What are they? Can you name any? Which type are we in? BIOMES What are they? Can you name any? Which type are we in?

BIOMES Biomes are the major regional groupings of plants and animals discernible at a global scale. Their distribution patterns are strongly correlated with regional climate patterns and identified according to the climax vegetation type. However, a biome is composed not only of the climax vegetation, but also of associated successional communities, persistent sub climax communities, fauna, and soils.

After studying the picture, in which biome are we found? Can you name them all? We are going to talk about 8…

Different types of Biomes Tropical Forest Chaparral Savanna Grassland Desert Temperate deciduous forest Coniferous forest Tundra

Tropical Forest Region of tall trees and year round warmth An average of 50 to 260 inches of rain falls yearly Animals include the chimpanzee and Bengal tiger Plants that can be found here are bougainvillea and coconut trees

Savanna A savanna is a rolling grassland scattered with shrubs and isolated trees, which can be found between a tropical rainforest and desert biome. The diversity of animals is very great here, with several plants and animals that don't exist anywhere else on earth. Plants include lots of grasses Animals would include zebras, lions, and elephants

Desert Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's land surface. Most Hot and Dry Deserts are near the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn. Cold Deserts are near the Arctic part of the world. Plants would include barrel cactus and brittle bush. Animals would include the armadillo lizard and the coyote.

Coniferous Forest The Coniferous Forest is a forest of Conifers (too much to handle, isn't it?). A Conifer is a tree that produces its seeds in cones. Plants would include many softwood trees such as fir, pine, spruce, and hemlock. Most animals are herbivores, however some carnivores and omnivores are thrown in.  Animals in Coniferous Forests include the red fox, moose, snowshoe hare, great horned owl, and the crossbill. The largest Coniferous forest exists in a ring in Alaska, Canada,  northern Europe, and northern Asia, in a ring in the Northern Hemisphere.  This forest is called the "Taiga". Coniferous Forests are the largest land Biome of the World.

Chaparral Chaparrals are forests of trees, however, they are more a cross between a grassland and a forest.  The area is also known as the Scrub Biome  This biome is characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Average Temperature in Summer: 71.7°F Average Temperature in Winter: 46°F Average Annual Rainfall: 15-40 in.   PLANTS Mainly trees and shrubs.  The trees are usually oak.  The shrubs are tall and thick, with a waxy layer to conserve water. ANIMALS Animals in this area have evolved to survive in the dry summer, wet winter, environment.  Animals include the aardvark, chipmunk, coyote, and lynx. FUN FACTS The word chaparral comes from the Spanish word "chaparro", which means scrub oak.

Grassland The grasslands consist of several species of grass with some flowering plants mixed in.  No trees grow because of the many fires that occur.  The grasslands are a habitat for small, seed eating animals and large herbivores.  Average Annual Rainfall- 10-29.5 in. Average Temperatures in the Summer- 86°F Average Temperatures in the Winter- 32°F   PLANTS Mostly large grasses (wow, grasses in the grasslands) and some flowering plants.  With the grasses that grow in the grassland, we make cereal.  ANIMALS Animals such as the bison, wolf, prairie dog, and the mule dog are now common in the U.S. grasslands.  There is only a small variety of animal life. FUN FACTS The road runner can attain speeds of up to 17 mph on foot. A favorite game of the road runner is taunting a rattle snake just before eating it. Grassland surrounds all of the deserts in Asia

Temperate Deciduous Forest The Latin word "Deciduous" means "to fall off"  There for, a temperate deciduous forest is a forest that is not hot nor cold and has leaves that fall off in Autumn.   These trees lose their leaves in order to conserve water.  A Temperate Deciduous Forest contains numerous species of trees and hundreds of species of animals.    PLANTS These forests consist of several layers of vegetation.  These plants include shrubs, moss, ferns, and lichens because they do not need much sunlight.   The trees in the forest are hardwoods such as oak, hickory, maple, beech, birch, and sweet gum. ANIMALS Animals in these forests are so high in quantity that the my website server would crash before I listed all of them.  There is a very diverse population, all adapted to survive the season changes.  Examples of animals include cardinals, deer, black rat snake, opossum, mice, squirrel, ect. FUN FACTS The largest tree in the world is found right here in the United States. You can find it in California. This giant sequoia tree is 275 feet tall and 95 feet around.

Tundra This biome, found far north and at the tops of mountains, is extremely cold; not even trees can grow there.  A special characteristic of the tundra is known as permafrost.  Permafrost is the soil beneath the top, thawed layer.  The permafrost is frozen year round.  Because of the permafrost, the top layer of soil is always soggy, and lakes and ponds are always seen.  Because the soil that is not frozen is only a few inches deep, only plants with shallow roots can live their.  Average Temperature in Summer- 53.6°F Average Temperature in Winter-  -14°F Average Annual Rainfall- 12-20 in.   PLANTS Like I said before, the soil is not deep enough to hold deeply rooted plants.  Grasses, woody shrubs, sedges, and small bushes are common.  ANIMALS Small animals, like the lemmings, hares, and shrews are very common.  Also present are larger mammals such as the caribou, wolf, Arctic Fox, polar bear, and musk oxen.  Several birds also live in this area, like the Gyrfalcon, Ruddy Turnstone, Snowy Owl, and Tundra Swan.  Other migratory birds can be seen in the summer. FUN FACTS The Arctic/ Antarctic is known as the second most deadly environment in the world.

References: www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/intro.html http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm http://rrms-biomes.tripod.com/id3.html