What is a biome

1
What is a biome?

• Biome- a large region characterized by a specific
  type of climate and certain types of plants and
  animal populations
• Vegetation- plants living in an area
• Biomes are described by vegetation b/c the plants
  determine what animals live there
• Animals plants are adapted to their biomes
• adaptations- specialized structures that help to
  survive
• Adaptations include size, color, shape
• Ex plants in tundra are usually short b/c they
  dont get enough water to grow tall
• Desert plants do not have leaves, so that they
  can save water

2

• Climate- weather conditions in an area over a
  long period of time (temperature, precipitation,
  humidity, winds)
• 2 most important conditions that determine
  climate are temperature and precipitation
• Animals plants usually have a particular temp.
  range in which they can survive
• Precipitation or water amounts determine the
  types of living things
• More water bigger living things and more living
  things
• Less water smaller and fewer living things
• Where are plants the shortest and fewest?

3

• Latitude and Altitude
• Latitude- the distance north or south of the
  equator
• Measured in degrees
• Altitude- the height of an object above sea level
• Measured in miles feet
• Climate depends on the latitude altitude
• As they increase, climate gets colder
• So vegetation will change as they increase or
  decrease
• Near the equator, you have tropical rain forests
• Farthest away from the equator, you have mosses
  in the tundras
• most of the worlds food grows in the temperate
  forests grasslands
• They have mild temperature water

4
Forest Biomes

• Forest biomes take up the largest area on earth
• Typically exist in areas with a lot of water
  mild to hot temperatures
• Need lots of water for large trees
• 3 main forest biomes
• Tropical rain, temperate, coniferous
• Tropical rain forests
• Located near the equator
• Always humid, warm, get about 200 to 450cm of
  rain/year
• Warm, wet weather allows a wide variety of plants
  animals
• More species than any other biome

5

• Layers of Rain forest
• Plants grow in 4 different layers in the rain
  forest, from top to bottom
• Emergent layer- top layer, consists of tallest
  trees about 60 to 70m tall
• Receive direct sunlight
• Eagles, bats, monkeys, snakes live here
• Upper canopy- below emergent layer, consists of
  trees about 30-40m tall
• Receives light, but less than emergent layer
• Epiphytes grow on these trees
• Epiphytes- plants that grow on the entire surface
  of another tree to get sunlight, absorb water
  nutrients that run down tree
• Lower canopy- below upper canopy, trees about 30m
  tall
• 95 of sunlight is absorbed by upper lower
  canopy together

6

• Understory- below canopy layers, only small trees
  shrubs (3.5m tall) grow here
• very little light reaches the understory
• Plants are adapted to the shade
• Herbs have large, flat leaves to capture little
  light
• Animal life diversity
• Rain forest biome has the most number of
  different species on earth
• This is called species diversity
• Species have unique adaptations to fit the rain
  forest
• Ex anteater, hornbill, mantis, orchid
• Threats to Rain Forests
• Rainforests used to cover 20 of earth
• Now only 7
• Each day, 100 acres of rainforest is cleared for
  logging, farming, or oil digging
• This causes habitat destruction- when land
  inhabited by an organism is destroyed or altered

7

• Habitat destruction threatens to make species go
  extinct
• Animals and plants are at risk
• 50 million native people live in rainforest too
• They will eventually lose their habitats will
  be forced to move to cities
• Trading
• Plants animals are also threatened by trading
• Many plants animals are caught and sent to be
  sold in stores around world
• Ex parrots caught are illegally captured and
  sold to exotic pet stores