Polar Grasslands (Artic Tundra)

1. Polar Grasslands(Artic Tundra) • Bitterly cold • Frigid winds, ice, snow • Low Precipitation • No trees! • Short growing season, low biodiversity Permafrost: permanently frozen ground

2. Snowy owl Snowy owl Willow ptarmigan Willow ptarmigan Dwarf willow Dwarf willow Mountain cranberry Mountain cranberry Moss campion Moss campion Long-tailed jaeger Producer to primary consumer Grizzly bear Caribou Primary to secondary consumer Mosquito Secondary to higher-level consumer Arctic fox Horned lark All consumers and producers to decomposers Polar Grasslands (Artic tundra) Lemming

3. Natural Capital Degradation Grasslands Conversion to cropland Release of CO2 to atmosphere from grassland burning Overgrazing by livestock Oil production and off-road vehicles in arctic tundra

4. Dense growth of low-growing, evergreen shrubs Mild winters Long, hot, dry summers Referred to as “Mediterranean climate” along coastal areas People like to live in this biome Temperate Shrubland or Chaparral

5. Chaparral • Chaparral has a moderate climate but its dense thickets of spiny shrubs are subject to periodic fires. Figure 5-18

6. Temperate coniferous forests Temperate deciduous forests Tropical rain forests Forest Biomes

7. FOREST BIOMES • Variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar forests.

8. Tropical rain forest (Manaus, Brazil) Temperate deciduous forest (Nashville, Tennessee) Polar evergreen coniferous forest (boreal forest, taiga) (Moscow, Russia)

9. Warm temperatures High humidity Heavy daily rainfall Most biologically diverse biome Nutrient poor soils Tropical Rain Forests

10. 45 Harpy eagle 40 Toco toucan 35 30 Height (meters) 25 20 Understory Understory Wooly opossum 15 10 Brazilian tapir 5 Black-crowned antpitta Ground layer Ground layer 0 Emergent layer Canopy Shrub layer stratification

12. Temperate Rainforest • Occurs in coastal temperate areas • Coast of North America from Canada to northern California • Ample rainfall or moist, dense ocean fogs • Spruce, Douglas fir, redwoods

13. Temperate Deciduous Forest • Long, warm summers • Cold winters • Abundant precipitation • Nutrient rich soils

14. Metallic wood- boring beetle and larvae Metallic wood-boring beetle and Mountain winterberry Mountain winterberry May beetle May beetle Long-tailed weasel Long-tailed weasel Broad-winged hawk Producer to primary consumer Hairy woodpecker Primary to secondary consumer Gray squirrel White oak Secondary to higher-level consumer White-footed mouse White-tailed deer All producers and consumers to decomposers Shagbark hickory Racer Fungi Wood frog Bacteria

15. 60° N Latitude Long, dry and extremely cold winters Short, mild summers Plant diversity is low Deep layer of decomposed conifer needles provide rich source of peat bogs Boreal = Northern Evergreen Coniferous Forests ‘Boreal’ or ‘Taiga’

16. Great horned owl Great horned owl Marten Marten White spruce White spruce Pine sawyer beetle and larvae Pine sawyer Blue jay Producer to primary consumer Primary to secondary consumer Balsam fir Secondary to higher-level consumer Moose Wolf All producers and consumers to decomposers Bebb willow Snowshoe hare Fungi Starflower Bunchberry Bacteria

18. Human impacts on forests • Clearing of tropical forests for agriculture, livestock grazing, and timber • Clearing of temperate deciduous forests for timber, agriculture and urban development • Clearing of evergreen coniferous forests • Conversion of diverse forests to less diverse tree plantations

19. Tree Plantation (monoculture)

20. MOUNTAIN BIOMES • High-elevation islands of biodiversity • Often have snow-covered peaks that reflect solar radiation and gradually release water to lower-elevation streams and ecosystems.

21. Natural Capital Degradation Mountains Agriculture Timber extraction Mineral extraction Hydroelectric dams and reservoirs Increasing tourism Urban air pollution Increased ultraviolet radiation from ozone depletion Soil damage from off-road vehicles

22. 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.

23. Wetlands • Saturated soil, all or part of the year • Anaerobic conditions • Swamps, marshes, bogs • Very biodiverse! • Water purification

24. Fresh Waters • Ponds, lakes, streams & rivers • Phytoplankton • Debris from land

25. Other Aquatic biomes… • Intertidal = the most awesome biome • Open ocean = low productivity (no nutrients or phytoplankton) • Benthos = bottom of the ocean, no photosynthesis • Coral reefs = high biodiversity, high productivity (increase in temp causes bleaching) • Upwellings = off coast, bring nutrients from the depths, very productive! (El Nino disrupts it) • Thermal vents, black smokers = chemosynthetic, diverse community, @ divergent plate boundaries

26. Climatogramshows temperature and precipitation patterns

27. What causes distribution? • Evolution • Natural selection • Geography • Climate • Chance

28. Biomes and Diversity • Species diversity within a biome is directly related to • Availability of moisture/water • Temperature • Net Productivity

29. There are common themes in climate that will help you determine what biome you’re seeing!

30. Tundra!

31. Temperate or Mid-Latitude

32. Tropical

33. Desert

34. Rainforest

35. Savannah

36. Deciduous Forest