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Lesson Overview

Explore major biomes, from tropical rainforests to deserts, and learn about their unique ecosystems, plant and animal life, adaptations, and environmental factors. Discover the diversity and challenges within these distinct geographical areas.

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Lesson Overview

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  1. Lesson Overview 4.4 Biomes

  2. Defining Biomes • Biome- large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, adapted to that environment. • The map shows the locations of the major biomes.

  3. BIOMES • Biomes are described in terms of abiotic factors like climate and soil type, and biotic factors like plant and animal life.

  4. Factors affecting Biomes • Abiotic: Latitude, winds, proximity to an ocean or mountain range Climatogram (climate diagram) shows temperature & precipitation for an area

  5. Defining Biomes Species are adapted to survive in certain biomes. Adaptation: an inherited condition that increases an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce. Still considerable variation among plant and animal communities. These variations can be caused by differences in exposure, elevation, or local soil conditions. Local conditions also can change over time because of human activity or because of community interactions.

  6. TROPICAL RAIN FOREST • Tropical rain forests have more biodiversity than all other biomes. • Rain forests get at least 2 meters of rain a year!

  7. TROPICAL RAIN FOREST • Abiotic Factors: • Rain forests are hot and wet year-round. • They have thin, nutrient-poor soils that are subject to erosion. • Organic matter on the forest floor is recycled and reused so quickly that the soil in most tropical rain forests is not very rich in minerals.

  8. TROPICAL RAIN FOREST • Biotic Factors – Plant Life • Understory plants compete for sunlight, so most have large leaves that maximize capture of limited light. • Tall trees growing in poor shallow soil often have buttress roots for support.

  9. TROPICAL RAIN FOREST • Epiphytic plants grow on the branches of tall plants as opposed to soil. This allows the epiphyte to take advantage of available sunlight . The epiphyte draws its nutrients from the atmosphere, not from the host tree • The name 'epiphyte' comes from the Greek word 'epi' meaning 'upon' and 'phyton' meaning 'plant'. .

  10. TROPICAL RAIN FOREST • Biotic Factors – Animal Life • Animals are active all year. Many animals use camouflage to hide from predators, and some can change color to match their surroundings. • Animals that live in the canopy have adaptations for climbing, jumping, and/or flight.

  11. TROPICAL DRY FOREST/SAVANNAH • Tropical dry forests/Savannah grow in areas where rainy seasons alternate with dry seasons. • In most places, a short period of rain is followed by a prolonged period of drought.

  12. TROPICAL DRY FOREST/Savannah • Abiotic Factors • Tropical dry forests are warm year-round, with alternating wet and dry seasons. • found in the tropics (but > 10° latitude) • pronounced dry season with <5 cm rainfall in some months • Their rich soils are subject to erosion.

  13. TROPICAL DRY FOREST/Savannah • Biotic Factors – Plant Life • Adaptations to survive the dry season: • seasonal loss of leaves(deciduous). • plants with extra thick waxy layer on their leaves to reduce water loss, or water storage tissues. • grasses with high silica- less appetizing to grazing herbivores. • grasses grow from their bases, not their tips, so they can continue to grow after being grazed.

  14. TROPICAL DRY FOREST/Savannah • Biotic Factors – Animal Life • Many animals reduce their need for water by entering long periods of inactivity called estivation ("summer sleep“). Takes place during times of heat and dryness, the hot dry season, which is often the summer months. • Other animals, including many birds and primates, move to areas where water is available during the dry season.

  15. DESERT • Abiotic Factors • Deserts have low precipitation and variable temperatures. • Many deserts undergo extreme daily temperature changes, alternating between hot and cold. • Deserts have less than 25 centimeters of precipitation annually, but otherwise vary greatly, depending on elevation and latitude. • Soils : rich in minerals, poor in organic material.

  16. DESERT • Biotic Factors – Plant Life • Many plants, including cacti, store water in their tissues, -minimize leaf surface area to cut down on water loss. • Modified photosynthesis in some plants: leaf pores open only at night, enabling plants to conserve moisture on hot, dry days.

  17. DESERT • Biotic Factors – Animal Life • Many desert animals get the water they need from the food they eat. Animals are nocturnal to avoid hot days • Adaptations: Large or elongated ears with many blood vessels close to the surface to help the animal lose body heat and regulate body temperature.

  18. TEMPERATE GRASSLAND • Temperate grasslands: warm to hot summers and cold winters, moderate seasonal precipitation. • The soil: fertile occasional fires, • root structure of grassland plants help establish and retain deep, rich, fertile topsoil. • Today, most converted for agriculture because their soil is rich in nutrients and ideal for growing crops.

  19. TEMPERATE GRASSLAND • Biotic Factors • Grassland plants— grow from their base—are resistant to grazing and fire. • Temperate grasslands - open, exposed environments, predation a constant threat for smaller animals • Camouflage and burrowing- common protective adaptations

  20. Chaparral • Chaparral: more shrubland than forest. • Open woodlands, large areas of grasses and wildflowers, interspersed with oak and other trees. • Dense low plants that contain flammable oils make fire a constant threat.

  21. Chaparral • Abiotic Factors • Hot dry summers, cool moist winters • Thin, nutrient-poor soils, periodic fires. • Biotic Factors – Plant Life • Woodland plants- adapted to drought. • Woody chaparral plants- tough waxy leaves that resist water loss. • Exposed shrubland, camouflage is common. • Fire resistance important, although the seeds of some plants need fire to germinate.

  22. TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST • Temperate forests are mostly made up of deciduous (shed leaves) and evergreen coniferous (fir, seed bearing) trees. • Temperate forests have cold winters warm summers • The fertile soils- rich in humus, formed from decaying leaves & organic matter.

  23. TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST • Biotic Factors – animals • To cope with the changing weather, some animals hibernate, while others migrate to warmer climates. • Animals that do not hibernate or migrate may be camouflaged to escape predation in the winter, when bare trees leave them more exposed

  24. TAIGA - BOREAL FOREST • Taiga- Dense forests of conifers • Boreal forests occur mostly in the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere. The word boreal comes from the Greek word for “north.”

  25. TAIGA - BOREAL FOREST • Abiotic Factors • Long cold winters, short mild summers. • Moderate precipitation, high humidity. • The soil is acidic & nutrient-poor.

  26. TAIGA - BOREAL FOREST • Biotic Factors – Plant Life • The conical shape of conifers sheds snow, and their wax-covered needlelike leaves prevent excess water loss. • Dark green color of most conifers absorbs heat energy. • Biotic Factors – Animal Life • Staying warm is the major challenge for animals. Small extremities & extra insulation , migration

  27. TUNDRA • Abiotic: • Cold temperatures, high winds, short growing season, humus-poor soils also limit plant height. • Permafrost, a layer of permanently frozen subsoil. • Short cool summer- ground thaws a few centimeters and becomes soggy. • Winter- permafrost Cycles of thawing and freezing- rip and crush plant roots, is one reason that tundra plants are small and stunted.

  28. TUNDRA • Biotic Factors – Plant Life • By hugging the ground, mosses and other low-growing plants avoid damage from frequent strong winds. • Many plants have adapted to growth in poor soil, like legumes, which have symbiotic bacteria on their roots that fix nitrogen. • Many animals migrate to avoid the long harsh winters. • Animals that live in the tundra year-round display adaptations such as natural antifreeze, small extremities that limit heat loss, and a varied diet.

  29. Other Land Areas • Because they are not easily defined in terms of a typical community of plants and animals, mountain ranges and polar ice caps are not usually classified into biomes.

  30. Mountain Ranges • On mountains, temperature, precipitation, exposure to wind, and soil types all change with elevation, and so do organisms. • If you climb the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, for example, you begin in a grassland. • You then pass through pine woodland and then a forest of spruce and other conifers. • Higher elevations- soils are thin, strong winds, lower temps • Glaciers are found at the peaks of many ranges.

  31. Polar Ice Caps • Arctic Ocean-north, covered with sea ice, polar bears although more and more ice is melting each summer. • In the south, the continent of Antarctica is covered by ice nearly 5 kilometers thick in places. • Cold year round • Few plants,some algae grow on snow and ice. • Where rocks and ground are exposed seasonally, mosses and lichens may grow. • Marine mammals, insects, and mites are the typical animals.

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