Terrestrial Biomes II

1. TerrestrialBiomesII • TemperateWoodlandandShrubland • Temperate Forest • Temperate Woodland • Boreal Forest • Tundra Presented by Asha Wilson

2. Temperate Woodland and Shrubland • Temperate woodlands and shrublands occur on all the continents except Antarctica. • The temperate woodland and shrubland climate is cool and moist during fall, winter, and spring. The summers are usual hot and dry • Fires are common during the summer. • Animals in this area are highly diverse; vertebrates as well as invertebrates. • Much of this biome around the world is being covered by human habitations.

3. Temperate Forest • Temperate Forests are areas with high levels of precipitation, humidity and contain a variety of deciduous trees. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter. • Temperate forests are home to a wide variety of animals. • These animals include various insects and spiders, wolves, foxes, bears, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, eagles, rabbits, deer, skunks, squirrels, raccoons, moose and hummingbirds.

4. Geography of a Temperate Forest • Temperate forest can be found between 30 and 55 latitude. Majority of this biome lies between 40 and 50 • In Asia, forest covers much of Japan, eastern China, Korea, and eastern Siberia. • In western Europe, it extend from southern Scandinavia to northwestern Iberia and from the British Isles through eastern Europe. • Temperate forests can be found throughout North America. Near the Atlantic Coast, Great Plains, West Coast, Northern California, and southeastern Alaska. • In the Southern Hemisphere, temperate forests are found in southern Chile, New Zealand, and southern Australia.

5. Climate in Temperate Forest • Temperatures range from hot in the summer with highs of 86 degrees Fahrenheit, to extremely cold in the winter with lows of - 22 degrees Fahrenheit. • Temperate forests receive abundant amounts of precipitation, usually between 20-60 inches of precipitation annually. • This precipitation is in the form of rain and snow.

6. Biology of Temperate Forest • Due to abundant rainfall and thick soil, temperate forests are able to support a wide variety of vegetation. This vegetation exists in several layers ranging from lichens and mosses on the ground layer to large tree species like oak and hickory that stretch high above the forest floor. • Birds, mammals and insects make use of all layers from beneath the forest floor through the canopy top trees. • The microscopic invertebrate animals, consume the old wood to recycle nutrients to replenish the forest. • The temperate forest realm of the giants of the biosphere, emerges as a partnership of the great and the very small.

7. Temperate Grassland • Temperate grassland and savanna are two types of grassland biomes. Like savannas, temperate grasslands are areas of open grassland with very few trees. Temperate grasslands, however are located in colder climate regions and receive less precipitation on average than savannas. • Grasslands are located on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. • Another name of a Temperate Grassland is “ A Sea of Grass”. • This is the largest biome in North America • Drought and high summer temperatures encourage fires. • This is a home for large herbivore.

8. Boreal comes from the Greek word for north • This forest is confine in the Northern Hemisphere • Boreal forest covers 11% of the earth’s land area. • Winters are longer than 6 months and summers are short • This is a world of wood, water and evergreen trees Boreal Forest

9. Tundra • The tundra biome is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and treeless, frozen landscapes. There are two types of tundra, the arctic tundra and the alpine tundra. The arctic tundra is located between the north pole and the coniferous forests or taiga region. It is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and land that remains frozen year-round. Alpine tundra occurs in frigid mountaintop regions at very high elevations. Alpine tundra can be found in high elevations anywhere in the world, even in tropic regions. Although the land is not frozen year-round as in arctic tundra regions, these lands are typically covered in snow for most of the year.

10. Geography of Tundra • The artic tundra rings the top of the globe covering most lands north of the Artic Circle : • North America - Northern Alaska, Canada, GreenlandNorthern Europe - ScandinaviaNorthern Asia -Asia - Southern Asia (Himalayan Mountains), and Japan

11. Climate of Tundra • The temperature is typically cold and dry. • Tundra does get quite cold in the winter, nor quite hot in the summer. • The winter weather is less severe and the summers are short. • The short summers are soggy and the landscape is alive with ponds and streams • Precipitation on tundra varies, but it exceeds evaporation.

12. Biology of Tundra • The open tundra landscape is dominated by herbaceous plants such as grasses, sedges, mosses and lichens. • Tundra is the one of the last biomes on earth that still supports substantial numbers of large native mammals including: reindeer, musk, ox, bear, and wolves. • Each summer, swarms of mosquitoes and black flies emerge from the many tundra ponds and streams.

13. Reference • Manuel C. Molles Jr. Second Edition2002. Ecology Concepts and Applications. Chapter 2 pgs. 20-43. • On the net www.mhhe.com/ecology Temperate Forest Taiga Temperate Grassland Boreal Forest Tundra