Biomes

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Biomes
A BIOME is the largest geographic biotic unit, a
major community of plants and animals with
similar life forms and environmental conditions.
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Terrestrial biomes

• Temperature and rainfall are the major limiting
  factors that determine the type of biological
  community found in a given area
• A limiting factor will influence what type of
  organisms can survive in an environment

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Terrestrial biomes

• Latitude Typically, the farther you move north
  or south of the equator, the colder the
  temperature gets.
• Altitude The higher you go in elevation, the
  colder the temperature gets.
• Biomes usually found at cold latitudes far from
  the equator are sometimes also found on high
  mountains at low latitudes. Typically, a climb of
  100 feet in elevation is equivalent to traveling
  600 miles northward.

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Vocabulary

• Flora Plant life, vegetation (incl. Fungi)
• Fauna Animal life

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Tundra

• Very cold winters and brief growing seasons
• Permafrost permanently frozen subsoil
• Flora ? lichens, mosses, grasses
• Fauna ? insects, migratory birds, large migratory
  animals

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Taiga

• Long, cold winters but longer growing seasons
• Flora ? coniferous forests
• Pine trees, spruce trees, fir trees
• Fauna ? large variety of small mammals, moose and
  black bear

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Temperate deciduous forest

• Mild winters and long growing seasons
• Flora ? angiosperms
• Trees lose leaves in the fall
• Oak, maple, elm trees
• Fauna ? large diversity of small mammals
• Grey squirrel, fox, deer

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Tropical rain forest

• Warm all year
• Receives 100-400 inches of rain per year
• Flora ? many varieties of broad-leaved plants,
  bamboo, ferns
• Fauna ? many animal species, monkeys, snakes,
  leopard

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Grassland

• Less than 20 inches of rain per year
• Flora ? annual plants and grasses
• Fauna ? deer, antelope, small mammals, prairie
  dogs

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Desert

• Less than 10 inches of rain per year
• Flora ? succulents, cactus and aloe
• Fauna ? birds, reptiles, insects

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