary layer of rain forest. Trees can grow to more than 90 feet.
Lower canopy – receives less light.
Epiphytes, organisms that grow on tall trees, live here.
Orchid
Understory – very little light
Many of our house plant are native to tropical rain forests. Because they adapted to low levels of light, they are able to grow indoors.

10. Wreathed Hornbill
Collared Anteater
Orchid
Costa Rican Mantis

11. Threats to the Rain Forests
Habitat Destruction – occurs when land inhabited by an organism is destroyed or altered.
Every minute – 100 acres of rain forest cleared
Exotic Pet Trading
Illegally trapping animals and selling at high prices
Planet in Peril

12. Temperate Forests
Temperate rain forests - occur in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Olympic National Park – Washington state
Large amount of precipitation, high humidity, and moderate temperatures.

13. Temperate Deciduous Forests
Trees drop their broad, flat leaves each fall.
Located between 30 degrees and 50 degrees north latitudes.
Temperature and vegetation changes
Plants
Maple, Oak, small shrubs, ferns, mosses
Animals
Squirrels, bears, grasshoppers, deer
Many birds are migratory – fly south to warmer weather and more food.

14. Taiga
Northern coniferous forest that stretches in a broad band across the Northern Hemisphere just below the Arctic Circle
Plants
Conifer – tree with needle-shaped leaves and seeds that develop in cones
Animals
Snowshoe hares, lynx, wolves

15. Section 3 Grasslands, Desert, and Tundra Biomes

16. Savannas
A tropical biome dominated by grasses, shrubs, and small trees
Rain falls mainly during wet season (summer) & dry season (winter), which last for only a few months of the year.
Animals
Elephants, giraffe, cheetah, lion, hyena

17. Temperate Grasslands
Cover large areas of the interior continents, where there is moderate rainfall, but still too little for trees to grow.
Plants
Grasses and wildflowers – roots form dense layers to survive drought and fire
Animals
Pronghorn antelope, bison, prairie dogs
Threats – farming and overgrazing

18. Chaparral
A temperate shrubland biome that is found in all five parts of the world with a Mediterranean climate.
Moderately dry, coastal climate, with little or no rain in summer
Plants
Low-lying, evergreen shrubs and small trees
So well adapted to fire that they can resprout from small bits of surviving plant tissue.
Animals
Quail, lizards, chipmunk, mule deer – brownish-gray to blend in with brush
Threats
Human development (for commercial and residential use)

19. Desert
Areas that have widely scattered vegetation and receive very little rain.
Plants
Succulents – cacti– thick, fleshy stems and leaves that store water.
Spines on cacti keep thirsty animals from devouring plant
Animals
Gila monsters, rattlesnakes

20. Tundra Located in northern arctic regions
Winter too cold and dry to permit growth of trees.
Permafrost – deeper layers of soil that are permanently frozen throughout the year.
Vegetation
Mosses and lichens – plants that grow close to the ground
Animals
Caribou, wolves, moose, arctic foxes
Threats
Oil exploration disrupts habitats of plants and animals