1. Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity
Chapter 5
Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity

2. BIOMES: CLIMATE AND LIFE ON LAND
Different climates lead to different communities of organisms, especially vegetation.

3. Convection Cells
Heat and moisture are distributed over the earth’s surface by vertical currents, which form six giant convection cells at different latitudes.
Figure 5-6

4. Ocean Currents: Distributing Heat and Nutrients
Ocean currents influence climate by distributing heat from place to place and mixing and distributing nutrients.
Figure 5-7

5. Topography and Local Climate: Land Matters
Interactions between land and oceans and disruptions of airflows by mountains and cities affect local climates.
Figure 5-8

6. Figure 3-9

7. BIOMES: CLIMATE AND LIFE ON LAND
Biomes – large terrestrial regions characterized by similar climate, soil, plants, and animals.
Each biome contains many ecosystems whose communities have adapted to differences in climate, soil, and other environmental factors.

8. BIOMES: CLIMATE AND LIFE ON LAND
Figure 5-9

9. Tropic of Cancer Equator Tropic of Capricorn High mountains Polar ice
Polar grassland (arctic tundra)
Tropic of
Capricorn
Figure 5.9
Natural capital: the earth’s major biomes—the main types of natural vegetation in various undisturbed land areas—result primarily from differences in climate. Each biome contains many ecosystems whose communities have adapted to differences in climate, soil, and other environmental factors. Human ecological footprints (Figures 3 and 4 on pp. S12–S15 in Supplement 4) have removed or altered much of the natural vegetation in some areas for farming, livestock grazing, lumber and fuelwood, mining, and construction.
Temperate grassland
Tropical grassland (savanna)
Chaparral
Coniferous forest
Temperate deciduous forest
Tropical forest
Desert
Fig. 5-9, p. 106

10. BIOMES: CLIMATE AND LIFE ON LAND
Biome type is determined by precipitation, temperature and soil type
Figure 5-10

11. Decreasing precipitation
Cold
Polar
Tundra
Subpolar
Temperate
Coniferous forest
Decreasing temperature
Desert
Deciduous
Forest
Grassland
Tropical
Chaparral
Figure 5.10
Natural capital: average precipitation and average temperature, acting together as limiting factors over a period of 30 or more years, determine the type of desert, grassland, or forest biome in a particular area. Although the actual situation is much more complex, this simplified diagram explains how climate determines the types and amounts of natural vegetation found in an area left undisturbed by human activities. (Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Company, from Derek Elsom, The Earth, New York: Macmillan, Copyright © 1992 by Marshall Editions Developments Limited)
Hot
Desert
Wet
Savanna
Rain forest
Dry
Tropical
seasonal
forest
Scrubland
Decreasing precipitation
Fig. 5-10, p. 107

12. BIOMES: CLIMATE AND LIFE ON LAND
Parallel changes occur in vegetation type occur when we travel from the equator to the poles or from lowlands to mountaintops.
Figure 5-11

13. Elevation Latitude Tropical Forest Deciduous Forest Coniferous Forest
Mountain
ice and snow
Tundra (herbs,
lichens, mosses)
Coniferous
Forest
Latitude
Deciduous
Forest
Tropical
Forest
Figure 5.11
Natural capital: generalized effects of elevation (left) and latitude (right) on climate and biomes. Parallel changes in vegetation type occur when we travel from the equator to the poles or from lowlands to mountaintops.
Tropical
Forest
Deciduous
Forest
Coniferous
Forest
Tundra (herbs,
lichens, mosses)
Polar ice
and snow
Fig. 5-11, p. 108

14. DESERT BIOMES
Deserts are areas where evaporation exceeds precipitation.
Deserts have little precipitation and little vegetation.
Found in tropical, temperate and polar regions.
Desert plants have adaptations that help them stay cool and get enough water.

15. DESERT BIOMES
Variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate and cold deserts.
Figure 5-12

16. Tropical Desert Month Mean monthly temperature (C)
Freezing point
Mean monthly temperature (C)
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Figure 5.12
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and cold deserts. Top photo shows a popular but destructive SUV rodeo in Saudi Arabia (tropical desert). Center photo shows saguaro cactus in the United States (temperate desert). Bottom photo shows a Bactrian camel in Mongolia’s Gobi (cold) desert.
Month
Fig. 5-12a, p. 109

17. Temperate Desert Month Mean monthly temperature (C)
Freezing point
Mean monthly temperature (C)
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Figure 5.12
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and cold deserts. Top photo shows a popular but destructive SUV rodeo in Saudi Arabia (tropical desert). Center photo shows saguaro cactus in the United States (temperate desert). Bottom photo shows a Bactrian camel in Mongolia’s Gobi (cold) desert.
Month
Fig. 5-12b, p. 109

18. Polar Desert Month Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Freezing point
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Mean monthly temperature (°C)
Figure 5.12
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and cold deserts. Top photo shows a popular but destructive SUV rodeo in Saudi Arabia (tropical desert). Center photo shows saguaro cactus in the United States (temperate desert). Bottom photo shows a Bactrian camel in Mongolia’s Gobi (cold) desert.
Month
Fig. 5-12c, p. 109

19. DESERT BIOMES
The flora and fauna in desert ecosystems adapt to their environment through their behavior and physiology.
Figure 5-13

20. Primary to secondary consumer Secondary to higher-level consumer
Red-tailed hawk
Gambel's Quail
Yucca
Agave
Jack
rabbit
Collared
lizard
Prickly
pear
cactus
Roadrunner
Darkling
Beetle
Figure 5.13
Natural capital: some components and interactions in a temperate desert ecosystem. When these organisms die, decomposers break down their organic matter into minerals that plants use. Colored arrows indicate transfers of matter and energy between producers, primary consumers (herbivores), secondary or higher-level consumers (carnivores), and decomposers. Organisms are not drawn to scale.
Bacteria
Diamondback rattlesnake
Fungi
Kangaroo rat
Producer
to primary
consumer
Primary
to secondary
consumer
Secondary to
higher-level
consumer
All producers and
consumers to
decomposers
Fig. 5-13, p. 110

21. GRASSLANDS AND CHAPARRAL BIOMES
Variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue).
Figure 5-14

22. Tropical grassland (savanna)
Freezing point
Mean monthly temperature (C)
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Figure 5.14
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar (arctic tundra) grasslands. Top photo shows wildebeests grazing on a savanna in Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya, Africa (tropical grassland). Center photo shows wildflowers in bloom on a prairie near East Glacier Park in the U.S. state of Montana (temperate grassland). Bottom photo shows arctic tundra with caribou in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (polar grassland).
Month
Fig. 5-14a, p. 112

23. Temperate grassland Month Mean monthly temperature (C)
Freezing point
Mean monthly temperature (C)
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Figure 5.14
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar (arctic tundra) grasslands. Top photo shows wildebeests grazing on a savanna in Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya, Africa (tropical grassland). Center photo shows wildflowers in bloom on a prairie near East Glacier Park in the U.S. state of Montana (temperate grassland). Bottom photo shows arctic tundra with caribou in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (polar grassland).
Month
Fig. 5-14b, p. 112

24. Polar grassland (arctic tundra)
Freezing point
Mean monthly temperature (C)
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Figure 5.14
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar (arctic tundra) grasslands. Top photo shows wildebeests grazing on a savanna in Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya, Africa (tropical grassland). Center photo shows wildflowers in bloom on a prairie near East Glacier Park in the U.S. state of Montana (temperate grassland). Bottom photo shows arctic tundra with caribou in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (polar grassland).
Month
Fig. 5-14c, p. 112

25. GRASSLANDS AND CHAPARRAL BIOMES
Grasslands (prairies) occur in areas too moist for desert and too dry for forests.
Savannas are tropical grasslands with scattered tree and herds of hoofed animals.

26. Temperate Grasslands: Prairies
The cold winters and hot dry summers have deep and fertile soil that make them ideal for growing crops and grazing cattle.
Figure 5-15

27. Temperate Grasslands
Temperate tall-grass prairie ecosystem in North America.
Accumulated organic matter create deep, fertile
Figure 5-16

28. Polar Grasslands
Polar grasslands are covered with ice and snow except during a brief summer.
Very fragile, recovers slowly from damage

29. Tundra (polar grasslands)
Covers 10% of earth’s land. Most of the year, these treeless plains are bitterly cold with ice & snow. It has a 6 to 8 week summer w/ sunlight nearly 24 hours a day.
                                           

30. Chaparral (temperate grassland)
These are coastal areas. Winters are mild & wet, w/ summers being long, hot, & dry.

31. Chaparral
Chaparral has a moderate climate but its dense thickets of spiny shrubs are subject to periodic fires.
Higher rainfall in winter season creates greater risk of fire in dry summer season …more biomass. Ex: CA fires

32. FOREST BIOMES
Variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar forests.
Figure 5-19

33. Tropical rain forest Month Mean monthly temperature (C)
Freezing point
Mean monthly temperature (C)
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Figure 5.19
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar (cold) forests. Top photo shows the closed canopy of a tropical rain forest in the western Congo Basin of Gabon, Africa. Middle photo shows a temperate deciduous forest in the U.S. state of Rhode Island during the fall. Photo 9 in the Detailed Contents shows this same area of forest during winter. Bottom photo shows a northern coniferous forest in the Malheur National Forest and Strawberry Mountain Wilderness in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Month
Fig. 5-19a, p. 116

34. Temperate deciduous forest
Freezing point
Mean monthly temperature (C)
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Figure 5.19
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar (cold) forests. Top photo shows the closed canopy of a tropical rain forest in the western Congo Basin of Gabon, Africa. Middle photo shows a temperate deciduous forest in the U.S. state of Rhode Island during the fall. Photo 9 in the Detailed Contents shows this same area of forest during winter. Bottom photo shows a northern coniferous forest in the Malheur National Forest and Strawberry Mountain Wilderness in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Month
Fig. 5-19b, p. 116

35. Polar evergreen coniferous forest
(boreal forest, taiga)
Freezing point
Mean monthly temperature (C)
Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
Figure 5.19
Natural capital: climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar (cold) forests. Top photo shows the closed canopy of a tropical rain forest in the western Congo Basin of Gabon, Africa. Middle photo shows a temperate deciduous forest in the U.S. state of Rhode Island during the fall. Photo 9 in the Detailed Contents shows this same area of forest during winter. Bottom photo shows a northern coniferous forest in the Malheur National Forest and Strawberry Mountain Wilderness in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Month
Fig. 5-19c, p. 116

36. FOREST BIOMES
Forests have enough precipitation to support stands of trees and are found in tropical, temperate, and polar regions.

37. Tropical Rain Forest
Tropical rain forests have heavy rainfall and a rich diversity of species.
Found near the equator.
Have year-round uniformity warm temperatures and high humidity.
Figure 5-20

38. Tropical Rain Forest
Filling such niches enables species to avoid or minimize competition and coexist
Figure 5-21

39. Emergent layer Harpy eagle Toco toucan Canopy Height (meters)
Understory
Woolly
opossum
Figure 5.21
Natural capital: stratification of specialized plant and animal niches in a tropical rain forest. Filling such specialized niches enables species to avoid or minimize competition for resources and results in the coexistence of a great variety of species.
Shrub
layer
Brazilian
tapir
Ground
layer
Black-crowned
antipitta
Fig. 5-21, p. 118

40. Tropical Rain Forest Very high diversity
Rapid recycling of nutrients: decompose quickly, nutrients are taken up by plants
Soil is acidic and nutrient poor
Slash & burn: land can only support crops or cattle for a year or two: heavy rains leach out remaining nutrients
Rapidly losing remaining acres

41. Temperate Deciduous Forest
Most of the trees survive winter by dropping their leaves, which decay and produce a nutrient-rich soil.
Figure 5-22

42. Evergreen Coniferous Forests (Taiga)
Consist mostly of cone-bearing evergreen trees that keep their needles year-round to help the trees survive long and cold winters.
Figure 5-23

43. Temperate Rain Forests
Coastal areas support huge cone-bearing evergreen trees such as redwoods and Douglas fir in a cool moist environment.
Figure 5-24

44. MOUNTAIN BIOMES High-elevation islands of biodiversity
Cover ¼ of land surface
Dramatic changes in soil, climate, plants over short distances
Help regulate climate: snow-covered peaks reflect solar radiation
Water cycle: Glacier ice, gradually release water to lower-elevation streams and ecosystems.
Figure 5-25

45. HUMAN IMPACTS ON TERRESTRIAL BIOMES
Human activities have damaged or disturbed more than half of the world’s terrestrial ecosystems.
Humans have had a number of specific harmful effects on the world’s deserts, grasslands, forests, and mountains.

46. Natural Capital Degradation
Desert
Large desert cities
Soil destruction by off-road
vehicles
Soil salinization from irrigation
Figure 5.26
Natural capital degradation: major human impacts on the world’s deserts. QUESTION: What are three direct and three indirect harmful effects of your lifestyle on deserts?
Depletion of groundwater
Land disturbance and
pollution from mineral
extraction
Fig. 5-26, p. 123

47. Natural Capital Degradation
Grasslands
Conversion to cropland
Release of CO2 to atmosphere
from grassland burning
Overgrazing by livestock
Figure 5.27
Natural capital degradation: major human impacts on the world’s grasslands. Some 70% of Brazil’s tropical savanna—once the size of the Amazon—has been cleared and converted to the world’s biggest grain growing area. QUESTION: What are three direct and three indirect harmful effects of your lifestyle on grasslands?
Oil production and off-road vehicles in arctic tundra
Fig. 5-27, p. 123

48. Natural Capital Degradation
Forests
Clearing for agriculture, livestock
grazing, timber, and urban
development
Conversion of diverse forests to tree
plantations
Damage from off-road vehicles
Figure 5.28
Natural capital degradation: major human impacts on the world’s forests. QUESTION: What are three direct and three indirect effects of your lifestyle on forests?
Pollution of forest streams
Fig. 5-28, p. 124

49. Natural Capital Degradation
Mountains
Agriculture
Timber extraction
Mineral extraction
Hydroelectric dams and
reservoirs
Increasing tourism
Urban air pollution
Figure 5.29
Natural capital degradation: major human impacts on the world’s mountains. QUESTION: What are three direct and three indirect harmful effects of your lifestyle on mountains?
Increased ultraviolet radiation
from ozone depletion
Soil damage from off-road
vehicles
Fig. 5-29, p. 124