Biomes

What is a Biome? A biome is a large area having a distinct climate and specific types of plant and animal life.

Tundra The tundra covers the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. The arctic tundra has a cold, dry, harsh climate. Mammals of the tundra include caribou, musk oxen, lemmings, foxes, wolves, polar bears, and hares. Plants are small and have shallow root systems.

Taiga The largest of Earth's land biomes is the taiga (TY guh). It is sometimes called a boreal forest. Taigas are found south of tundra areas and north of temperate forests. These forests are found in the northern Rocky Mountains and Alaska in the US and all across Canada, northern Europe, and northern Asia. Squirrels, deer, moose, elk, black bears, wolves, and birds are some of the animals that live in the taiga. Trees are mostly conifers- spruce, fir, pine, and cedar.

Desert For a place to be defined as a desert, it must receive less than 10 inches of rainfall in an entire year. The Sahara Desert is the world's largest desert. Deserts cover about 20% of the land area on Earth. The only continent without a desert is Europe. Sagebrush and cacti are prominent in the desert. Animals include fennec foxes, jackrabbits, and camels.

Rainforests The Amazon is the world's largest rain forest. Rainforests have four layers: Forest Floor -Tapirs, termites, and scorpions are among many of the animals that we can find here. Understory -Residents here include bees, snakes, frogs, and leopards. Canopy -Most of the rain forest animals live here, including several familiar faces - toucans, parrots, sloths, and monkeys. Emergent -Birds of paradise, eagles, and macaws all live here. At least 50% of all the plant and animal species in the world are in the rain forest. Rain forests are near the Equator: Asia, Africa, Australia, Central America, and South America.  

Temperate Deciduous Forest There are five layers (also called zones or strata) in the temperate deciduous forest. These include the: Tree stratum, the tallest layer, 60 -100 feet high, with large oak, maple, beech, chestnut, hickory, elm, basswood, linden, walnut, or sweet gum trees. Small tree or sapling layer - short tree species and young trees. Shrub layer - shrubs like rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain laurels, and huckleberries. Herb layer - short plants. Ground layer - lichens, clubmosses, and true mosses. Temperate deciduous forests are found in the middle latitudes around the globe and have four distinct seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

Grasslands Grasslands can be divided into two groups: temperate grasslands and savannahs. Like the name suggests, grasses dominate the landscape in grasslands. On average, grasslands receive about 25-50 inches of rainfall a year. At least one-fifth of the Earth's land area is grasslands. It can be found in every continent except Antarctica.

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