05

Biome Lab

BIOME

• A biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment.

• The climate and geography of a region determines what type of biome can exist in that region.

    tundra

grassland

taiga

chaparral

desert scrub

desert

deciduous forest

savannah

rainforest

alpine

Biomes of the World

Environmental Diversity

Extremely wide range of habitats

temperaturemoisturesoilsvegetation

Environmental Diversity

Cold & Dry

Cool & Dry

Warm & Wet

Hot & WetHot & Very Dry

Warm & Very Dry

Warm & Dry trades

inversion

Hawaii's Primary Terrestrial Biomes

• Coastal Strand• Deserts• Dry woodlands• Subalpine grassland/shrubland• Tropical rainforest• Alpine deserts• Mesic forests

Factors determining Biome formation in Hawaii

1. Climate2. Substrate 3. Elevation

Ko’olau

tradewinds

Hawaii’s biomes are classified based on its:

• elevation• moisture regime• dominant life forms• vegetation structure

Hawaii’s five elevation zones:

• Coastal 0-30 m• Lowland 30-1000 m • Montane 1000-2000 m• Subalpine 2000-3000 m• Alpine > 3000 m

Moisture ClassificationFor each elevation zone, three general moisturecategories are recognized:

 • Dry - < 120 cm/yr (47in)

• Mesic - 121-249 cm/yr (46-97 in)

• Wet - > 250 cm/yr (98in)

Vegetative Structures• Forest dense canopy has 60-100% coverage• Woodland is more open, with 10-60% canopy• Shrubland are distinguished by shrubs > 1m high• Dwarf shrublands have a canopy height of 1 m or

less• Herblands are composed of small, nonwoody plants• Deserts receive less than 25 cm/yr of precipitation

and are sparsely vegetated

Answer questions

Due next week

Activity 1: General description of OahuActivity 2: Precipitation on OahuActivity 3: Ecological systems