Biomes

Biomes  “The World’s Major Communities”  Classified by climate, predominate vegetations, and the organisms and their adaptations that live in these regions.

Tundra  Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes.  Has frost-molded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing seasons.  Other wild life includes arctic animals such as foxes and polar bears.

Taiga  The largest of the biomes stretching across portions of Canada, Europe and Asia.  Winters are cold and summers are warm.  Home to large coniferous forests and the organisms that live in them such as large herbivores like elk and caribou and other animals like beavers, wolves, and grizzly bears.

Temperate Deciduous Forest  Has more diverse seasons with cold winters and hot summers. Found in the Eastern U.S., Canada, Europe, China, and Japan.  Vegetation: Broadleaf trees (oaks, maples), shrubs, herbs, and mosses.  Hundreds of species of birds and tree dwelling animals live in these regions among other species.

Temperate Rain Forest  Found on the Western Edge of North and South America.  Climate has seasonal variation and large amounts of rain fall each year.  Wildlife include many nocturnal species such as owls, bats, possums, and many large species of cats such as mountain lions.

Tropical Rain Forest  A region with year round warm climates, large amounts of rainfalls, and forest full of tall trees.  Wildlife is extremely diverse and includes things like monkeys, gorillas, jaguars, anteaters, lemurs, bats, frogs, butterflies, and ants.

Desert  Found where rainfall equals less that 50 cm per year.  Found in northern Africa (Sahara) southern U.S., parts of Mexico and Australia.  Has specialized vegetation that can survive long periods without water and any mammals are small such as Kangaroo Mice. The most common wildlife are different forms of reptiles.

Grassland  Mostly covered by grasses with very few trees or shrubs.  Climate is mild and rainfall occurs during 6- 8 months of the year with drought during the other months.  Wildlife includes grazing animals such as deer as well as small ground dwelling birds such as quail.