Earth’s Biomes Chapter 20

 Biomes are dependent on two very important environmental factors: Average Temperature and Average Rainfall  Biomes are named after the dominant type of vegetation associated with large land areas.  The three major biomes are: (1) Deserts, (2) Grasslands, (3) Forests THE BOTTOM LINE:

BIOME OrganizerCold Temp.Avg. Temp.Hot Temp. Heavy Rainfall Average Rainfall Light Rainfall Taiga Coniferous or Boreal Forests Tropical Deserts Temperate Deserts Cool Deserts Savanna Tropical Grasslands Prairie Temperate Grasslands Tundra Polar Grasslands Deciduous Temperate Forests Tropical Rain Forests

Celsius Scale 30’s Warm 20’s Nice 10’s Cold 0’s Ice

Deserts have these qualities: 1. Precipitation is low and limited 2. Evaporation exceeds precipitation (Rain dries out very fast) 3. Light vegetation & clear skies 4. Most animals are small and nocturnal (come out at night) 5. Hot days – Cool nights!!

Types of Deserts Tropical Desert - hot all year, few plants, wind-blown surfaces EX: Sahara

Desert Climate Graph

Types of Deserts Temperate Deserts - Daytime temp. hot in summer & cool in winter EX. The Mojave Desert

Types of Deserts Cool Desert – Warm summers & cold, cold winters EX: The Gobi Desert Brrr…It’s cold here

Desert Food Web

QUESTION????? 1. What do all of these deserts have in common? 2. Think of three observations. YES you have to answer this question!

Grasslands have these qualities: 1. Precipitation is high enough to allow grass to grow. 2. Droughts and fires prevent permanent forests. 3. Home to large herbivores (bison, zebras etc.) and many borrowing animals (meerkats, prairie dogs)

Types of Grasslands Savanna (Tropical Grassland): high avg. temps. with a prolonged dry season of 4-6 months. Rest of the year is wet.

Types of Grasslands Prairie (Temperate Grasslands): Strong winds that blow almost continuously & evaporation is rapid.

Prairie Climate Graph

Types of Grasslands Tundra (Polar Grasslands): Most of the year the climate is extremely cold with high winds & snow cover. Winters are long and avg. precipitation is low (mostly snow).

Question?????  3. Close your eyes and imagine a simple savanna food web. What would happen in your food web, if the top level consumers were removed? THINK!

Forests have these qualities: 1. A wide variety of plants, dominated by trees. 2. Provides a variety of habitats for a variety animals. (birds, deer, bears, mice, opossum, insects, etc.)

Types of forests: Tropical Rain Forests: constant hot temp., high humidity, daily afternoon rains, poor soil, hardwood trees, most animals live in the canopy, most biologically diverse

Rainforest Climate Graph

Types of forests: Deciduous forests: moderate temps., changes a lot during the 4 seasons, abundant precipitation, deciduous trees loose their leaves each fall, nutrient rich soils

Types of Forests: Taiga: winters are long & dry, lots of snowfall & short days, temps. range from cool to extremely cold, dominated by conifers

Questions  4. What do the forests have in common?  5. What is the main factor that makes the forests different?  6. What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

Compare and contrast Complete the following Venn diagram on your paper. Forests Deserts Grasslands