54.5 Major Biomes

The distribution patterns of plants and animals.

There are aquatic biomes.

The distribution patterns of taiga and temperate rain forest are combined because of their similarity in tree species and because the rain forest is limited to a very small area.

The main characteristics of the soils in California are dry and poor.

Grassy vegetation is the only use support for broad twinning.
In the eastern U.S., most of New Jersey's ful way of defining the main types of communities on Earth is by the Pine Barrens coastal plain.
Oak trees can be influenced by soil conditions.

The temperature is hot throughout the year, with an average of 25-32degC.

The soils are shallow.

It is found in the tropics.

As many as 100 tree species per square kilome ter can be found in tropical forests.

The leaves narrow so that rain can drain quickly.
Many trees have large buttresses.
There are plants that live on trees and are not in the ground.

The tropical rain has diverse animal life.

Large mammals are not very common.
Many of the plant species are scattered in tropical forests, so they don't rely on wind for pollination or dispersal.
Animals are important in pollinating flowers.
There is a warning of bad taste or the existence of toxins.

Humans are damaging tropical forests by logging and clearing the land for agriculture.

Grassland for cattle is created in many South American tropical for ests.

There is a tropical forest in Brazil, Thailand, and Mexico.

At the wet edges, it may become a tropical rain forest; at the dry edges, it may become a tropical grassland.

Because of the distinct dry season, many of the trees in tropi cal deciduous forests shed their leaves, just as they do in temperate forests, and an understory of herbs and grasses may grow during this time.

The animal diversity is less than in tropical rain forests because of the large amount of rain.

The tropical thorn forests are very hot.
The evolution of plant thorns as a result of a distinct dry season that lasts 3-4 months or longer is related to the fact that this biome may contain more mammals.

In the central part of the world, there is more rain than tropical rain forests.

Land in tropical rain forests is being cleared for seasonal logging.
India has a growing human population and tropical agriculture.

There is also a location in southwestern South America.

The ocean has an influence on the air temperature of 200.

The normal rainfall is increased by the condensation of water from dense coastal fogs.

In North America, con winter, and summer temperatures rarely exceed 27degC.

Epiphytes thrive because of the high moisture content.

A thin strip of tures slows the activity of decomposers, so the litter layer is thick and squishy.

The rain forest in North America is rich in a number of animals and birds.

Rep (c)RGB Ventures/SuperStock/Alamy Stock Photo tiles and salamanders are common because of the abundant humidity and moderate temperatures.

The survival of the forest in some areas is threatened by logging, which is a prolific producer of wood and supplies much timber.

Between 75 and 200 cm of annual rain is the average.

Each winter, temperatures fall below freezing.

There are large tracts of forest in the eastern U.S., Western Europe and eastern Asia.

In the Southern Hemisphere, beech forests are found in South America, New Zealand, and Australia.

In tropical for ests, there are about four tree species per square kilometer.

In the eastern U.S. oaks, hickories, and maples are usually the dominant tree genera.
The leaves reappear in the spring after being shed in the fall.
The herba ceous plants flower in the spring.
In the summer, the forest is not as dense as in tropical forests, so ground cover is abundant.

Birds migrate and insects enter diapause during the cold months, which is a condition of dormancy passed usually as a pupa.

It's rare to find a reptile that depends on solar radiation for heat.
There are mammals such as wolves, bears, and mountain lions.

The forest in Europe and North America has been eliminated by logging.

soils are rich and easily converted to agriculture because of the annual leaf drop.
The regions where the forest is found are home to a lot of the human population.

In the form of snow, precipitation is usually between 30 and 100 cm.

It is very cold for a long period of time.

The taiga is the Russian name for the north of the temperate-zone forests and grasslands.

There are a lot of taiga in North America and Russia.
In the Southern Hemisphere, there is little land area at certain latitudes.

The similarity of taiga to the rain forest is due to the fact that most of the trees are evergreens or conifers.

The number of tree species in this area is relatively low.
The conical shapes of the conifers reduce the amount of snow that breaks the boughs.
The understory is sparse because the canopies prevent sunlight from penetrating.
The fallen nee dles decay so slowly in the cold that a layer of needles builds up and acidifies the soil, reducing the number of understory species.

The animals are rare because of the low temperatures.

Sometimes insects can reach outbreak proportions in warm temperatures.

The mammals that live in this area are heavily furred.

Humans have not settled this area, but it has been busy.

Exploration and development of oil and natural gas are threats.

The area has a low or seasonal rainfall between 50 and 130 cm per year.

There is a dry season.

savannas are found in Africa, South America, and northern Australia.

There are wide expanses of grasses in savannas.

Most plants have well-developed root systems that allow them to grow quickly after a fire.

The savanna is home to the world's greatest collection of large mammals.

There are herds of animals that are found together with their prey.

There are mounds of Termites in the landscape.

savannas may be helped by the extensive herbivory of large grazers and the frequent fires.

The Savanna soils are poor because of the rain.

In Africa, conversion to agricultural land is rampant.
Domestic animals can greatly reduce grass coverage by overgrazing, which can turn the area desert-like.

Prairie soil has 12 times the humus layer of a typical forest soil.

Most prairies have been converted to agriculture and the original cm is too low to support a forest.
The temperatures in perate grassland habitats are among the lowest in the world.

The prairies of North America, the steppes of Russia, the pampas of Argentina, and the veldt of South Africa are some of therate grasslands.

Fire and animals may prevent the establishment of trees in the grassland.

The chaparral, a fire-adapted community featuring shrubs and small trees, occurs where temperatures rarely fall below freezing and most of the rain falls in the winter.

Cool ocean waters moderate the climate in countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, as well as along the coast of California, South Africa, Chile, and south west Australia.

The chaparral is recognized by some ecologists as a distinct type.

From east to west in North America and from north to south in Asia, the grassland is different.

In the west of the Rockies, prairie grasses such as buffalo grass and blue grama are rarely taller than 0.25 m. In South Africa and Argentina there are similar gradients.

The largest mammals in the world are bison and pronghorn in North America, wild horses in Europe, and large kangaroos in Australia.

African mole rats and North American gophers are common.

There is less than 30 cm of rain per year.

At night the temperature is below freezing, but in the day it is as high as 50degC.

There are hot deserts in the north and south.

The desert of North Africa, the desert of southern Africa, the desert of northern Mexico, and the Simpson of Australia are some of the prominent deserts.

There are three forms of plant life adapted to deserts.

Annuals grow only when there is rain.
The southwestern deserts have Succulents, such as the saguaro cactus and other barrel cacti.
The spraylike oco maintains a warm body temperature.
Small, thick leaves that can be eaten by mammals are found in lizards and snakes.

In many plants, volatile chemical com pounds are used as a defense against water-seeking herbivores.

Many small seeds are produced by desert plants to conserve water.

Animals that eat seeds, such as ants, birds, and rodents, can cause a build-up of salt in the soil.
In areas of low precipitation, re irrigation is common.
High temperatures allow animals to live in the desert and off-road vehicles can disturb tiles.

The Gobi Desert has less than 25 cm of precipitation a year.

In the spring, there is usually a lot of rain.

In the winter, the number of plant spe in the cold deserts is very low.

Most plants are between 15 and 120 cm tall.

Many species are spiny.

Cold deserts can be found in the middle to high latitudes of Utah and bordering states.

As in hot deserts, large numbers of plants produce small seeds.

Many species live in bur rows to escape the cold.
Pocket mice, jackrabbits, kit foxes, and coyotes can be found in the Great Basin Desert.

Human populations are not extensive because of low temperatures and low precipitation.

Less vegetation can exist if the top layer of soil is disturbed by humans.

Trees can't grow with so little water.

In the form of fragile, slow-growing lichens, mosses, grasses, sedges, and occasional shrubs, vegetation occurs.
The plant diversity is low.
Desert conditions prevail in some places.

The fauna is richer in the summer.

In North America, precipitation is less than 25 cm per year.

Smaller animals include hares and lemmings.

The growing season lasts only 50-60 days.

The ground in this area thaws to less than 1 m in depth.

The average -32degC could be affected by the mid winter temperatures.

It would take a long time to recover from such damage.

The mountain ranges must be seen in a different way.

Increasing eleva tion through adiabatic cooling decreases the temperature on moun tains.
If the mountainside is to windward or leeward, precipitation and temperature may change dramatically.

The Himalayas in Asia, the Rockies in North America, and the Andes in South America are some of the largest mountain ranges in the world.

There are a variety of biomes on a single mountain range.

From a tropical forest to a tundra on the high peaks of the Andes in tropical South America, the bio type can change.
Daylight lasts 12 hours per day in tropical regions.
In the tropics, vegetation has a slow but steady rate of growth all year.

The number of habitats is not as important as the diversity of the animals.

More species of plants and animals are found at lower eleva tions.
Bighorn sheep and mountain goats have skidproof pads on their hooves at higher altitudes.
Birds of prey, such as eagles, are frequent predators of the furry rodents found at higher altitudes.

Habitat degradation can be caused by logging and agriculture.

Because of the steep slopes, mountain soils are often well drained and vulnerable to erosion.

The coastal areas are influenced by tides and waves.

The Moon's pull is 2.2 times greater than the Sun's.

The prop area of the globe is closer to the Moon once a day, which governs the ecology of freshwater habitats.

The oceans are pulled by water at the equator.
High tides at the equator and low tides at it warms or cools when C and becomes less dense as toward the Moon.
C water is the least dense in the world.
The ocean floats on unfrozen water when it is on the opposite side of the Earth.
The tide is high and this explains why lakes and rivers freeze.
A fish's point of view is that this property is relative to the Earth.
Most of the Earth has two high tides per day.

There would be wind fish in lakes outside the tropics.

Small ripples are created by the air and water rubbing against each other.

The water may increase in size in the spring due to warm water and storms.

The wind can blow in deeper lakes.

The fetches of open ocean may allow the formation of waves.

The biomes are warm and have low light levels where photosynthesis is absent due to differences in oxygen content, depth, and strength.

Traditionally, freshwater habitats sink.

The cross section of the lake has temperature profiles for each season.

The cold water mixes the lake when the ice is gone.
The warmest water occurs at the surface in the summer.
In the fall, cold air temperatures cool the upper layers and dense cold water mixes the lake.

The resident organisms are subject to huge daily variations in temperature, light intensity, and availability.

The area where the land meets the sea consists of sandy shore, mudflats, or rocky shore.

The sand or mud can be shifted by the tide.

Mangroves and salt marsh grasses can colonize mudflats.

It is possible that animal life is quite diverse.

Sea anemones, snails, hermit crabs, and small fishes live in tide pools on the rocky shore.
There are a variety of animals on the rock face.
Animals, including birds and mammals, may be vulnerable at low tides.
Preda tory is brought by high tides.
Small isopods, crabs, and marine worms can be found on sandy or muddy shores.

The beach area has been reduced due to human development.

Some rocky intertidal areas have been affected by oil spills.

Corals need warm water of at least 20degC but less than 30degC to survive.

The photic zone is where light can penetrate and allow photosynthesis to occur.
Sunlight is important because many corals have symbiotic algae that need light to live.

Coral reefs can be found in warm tropical waters with good water clarity.

The largest coral reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coastline, but there are other coral reefs in other parts of the world.

There are a variety of red and green algae on the coral reef.

The coral reef is one of the most interesting and species-rich environments on the planet.

Most of the fish species on Earth are found on coral reefs.
Prominent herbivores are snails, sea urchins, and fishes.
These are eaten by sea stars.
Many species are brightly colored to warn of their toxic nature.

The aquarium trade has led to the removal of many corals and fishes.

Global warm ing is the greatest threat to coral reefs.

Garbage disposal and oil spills have caused damage to the ocean floors.

The waters are mostly cold.

70% of the Earth's surface is covered across the globe.

Much of the world's oxygen is produced by Phytoplankton, which account for half of the activity on Earth.

Zooplankton includes Heterotrophic protists.

Large squids, fishes, sea turtles, and marine mammals are included.
Only a few of these organisms live deep.
There is a unique group of animals associated with the deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
There are large worms in this dark, oxygen poor environment.

The pro cess of eutrophication can be sped up by human activities.

In addition to the plankton, lentic habitats may have root vegetation, such as cattails and deeper-dwelling aquatic plants.

Alligators and crocodiles are common in tropical and subtropical lakes.

The lentic habitat is often deep.

What is collected in the lake is dictated by what lands in the land.
Young lakes often start off clear and have little plant life.
The lakes are called because of the blooms and fish kills.
The lake becomes richer in dissolved nitrogen as it ages.

Flowing water prevents blooms of phytoplankton in lotic habitats.

A well-aerated habitat of relatively uniform temperature is provided by the current.
The current, oxygen level, and clarity are better at the source of a stream than in the lower reaches.
The levels of Nutrients are less in the headwaters.

In fast moving rivers, leaves from surrounding forests are the primary food source for animals.

There is a fauna completely different from that of lentic waters.

Despite the strong current, animals are able to stay in place.
Many of the smaller organisms attach themselves to rocks to avoid being swept away.
Others live on the underside of large boulders.

trout may be present in rivers with cool temperatures, high oxygen, and clear water.

catfish and carp may be abundant in murkier waters.

Animals of lotic systems are vulnerable to pollution because they are not well adapted for low-oxygen environments.

Dams across rivers have prevented the passage of migratory species.

Wetlands may develop at the margins of lentic and lotic habitats.

Wet lands are areas that are frequently saturated by water.
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High tides and river water combine to create wetlands along estuaries, where land can be flooded.
Oxygen levels are low because of high nutrient levels.
The temperatures are different with location.

Wetlands are one of the most productive areas in the world.

In North America, floating plants include lilies, sedges, cattails, cypress, and gum trees.

Wetlands are rich in animals.

Wetlands are a great habitat for birds.
They are home to a lot of insects.
There are many species of reptile and otter.

Wetlands have been drained and developed for housing and industry.

Wetlands play an important role in protecting coastal communities from hurricanes, and the loss of wet lands in Louisiana contributed to the severity of effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.