North American Biomes

1. North American Biomes Made by Lauren Shepard

2. What is a Biome? • Biomes are the world’s major communities where insects, animals, plants, and people live in a certain type of climate. • The biomes we will be covering in this lesson are: • Desert • Deciduous Forest • Arctic tundra • Tropical Rainforest • Grasslands • Taiga

3. The Desert Biome • Characteristics: • Hot and dry • Desert covers about 1/5 of the Earth’s land surface • For the plants to survive they adapt: • Store water for long periods of time • Stand the hot weather

4. The Desert Biome: Climate • Hottest biome on earth • Can be over 100 degrees during the day and below 32 degrees at night • There is very little rain in the desert but when it does rain, it pours • After a storm, it may not rain again for weeks or months

5. The Desert Biome: Plants • Plants in the desert may have to go without water for over a year! • Here some examples of desert plant life: • ChainfruitCholla • Creosote Bush • Jumping Cholla • Saguaro cactus

6. The Desert Biome: Animals • Some animals that live in the Desert include: • Bobcat • Cactus Wren • Coyote • Javelina • Thorny Devil

7. The Deciduous Forest Biome • Characteristics: • 5 different zones • Tree Stratum: trees between 60 and 100 feet high • Small tree and sapling: young and short trees • Shrub zone • Herb zone • Ground zone

8. The Deciduous Forest Biome: Climate • Has four distinct seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter • Almost all deciduous forests are located by an ocean • The ocean and the wind are two main reasons that the temperate and climate change so much during the year

9. The Deciduous Forest Biome: Plants • Some examples of deciduous forest plants are: • American beech • Guelder Rose • Pecan • White Birch

10. The Deciduous Forest Biome: Animals • There are a lot of animals that live in the deciduous forest biome but some examples are: • American Bald Eagle • Duckbill Platypus • Eastern Chipmunk • Least Weasel • White-tailed Deer

11. The Arctic Tundra Biome • Characteristics of the Arctic Tundra: • Treeless • Very cold • The ground is permanently frozen • There is barely any plant life, but there are animals

12. The Arctic Tundra Biome: Climate • Unusually cold and dry climate • The Tundra is cold through all months of the year • The short summer lasts only 6 to 10 weeks and does not get any warmer than 45-50 degrees

13. The Arctic Tundra Biome: Plants • There are few plants that can grow in the arctic tundra, but some that can include: • Arctic Moss • Bearberry • Pasque Flower • Tufted Saxifrage

14. The Arctic Tundra Biome: Animals • Animals that live in this biome include: • Arctic Fox • Caribou • Musk Ox • Polar Bear

15. The Tropical Rainforest Biome • Characteristics: • Forest of tall trees • The rainforest now covers less than 6% of Earth’s land • Layers • Emergent: trees are 100- 240 feet tall! • These trees grow above everything else • Upper canopy • The trees are 60-130 feet tall • Most of the animals live in this layer • Understory or Lower canopy • Trees are about 60 feet tall • The Forest Floor • Completely shaded and very few plants

16. The Tropical Rainforest Biome: Climate • In the rainforest the climate is: • Very humid because of the heavy rainfall • Very hot and wet

17. The Tropical Rainforest Biome: Plants • Tropical rainforests produce 40% of Earth’s oxygen, some of the plants that live in this biome include: • Bengal Bamboo • Coconut tree • Kapok Tree • Mangrove Forests

18. The Tropical Rainforest Biome: Animals • Half of the world’s plants and animals species live in the rainforest! Here are some of the many animals: • Bengal Tiger • Chimpanzee • Toco Toucan • Sumatran Rhinoceros

19. The Grassland Biome • Characteristics • Large rolling fields of grasses, flowers, and herbs • Drought and fire percent large forests from growing • Grass survives the fire because they grow from the bottom instead of the top

20. The Grassland Biome: Climate • There are many different types of grasslands around the world. But the climate in the United States is: • The temperature is moist and humid • The summers are warm and humid but the winters are not too cold • There is constant Wind

21. The Grassland Biome: Plants • Some plants that thrive in this biome are: • Ironweed • Common teasel • Dogbane • Queen Ann’s Lace

22. The Grassland Biome: Animals • Animals that are commonly found in the grassland are: • Red milkweed beetle • Bison • Przewalski’s horse

23. The Taiga Biome • Characteristics: • Coldness and food shortages make things very difficult • The largest biome in the world • Known as the boreal forest

24. The Taiga Biome: Climate • The climate in the Taiga is: • The winter is freezing cold • The temperature range goes from -65 degrees Fahrenheit all the way to 70 degrees • Average rainfall is between 12-33 inches

25. The Taiga Biome: Plants • Plants that are able to survive in the taiga include: • Balsam Fir • Jack pine • White fir • White Spruce

26. The Taiga Biome: Animals • Most animals in the taiga hibernate in winter or fly south but some stay which is very difficult! Here are some examples of animals that live in the taiga: • Bobcat • Long-Eared Owl • River Otter • Wolverine

27. References • http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/ • http://www.kidskonnect.com/subject-index/15-science/62-biomes.html