ppt2

Cards (20)

  • Terrestrial biomes

    Ecosystems with distinctive communities of life and found on land
  • Different biomes exist because of variations in light, temperature, and moisture across the biosphere
  • Temperature and moisture
    The main factors that determine the dominant plants in each location
  • The vegetation influences which other organisms can live in each area
  • Other abiotic factors
    • Wind
    • Rocks and soil
    • Periodic disturbances
  • Biomes are formed when subjected to different precipitation and temperature
  • Polar Ice
    • Coldest place of terrestrial biomes
    • Known for barren landscapes, glaciers, and huge ice sheets
    • Has monthly temperature below 0°C that allows snow and ice to accumulate despite low precipitation levels
    • Polar areas are covered in ice with some ice-free areas called Nunataks
    • Extremely cold, dry, and windy
    • The primary producers are the marine algae called phytoplankton
  • Tundra
    • Known for its extreme coldness and dryness
    • Dryness is caused by extremely low precipitation, even less precipitation than deserts
    • Still a wet place because water evaporates slowly
    • Its ground remains frozen year-round, that is why there is a layer of permanently frozen ground below the surface, called permafrost
    • Plants that grow here are small and have short growing seasons
    • Animals have thick fur
  • Taiga
    • Also called northern coniferous forest or boreal forest
    • The largest terrestrial biome on Earth
    • Found in cool high elevations in more temperate latitudes
    • Characterized by long, cold winters and short, wet summers that are occasionally warm
    • There may be possible precipitation and it is usually in a form of snow
    • The soil is usually thin, nutrient-poor, and acidic but evergreen trees are abundant here
    • Only some mammals and birds stay year-round, because it is cold and relatively dry here
  • Temperate Rainforest
    • Also called temperate coniferous forest
    • Has mild winters, cool summers, and abundant rain
    • Common in coastal areas that have mild winters and heavy rain
    • Life includes large evergreens, amphibians, mammals, and fish
  • Temperate Deciduous Forest
    • Occurs where there is sufficient moisture to support the growth of large trees
    • Has warm summers, cool winters, consistent rainfall
    • While precipitation is fairly distributed throughout the year, ground water can be temporarily unavailable if the soil freezes on very cold winter days
    • Characterized by broad-leaf deciduous trees
    • Have a distinct annual rhythm in which trees drop leaves and become dormant in winter, then produce new leaves in spring
  • Temperate Grassland
    • Shares some of the characteristics of tropical savanna, but they are found in regions of relatively cold winter temperatures
    • Has hot summers, cold winters, and is moderately moist
    • The key to the persistence of all grasslands is seasonal drought, occasional fires, and grazing by large mammals, all of which prevent woody shrubs from invading and becoming established
    • The soils tend to be deep and among the most fertile in the world, one of the reasons is grasslands have an abundant amount of mulch, or decaying plant material that is deposited each year
  • Chaparral
    • May be called Mediterranean shrubland
    • Coastal areas that are often characterized by mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers are dominated by this biome
    • Has hot and dry summers, and cool and moist winters
    • There is a combination of environmental stresses in chaparral: aridity, short growing season, low-nutrient soil, and frequent fires
    • Plants are resistant to fire and drought thrive; some shrubs have strands of dense, spiny shrubs with tough evergreen
  • Desert
    • Driest of all terrestrial biomes
    • Characterized by low and unpredictable precipitation
    • Always dry
    • Might be cool or hot
    • These belts are particularly dry because of global air circulation patterns, which result from descending dry air absorbing available moisture
    • Its plants store water and most animals are active at night
  • Tropical Savanna
    • A grassland with scattered individual trees
    • It is warm year-round and has three distinct seasons: (1) cool and dry, (2) hot and dry, (3) warm and wet
    • Most savanna soils are low in nutrients, due in part to their porosity
    • It is relatively simple in physical structure but often rich in number of species
    • Animals are most prominent in rainy seasons and there are few trees or shrubs
  • Terrestrial biomes are ecosystems with distinctive communities of life and is found in land
  • Different biomes exist because of the variations of light, temperature, and moisture across the biosphere
  • Temperature and moisture are the main factors that determine the dominant plants in each location
  • The vegetation then influences which other organisms can live in each area
  • Other abiotic factors
    • Wind
    • Rocks and soil
    • Periodic disturbances