BIOME NOTES

BIOME /

LOCATION

/

BIOTIC

/

ABIOTIC

/ OTHER
RAI N FOREST
Climate: hot and rainy
Average Yearly Rainfall: up to 400cm
Average Temperatures: daytime 34C; nighttime 20C /
  • Near equator Africa, South America
/
  • Vegetation: abundant plants
  • Animals: many insects, huge variety of animals
  • Contains more species of plants and animals of all other biomes combined
/
  • Soil is very thin and poor in nutrients
/
  • Plants used for many prescription drugs
  • Nearly 1400 species of birds live there

DESERT
Climate: hot, dry, cool to cold nights except Antarctica which is very cold
Average Yearly Rainfall: less than 25cm
Average Temperatures: summer 38C; winter 7C /
  • Found on every continent
/
  • Vegetation: very little, must survive with little water (ex: cactus)
  • Animals: little variety, many small, adapted to extreme heat or cold, and very dry conditions
/
  • Soils often have abundant nutrients because they need only water to become very productive and have little or no organic matter.
/
  • Covers 1/5 of earth’s surface
  • Plants have a waxy coating to help prevent water loss

GRASSLAND
Climate: moderate amount of rain, not enough to support trees. Cold but not harsh winters, semi-hot summers
Average Yearly Rainfall: 25-75 cm
Average Temperature: summer 30C; winter 0C /
  • Steppes of Eurasia
  • North American Prairie
  • The Pampas
/
  • Vegetation: grass, limited trees
  • Animals: home to largest land animals (ex: elephants, rhino, buffalos, hippos)
/
  • Latitude, soil and local climates for the most part determine what kinds of plants grow in a particular grassland
/
  • Called different names in different areas steppes, prairies, pampas, 7 savannas

DECIDUOUS FOREST
Climate: seasons, above average rainfall, not extremely hot or cold
Average Yearly Rainfall: 75 – 125 cm
Average Temperatures: summer 28, winter 6C /
  • Six of seven continents, South America, Africa, Kennesaw, GA
/
  • Vegetation: trees drop leaves in fall, grow in spring
  • Animals: Medium variety, average number of insects
/
  • Four distinct seasons
/
  • Trees shed leaves to save water during the winter

BOREAL FOREST
Climate: cold, heavy snowfall
Average Yearly Rainfall: 35-75cm
Average Temperatures: summer 14, winter -10C
Boreal Forest continued /
  • Northern Europe, Russia, Canada, Northern North America
/
  • Vegetation: coniferous trees, limited variety because of harsh climate
  • Animals: limited variety, moose, deer, beavers, insects
/
  • The forms the precipitation comes in are rain, snow and dew. Most of the precipitation in the taiga falls as rain in the summer.
  • The main seasons in the taiga are winter and summer. The spring and autumn are so short, you hardly know they exist.
/
  • Also known as Boreal Forest, Taiga, and Coniferous Forest
  • Boreal was the Greek goddess of the North Wind

TUNDRA
Climate: very cold, dry
Average Yearly Rainfall: 30-50cm
Average Temperatures: summer 12C; winter -26C /
  • Extreme north, Arctic
/
  • Vegetation: few trees, limited plants, moss, lichen, permafrost
  • Animals: caribou, insects in summer, wolves, birds that fly south, polar bear
/
  • Has permafrost
  • Polar & alpine

FRESHWATER
Warmer near the surface where sunlight reaches the bottom /
  • Ponds and Lakes - bodies of standing or still water
  • Rivers and Streams – both have moving water, headwaters are where rivers and streams begin
/
  • Vegetation: algae are major producers
  • Animals: insects, snails, amphibians, fish
  • Vegetation and Animals – adapted for moving water
/
  • Catfish are scavengers
  • Bacteria are decomposers in lake or pond

MARINE
Surface zone- sunlight heats the top 100m
Deep zone- 2*C /
  • Estuaries – where fresh water of a river meets salt water of the ocean
  • Intertidal – part of the beach between highest high tide and lowest low tide
  • Neritic – part of ocean that extends over the continental shelf
  • Surface – area of ocean in which light penetrates (a few hundred meters)
  • Deep Zone – most of water is completely dark
/
  • Vegetation and animals – crabs, worms, clams, fish, and algae
  • Vegetation and animals – contains many schools of fish, coral reefs, and algae
  • Vegetation and animals – contains oceans producers which drive all of the other zones
  • Vegetation and animals – feed on animals sinking from surface
/
  • Deep Zone – home of some bizarre looking animals

Temperate Rainforest
Climate: moderate, lots of rain /
  • Northwest United States
/
  • Vegetation: huge trees
  • Animals: large selection (ex: wolf, deer, bear, elk)