2.05 Biomes!!!

You need to know the Tundra, Desert, Temperate Deciduous

Forest, Rain Forest, Grasslands and the Water Biomes

Forests:

1. Places where there is enough rain and right temperatures to support trees

2. Types of forest depend on rainfall and temperature:

a. Temperate Deciduous Forest

b. Coniferous Forest (Taiga)

c. Tropical Rain Forest

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- Biomes

Temperate (Deciduous) Forest of North America

1. Average Precipitation: 75 cm to 150 cm yearly

2 usually 4 seasons a year with temperature differences (TEMPERATE)

Deciduous Forest Plants

Deciduous = losing leaves, becoming dormantMost plants in the

deciduous forest lose their leaves in the fall. Some drop seeds that start a new life in the spring and others remain dormant underground until the new year begins.

Oak trees, pine trees, dogwood

Deciduous Forest Animals

Animals within this biome must adapt to cool winters and do so by hibernating, migrating, or by staying active.

Goshawk

Raccoon

Spring Peeper White-tailed deer

Grey Squirrel

1. Lots of Precipitation: 200 cm to 500 cm each year

2. Temperatures are warm and stable – very HUMID!

3. Lots of species of plants and animalsa. Plants: Vines, orchids, moss, ferns,

trees b. Animals: 150 different types of

butterflies, snakes, Lizards, salamanders, monkeys, Bats, Jaguars, Birds

Tropical Rainforest Plants

Rainforest Plants have adaptations that help them to catch water. They grow fast and usually have a large root system to help the plant trap nutrients from the soil.

They grow fast, have large leaves to catch sunlight.

Tropical Rainforest Animals

Located near the equator, animals are usually colorful which can mean ‘DANGER’. They hold over half of the world’s known species!

Orangutan

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/label/desert/

Deserts of America

1. Dry – not a lot of rain – less than 25 cm per yeara. Because there is little water, plants are spread widely

apart and the ground is mostly bare

2. Hot during day, cold during nights

3. Poor soil

4. Few large animals are found because there is not enough food or water to support them.

Plants in the desert have thorny spines that help defend them, fleshy stems to store water, and have a large root base to collect water successfully.

Desert Plants - Adaptations

Desert Animals

Desert Animals have special adaptations to deal with the lack of rainfall for this biome. Many are NOCTURNAL and they only come out at night to hunt and eat when it’s cooler. Some animals don’t even drink water! They get their water from seeds or plants.

Cactus Wren

Lappet-faced Vulture

Sidewinder Thorny Devil

Desert Scorpion

- Biomes

1. Is located near the polar regions

2. Cold, dry, treeless region and is covered with ice most of the year

3. Winters are 6 to 9 months long

4. Precipitation ~ less then 25cm a yeara. Just like a desert – a COLD desert

5. Ground covered with a layer of permanently frozen soil = permafrost

6. Plants:– lichens (reindeer moss) , True mosses,

Grasses, Small shrubs

7. Animals - in the summer – Mosquitoes– Birds (Geese, ducks, snowy owls)– Mice, voles, lemmings, artic hares, caribou,

musk oxen

8. Adaptations:a. Thick fur, blubber, camafloauge

b. Mosquitos with anti-freeze in body

c. Most plants have dense shallow roots to conserve water

- Biomes

1. There are grasslands on almost every continent

2. Precipitation: 25 cm to 75 cm yearlya. They have a dry season with little to no rain

b. This prevents larger plant from growing here

3. Main plant is grass

4. Plants: Grass such as:– Wheat, Oats, Barley, Corn – Grasses have extensive root systems that can

absorb water when it rains and can withstand drought during long dry spells

5. Animals– Kangaroos, Wildebeests, Zebras, Prairie Dogs– They eat the stems, leaves, and seeds of

grass plants

Fresh water biomes

1. Not salty water

2. Very important resources - drinking water

3. Examples: lakes, rivers, stream, wetlands

4. Lots of animals and plants: sea weed, lilies, turtles, fish, birds, amphibians

Salt water Biomes

1. Very high salt content

2. Very important resource – food, water

3. Examples – oceans, seas, bays, estuaries

4. Lots of animals/plants: sea weed, algae, kelp, sharks, fish, turtles, snakes, dolphins, mammals, birds