Tropical Rainforest

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Tropical Rainforest

• Located around the Equatorial regions
• Hot temperatures and rain year round
• No seasons
• Convectional rainfall

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Layers

• Emergent Layer giant trees thrust above the
  dense canopy layer and have huge mushroom-shaped
  crowns.
• These trees enjoy the greatest amount of sunlight
  but also must endure high temperatures, low
  humidity and strong winds.
• Canopy Layer The broad, irregular crowns of
  these trees form a tight, continuous canopy 30 to
  50 m above the ground. The branches are often
  densely covered with other plants (epiphytes) and
  tied together with vines (lianas).

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• Understory
• Dark, relatively open and contains young trees
  and leafy herbaceous plants that tolerate low
  light.
• Forest Floor
• The forest floor receives less than 2 of the
  sunlight and consequently, little grows here
  except plants adapted to very low light. On the
  floor is a thin layer of fallen leaves, seeds,
  fruits and branches that very quickly decomposes.
  
• Only a thin layer of decaying organic matter is
  found, unlike temperate forests.

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• Tress buttressed at the base
• Leaves large
• Thousands of species but individual species
  spaced widely apart
• Nutrients are in the biomass not the soil

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• Nutrient Recycling Constant warmth and moisture
  promote rapid decay of organic matter. When a
  tree dies in the rain forest, living organisms
  quickly absorb the nutrients before they have a
  chance to be washed away.
• When tropical forests are cut and burned, heavy
  rains can quickly wash the released nutrients
  away, leaving the soil even more impoverished.

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• Vegetation protects the soil.
• Through the nutrient cycle, vegetation helps to
  maintain the soil fertility
• When it rains, nutrient entre the soil
• Plant roots quickly absorb the dissolved
  nutrients
• Small organism eat leaves and litter

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• The rain forests are home to half of the Earth's
  plant and animal species.
• They are winter homes to many birds that breed in
  temperate latitudes.
• home to tribal cultures that have survived
• The forests are a potential source of medicinal
  plants that may benefit everyone on Earth.
• Tropical rain forests help maintain global rain
  and weather patterns.

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• The rainforest contains more than half of Earth's
  plant and animal species, even though rain
  forests cover only about 6 of the earth's
  surface.
• The average humidity in the rainforest is high,
  ranging from 77 to 88. The average temperature
  is at least 28 to 35 degrees.

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Tropical Monsoon

• Less precipitation and dry season
• Lush vegetation but more open and lose leaves in
  the dry season
• Growth not as great and fewer species
• Mesotherms adjust to moderate heat

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• Many lianas (woody vines) and herbaceous
  epiphytes (air plants, such as orchids are
  present.
• Monsoon forests are especially well developed in
  Southeast Asia and are typified by tall teak
  trees and thickets of bamboo.

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Tropical Savannah

• Grasses
• Parkland
• Wet/dry seasons

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Tundra

• Long cold winters and short summers
• Permafrost

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• Cold climate leads to short growing season
• Soil is poor in nutrients
• An under-layer of soil called permafrost remains
  completely frozen at all times allows no room for
  deep rooting plants and trees. This also
  prevents water from percolating into the ground
  and as a result, bogs, ponds and small lakes
  cover the landscape providing a perfect breeding
  ground for mosquitoes and other insects.
• This abundant food brings many waterfowl to
  nesting grounds in the tundra.

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• Plants are extremely resilient with short,
  shallow roots close to the surface,adapt to wet
  soil in the short summer
• Plant life consists of shrubbery, lichen, and
  moss. No trees!

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Taiga, Boreal Forest

• Taiga is also know as Coniferous or Boreal
  Forest.
• Largest terrestrial biome on earth which includes
  a variety of climate conditions, from moderate to
  severe.
• Generally, winters are long and cold, and
  summers are mild and short.

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• Precipitation is moderate (20 to 60 cm) and
  evaporation is low.
• Soils are thin, nutrient poor and acidic
• Trees adapt by producing a dense network of
  shallow roots, grow small needle shaped, wax
  coated leaves, shed their needles

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• In the summer the soil is often waterlogged,
  forming acidic bogs (muskegs)
• Dominated by black spruce, fir, pine, poplar, and
  aspen.

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Temperate Rainforest

• Temperate rainforests are among the rarest
  ecosystems in the world, and originally comprised
  less than .02 per cent of Earth's land surface.
• Approximately half of all original temperate
  rainforests have been logged.
• Also called Coniferous Evergreen Forest

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• temperate rainforests are found in the middle
  latitudes. Where milder climates prevail,
  deciduous tree species dominate, while coniferous
  tree species prevail where colder winters occur.
• Favorable growing conditions - a moderate
  climate, minimal changes in the seasons, and
  ample rainfall - allow trees to grow all year in
  temperate rainforests. Trees are often enormous..
  For example, in Washington State's Olympic
  Peninsula, a 127-metre (420 foot) Douglas fir was
  chopped down in 1895. Redwoods dominated
  California's temperate rainforests, and this fir
  tree was taller than a modern-day Redwood by 18
  metres (60 feet). Sitka spruce, cedar and
  hemlock, fir are typical trees found in this
  biome.

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• Coastal temperate rainforests have four defining
  characteristics a proximity to oceans, presence
  of coastal mountains, cooler summer temperatures
  and high rainfall levels
• One of the most fascinating aspects of the
  coastal temperate rainforest is the blurred
  boundary between terrestrial and marine
  ecosystems.
• These forests have abundant epiphytes (plants
  that live on other plants) and they have a dense
  shrubby understory, even the surfaces of trees
  support other plants and lichens.
• Conifers have adapted to poor,acidic soil by
  developing a root systems which picks up
  nourishment from the top soil layer
• Trees cone shape with thin flexible branches so
  snow will fall off easily and strong winds will
  not break branches.
• Cones protect seeds from cold winter weather and
  waxy needles minimize water loss through
  transpiration in the summer.

• Problems
• Clear Cutting
• Logging
• Salmon at risk
• Species depletion

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Temperate Deciduous Forest
Found in the mid-latitudes Characteristics of
this biome influenced by patterns of temperature
and precipitation. There are four definite
seasons.
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• During the fall, trees change color and
  then lose their leaves. This is in preparation
  for the winter season which is cold. Trees have
  adapted to the winter by going into a period of
  dormancy or sleep. They also have thick bark to
  protect them from the cold weather. Trees flower
  and grow during the spring and summer growing
  season. Many different kinds of trees, shrubs,
  and herbs grow in deciduous forests. Most of the
  trees are broadleaf trees such as oak, maple,
  beech, hickory,aspen and chestnut. There are also
  several different kinds of plants like mountain
  laurel, azaleas and mosses that live on the shady
  forest floor where only small amounts of sunlight
  get through.  
• Leaf litter adds nutrients to the soil
  annually and enjoyed by the bugs.

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Mid-Latitude GrasslandSteppe, Prairie

• Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of
  grasses, flowers and herbs.
• Latitude, soil and local climates for the most
  part determine what kinds of plants grow in a
  particular grassland.

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• A grassland is a region where the average annual
  precipitation is great enough to support grasses,
  and in some areas a few trees. The precipitation
  is so erratic that drought and fire prevent
  large forests from growing. Grasses can survive
  fires because they grow from the bottom instead
  of the top. Their stems can grow again after
  being burned off.
• Grasses can be tall (1.5m) or short. Species
  distribution depends on moisture availability and
  heat.

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Mediterranean, Schlerophyll

• This subtropical Mediterranean biome is composed
  of small scattered trees (often less than 3m
  high),thorny bushes and shrubs.
• Also called the Maquis in Europe or Chaparral in
  California.
• Cactus and other water storing plants do well in
  this environment. The cacti often form dense
  thickets.
• The climate in this area is unique with the wet
  season occurring in winter and summer drought
  (annual rainfall of 15-40 inches)

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Olive
Broom
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• Most of the plant growth is leafy, leathery and
  relatively short. It is important for plants to
  be drought resistant, to survive the short wet
  winters and long dry summers. Plants often have
  deep roots to tap water, but also help stabilize
  the soil during the brief rainy season.
• The geography of this region begins at the
  seashore and extends through rolling farmlands,
  with grazing and cultivation, into the mountains
• Fire is a major factor in the dynamics of this
  plant community, and plants are adapted to fire,
  ie. Crown-sprouting shrubs,and annual
  fire-followers. Important as fire thins out the
  vegetation. Extreme heat needed to develop some
  varieties of seeds.

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Deserts

• Deserts cover about 1/5 of the planet
• Deserts found in most latitudes
• Evaporation exceeds precipitation, often rain
  evaporates before it hits the ground

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Desert Adaptations

• Soil coarse, sandy
• Vegetation limited but specialized
• Plants are short, spaced widely apart, leaves are
  small, roots can be long (tap root)

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• Some xerophytic plants have extensive root
  systems to capture moisture in the soil.
• Others have waxy leaves or fleshy tissues to
  store moisture. Enlarged green stems like those
  found on cacti take over the function of leaves
  in photosynthesis.
• Some desert vegetation may shed parts of branches
  during extreme drought.
• Thorns for protection