CHAPTER 6 BIOMES

1. CHAPTER 6BIOMES 6-1 What is a biome?

2. 1. What is a biome? • A large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plants and animal communities.

3. 2. What is a terrestrial biome? • A terrestrial biome is a land biome. • The major terrestrial biomes are: • Tropical rain forest - Chaparral • Temperate forest - Desert • Taiga - Tundra • Tropical savanna - Mountains • Temperate grassland

4. Terrestrial Biomes

5. 3. What is the name of the biome often based on? • The plant life in the area (this determines what other organisms can live there) • The climate determines the type of plants that live there • The plants in a particular biome have characteristics (adaptations) that allow them to survive in that biome.

6. 4. What is climate? • Refers to the average weather conditions in an area (temperature, precipitation, humidity, winds) over a long period of time

7. 5. What are the 2 most important factors in a regions climate? • Temperature • precipitation

9. 6. How do temperature and precipitation determine what lives in the biome? • Biomes that do not receive enough rainfall to support large trees, support communities dominated by small trees, shrubs, and grasses. • In biomes with very little rainfall, the vegetation is mostly cactuses and desert shrubs. • The higher the temperature and precipitation are, the taller and denser the vegetation is.

10. 7. How do latitude and altitude affect climate? • Latitude – the distance north or south from the equator, expressed in degrees • Altitude – the height of an object above sea level • Climate varies with altitude and latitude • The climate generally gets colder as latitude and altitude increase and it gets warmer as altitude and latitude decrease.

11. As latitude and altitude increase, biomes and vegetation change. • Trees of tropical rainforests usually grow closer to the equator, while mosses and lichens of the tundra grow closer to the poles. • The temperate region includes biomes such as temperate forests and grasslands, which have moderate temps and fertile soil that is good for agriculture.

12. 8. What are the different regions of latitude? • 0° to 30° - Tropical • 30° to 60° - Temperate • 60° to 90° - Arctic

13. Latitude and Altitude

14. 6-2 Forest Biomes

15. 1. What are the forest biomes? • Of all the biomes in the world, forest biomes are the most widespread and the most diverse. • The large trees of forests need a lot of water, so forests can be found where temperatures are mild to hot and where rainfall is plenty. • There are three main forest biomes of the world: tropical, temperate, and coniferous

16. 2. What are some characteristics of the tropical rain forest? • Occurs in a belt around the Earth near the equator • Sometimes called jungles • Help regulate world climate and play vital roles in the nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon cycles • Humid and warm • Rains a lot (80-180in/year) (200-450cm/year)

17. More characteristics of the Tropical Rain Forest • Gets strong sunlight year round • Little seasonal variation • More different species of plants grow here than in any other biome • Thin/poor soil

18. Tropical Rain Forest

19. Major Rainforests of the World

20. 3. How are plants adapted to living in a tropical rain forest? • Most nutrients are within the plants instead of in the soil. • Nutrients from dead organic matter are removed so efficiently that runoff from rain forests is often pure as distilled water. • Most tropical soils that are cleared of plants for agriculture lack nutrients and cannot support crops for more than a few years. • Many trees form above ground roots called buttresses or braces that grow sideways from the tree to provide it with extra support in the thin soil.

21. 4. What are the layers of vegetation in the tropical rainforest? • Plants grow in layers: • Emergent layer • Upper Canopy • Lower layer • Understory

22. Layers of the Rainforest

23. 5. What are some characteristics of the emergent layer? • The emergent layer is the top foliage layer in a forest where the trees extend above surrounding trees. • Trees in this layer grow and emerge into direct sunlight reaching heights of 60 to 70m (180-210ft) and can measure up to 5m (15ft) around. • Animals such as eagles, bats, monkeys, and snakes live in the emergent layer.

24. 6. What are some characteristics of the canopy? • Canopy is formed by trees as tall as 30 m (100ft.) and 95% of the sunlight is absorbed by these trees • The canopy is considered to be the primary layer of the rain forest. • The canopy can be split into an upper and lower canopy with the lower canopy receiving less of the sunlight.

25. Canopy of Rainforest

26. Epiphytes are plants that use another plant for support but not for nourishment and are located on high trees in the canopy. • Growing on tall trees allows them to reach the sunlight needed for photosynthesis and to absorb the water and nutrients that run down the tree after it rains. • Most animals that live in the rain forest live in the canopy because they depend on the abundant flowers and fruits that grow here.

27. Epiphytes

28. 7. What are some characteristics of the understory? • The understory is the foliage layer that is beneath and shaded by the main canopy of a forest. • There is little light and there are smaller trees/shrubs adapted to shade living here • Most plants here do not grow more than 3.5m tall. • Forest floor is mostly bare because of the lack of sunlight • Herbs have large, flat leaves to capture any sunlight that does reach the floor

29. Rainforest floor

31. 8. How are animals adapted to living in the tropical rain forest? • Greatest diversity of animals anywhere • Almost all rain forest animals are specialists (organisms adapted to exploit a specific resource in a particular way) to avoid competition • They have adapted amazing ways to capture prey and avoid predators (EX: Collared anteater, wreathed hornbill) p.159 • Insects use camouflage to avoid predators and may be shaped like leaves or twigs.

33. 9. What are some threats to the rain forest? • Used to cover 20% of Earth’s surface, today cover about 7% • Destruction by logging, clearing for agriculture, timber, or oil exploration • Exotic pet trading • This leads to extinction of plants/animals and displacement of the native people

34. 10. How can you help prevent the destruction of the rain forest? • Do not buy rain forest woods such as teak and mahogany • Do buy products that support sustainable use of rain forests such as nuts, fruits, rubber, coffee • Support organizations that help preserve tropical forests

35. Collecting sap from a rubber tree

36. 11. What are some characteristics of the temperate rain forest? • Occur in N and S America, Australia, New Zealand • Cool, humid forest • Never freezes because ocean waters moderate the temperature • High rainfall, moderate temperature • Olympic National Forest in Washington State • Dominated by evergreen trees such as Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce

37. 12. What are some characteristics of the temperate deciduous forest? • Trees shed leaves each fall • Generally occur between 30° and 50° North latitude • Can have extreme seasonal variations • 4-6 month growing season • Moist (30-50in rain per year) (75-125cm) • Very rich soil

38. TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FORESTS

39. Temperate Deciduous Forest

40. 13. How are plants adapted to living in the temperate deciduous forest? • Plants grow in layers • Canopy is dominated by tall trees (maple, oak, birch) • Small trees, shrubs and bushes in understory • More light reaches the floor here than in the rain forest so this has more plants (ferns, mosses, herbs) • Adapted to survive seasonal changes (EX: trees shed leaves in winter when H2O is locked up in ice; herb seeds, bulbs, rhizomes become dormant in winter)

42. 14. How are animals adapted to living in the temperate deciduous forest? • There are numerous habitats for animals (generally organized by layers of vegetation) • Many migratory birds • Animals hibernate (become inactive) • Insects enter a state of very low metabolic activity

44. 15. What are some characteristics of the taiga (Northern Coniferous Forest)? • The region of evergreen, coniferous forest below the arctic and subarctic tundra regions • Also called the “boreal forest” • Located in a broad band across the N hemisphere just below the arctic circle • Rough terrain • Long winters (6-10 mo) and little vegetation • Extremely cold • Short growing season (50 days in some areas) • Plant growth enhanced by constant daylight during the summer • Most of the precipitation is snow

45. TAIGA

46. Taiga

47. 16. How are plants adapted to living in the taiga? • Conifers – a tree whose seeds grow in cones • Most trees here do not shed leaves • Leaves are narrow and have a waxy coating to retain water • Conifers cone shape helps it shed snow whose weight would otherwise crush it • Dominant tree species are pine, hemlock, fir, spruce • Conifer needles are acidic so when they die and fall to the ground they make the soil acidic • Because of the acidic soil, the forest floor is mostly bare • Soil forms slowly here because the climate and acidity slow decomposition.

49. 17. How are animals adapted to living in the taiga? • Lakes and swamps are common so birds that feed on wetland organisms (insects and fish) are also common • Migratory birds • Underground burrowers (shrew, vole) • Have moose and snowshoe hares • Hares change coat color from brown to white in winter