The Biosphere

Earth's Diverse EnvironmentsC.Hill

10/26/2009

Tropical Rain Forest

• Rain is abundant• Poor soil• Large trees• Closed canopy

Tropical Rain Forest

• Found in very humid equatorial areas such as:o Indonesiao Amazon River basin

Savanna

• Dominated by grasses and scattered trees

• Frequent fires• Rapid growing grass, good food

source

Savanna

• tropics in central South America • central and South Africa; home to

giraffes, zebras, antelopes, baboons, lions, and cheetahs.

Deserts

• Sparse rainfall• Rapid evaporation• No perennial vegetation• Scattered shrubs and cacti

Deserts

• Desert plants and animals adapt to drought and extreme temperatures

• Only active during cooler nights• Conserve water and seed-eaters

such as: ants, birds, rodents, lizards, snakes and hawks

Chaparral

• Dense, spiny shrubs• Tough evergreen leaves• Mild, rainy winters• Long, hot, dry summers

Chaparral

• Require occasional fires for long-term maintenance

• Plants regenerate quickly• Animal browsers such as: deer,

fruit-eating birds, seed-eating rodents, lizards, and snakes

Temperate Grasslands

• Mostly treeless• Relatively cold winter

temperatures• Seasonal drought• Fires• Large mammal grazing

Temperate Grasslands

• pampas in Argentina and Uruguay• steppes in Asia• prairies in North America though

little remain due to intensive farming and agriculture.

Temperate Deciduous Forests

• Sufficient moisture• Large trees• Oak, Hickory, Beech, and Maple  • Experience each season

Temperate Deciduous Forests

• Dominates most of the eastern United States

• Soil rich in inorganic and organic nutrients

• Support speices such as: arthropods, birds, small mammals, bobcats, foxes, black bears, and mountain lions

Coniferous Forests

• Cone-bearers• Spruce, Pine, Fir, and Hemlock• Harsh winters, short summers• Thin, acidic soil

Coniferous Forests

Taiga, the most extensive, stretchs across North America and Eurasia reaching the southern border of the artic tundra.

Alpine Tundra

• Found in Andes Mountains in Ecuador

• Elevation high enough to produce very cold climate

Arctic Tundra

• Permafrost, continuously frozen ground

• Large mammals with good insulation that include: musk oxen and caribou

• Smaller animals include: lemmings, arctic fox, and snowy owl.

 

Tundra

•Northernmost limits of plant growth•High altitudes•Little precipitation•Extremely cold winter air temperature•Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia

Biomes

 • The major terrestrial ecosystems are called Biomes• Cover the land surface of the Earth

Biosphere

Solar energy

Water

Temperature

Wind        Physical and chemical factors that influence                                      life in the biosphere