The Earth’s Climate and Biomes

1. The Earth’s Climateand Biomes Meredith Monsantofils

2. Climate • Climate is the average, or typical weather conditions found in a region • The weather patterns have been observed over a long period of time and are relatively predictable • Weather and climate sounds a lot alike but they are actually different! If you kept a journal over a long period of time you would notice patterns. It’s those patterns, or average weather conditions, for a region that create climate.

3. What are Biomes • Biomes are sometimes described as “the world’s major communities” because each environment noticeably changes in vegetation and the animals that live there • Different biomes are found in various locations all over the world • There are six major biomes • Freshwater • Marine • Desert • Forest • Grassland • Tundra

4. Freshwater • The freshwater biome is one of the most important because it allows plants and animals to survive and thrive • They have low levels of salt, less than 1% • They are usually ponds, lakes, streams, rivers or wetlands • Lots of animals like fish, crustaceans, amphibians, snails, floating aquatic plants. • Even insects like dragonflies and mosquitoes live here because they can lay their eggs

5. Marine • Marine regions take up about ¾’s of the Earth’s surface • They are oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries • They are made up of salt water • The algae that is produced in these areas provide a huge amount of the worlds oxygen • They are also home to a lot of sea animals like; crab, sea stars, fish, whales, and sharks • Coral reefs are warm shallow waters that are homes to large coral structures • An estuary is an area where freshwater streams into ocean water, it creates a mixing of the water

6. Desert • Deserts cover about 1/5 of the Earth’s surface. • They receive less than 50cm of rain per year • They are extremely hot and dry • They can be found in North Africa, southwestern US, Mexico and Australia • The plants that grow here are very specialized because they don’t receive very much water • Not very many animals live in deserts because it’s difficult for them to find enough nutrition to survive

7. Forest • Forests consume about 1/3 of the Earth’s land area • They also make up over 2/3 of the leaf area of land plants • There are three major types of forests; • Tropical forests are incredibly diverse and reside near the equator. There are only two seasons; dry and rainy. Plants include; orchids, lianas, palm trees, ferns, mosses. Animals are: many varieties of birds, bats and small mammals. • Temperate forests can be found in eastern North American, northeastern Asia and west & central Europe. There are 4 well defined seasons and it is a relatively moderate climate. Trees include; oak, hickory, maple, elm and spring flowers. Animals include mountain lion, bobcat, black bear, timber wolf, rabbits and squirrels. • Boreal forests, or taiga, is the largest land biome. They can be found in Eurasia, North America, Siberia, Scandinavia, Alaska and Canada. They have very low temperatures, soli is thin and lacks nutrients. Trees include; pines, fir and spruce. Animals are; bear, moose, hawks, deer.

8. Grassland • Grasslands are dominated by grasses and other large shrubs or trees • They are defined by two different types; savanna and temperate grassland • Savanna grasslands can be found in Australia, South Africa and India • They cover almost half of the continent of Africa. They are always found in warm or hot climates, they generally suffer from drought. • Right after the rainy season, there is a surge of grass grow and with it comes new life. • Animals that can be found here are zebras, buffaloes, kangaroos, gophers, lions, hyenas, snakes, termites and beetles. • Temperate grasslands are rich in vegetation, trees and large shrubs are absent. The temperatures have more variation • They are found in the veldts of South Africa, Hungary, Argentina, Uruguay, and central North America. • They receive a moderate amount of rainfall which produces thicker, heavier grasses. • Animals that can be found here are; prairie dogs, jack rabbits, deer, mice, coyotes, foxes, badgers, and owls

9. Tundra Tundra • The Tundra is the coldest of all of the biomes. • The name tundra comes from the Finnish word “tunturi” which means treeless • It’s characterized as having extremely low temperatures, frozen landscapes, little precipitation, poor nutrients and small growth season. • There are two different types of tundra; Arctic and Alpine • Arctic Tundra is in the northern hemisphere. It is cold and desert like. There are small shrubs, moss and grasses. Animals that live here are; rabbits, foxes, wolves, polar bears, and a wide variety of fish • Alpine Tundra is located on mountains where the high altitude restricts trees from growing. The plants that are found here are very similar to the Arctic Tundra. Animals are; marmots, mountain goats, elk, and sheep

10. Activity • We’re going to create our own biomes! By identifying plants and animals that live in the 6 different biomes and construct a mobile using our biomes.