Module

4
Visiting the Biomes of the Earth

By: Jezel Ann Banquil Depillo, LPT

Environmental Science Instructor
Intersemester 2020

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.biomemap/biomes/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_AfNcjlOgU
 TOPICS

• Terrestrial Biomes
• Aquatic Biomes
 Biomes
•  Biome – a complex biotic community characterized
by distinctive plant and animal species and
maintained under the climatic conditions of the
region, especially such a community that has
developed to climax. 1
•  Two main categories of biomes:
•  Terrestrial biomes are usually deHined by the type
of vegetation that is present. The major climatic
factors contributing to the vegetation types in these
biomes are temperature and precipitation.
•  Aquatic biomes are deHined by the type of water
they contain. 2
 Terrestrial Biomes

• Grassland
• Tundra
• Desert
• Taiga
• Tropical
• Deciduous
rainforest
forest
 Tundra
•  Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes.
•  It is noted for its frost-moulded landscapes,
extremely low temperatures, little precipitation,
poor nutrients, and short growing seasons. Dead
organic material functions as a nutrient pool.
•  Mountain goats, sheep, marmots, and birds live in
mountain—or alpine—tundra and feed on the low-
lying plants and insects.
•  Hardy Hlora like cushion plants survive in the
mountain zones by growing in rock depressions,
where it is warmer and they are sheltered from the
wind. 3

 Arctic Tundra

•  Located in the northern hemisphere,

encircling the north pole and extending
south to the coniferous forests of the taiga.
The arctic is known for its cold, desert-like
conditions.
•  Soil is formed slowly. A layer of
p e r m a n e n t l y f r o z e n s u b s o i l
called permafrost exists, consisting mostly
of gravel and Hiner material. 3
 Arctic Tundra
Northern Alaska

Caribou walking in a line in the winter in Northern Alaska

(Credit: David Gustine, USGS. Public domain.)
https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/caribou-winter-northern-alaska-2

 Alpine Tundra
•  Located on mountains throughout the world at high
altitude where trees cannot grow. The growing season
is approximately 180 days. The night time temperature
is usually below freezing. Unlike the arctic tundra, the
soil in the alpine is well drained.
•  It can be found at very high elevations on frozen
mountaintop regions. In North America, it occurs in
Mexico, U.S.A., Canada, and Alaska. In South America, it
is found in the Andes Mountains. It occupies the
Sweden, Russia, Norway, and Finland regions of
Europe. In Africa, it can be found in the Rift Mountains
(such as Mt. Kilimanjaro), and in Asia, it occurs in the
Himalayan Mountain Ranges — which are located in
Southern Asia, and in Mt. Fuji, in Japan. 3
 Alpine Tundra
Mt. Rainier National Park,
Washington

https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/nature/climatechange.htm
 Taiga
•  Taiga, also known as coniferous or boreal forest, is
the largest terrestrial biome on earth. The subarctic is
an area of the Northern Hemisphere that lies just
south of the Arctic Circle.
•  Compared to other biomes, the taiga has less diversity
in plant life. The most common type of tree found in
the taiga is the conifer, or cone-bearing tree. Conifers,
also known as evergreens, include pines, spruces and
Hirs.
•  Animal populations are mainly seed-eating squirrels
and jays; small mammals like ermine and moles; and
larger browsing animals such as deer, moose, elk, and
snowshoe hare.
 Canada’s
Banff National Park

Wild elk in boreal forest, Banff National Park (Ferenc Cegledi, iStockphoto)
 Temperate Deciduous Forest
•  Temperate deciduous forest – a biome that has
many deciduous trees which drop their leaves in the
fall. These forests are also known as broad-leaf forests
because the trees have wide, Hlat leaves. These biomes
are exposed to warm and cold air masses, causing them
to have four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall.
As winter approaches and daylight decreases, the
production of chlorophyll in the leaves slows and
eventually stops, revealing the bright red, yellow and
orange colors we associate with fall.
•  The Earth’s temperate deciduous (broadleaf) forests
are the areas shown in bright green in the map below.
They are located in the eastern United States, China,
Japan, Canada and Europe. 4
 Korea’s Ginkgo Trees

http://www.rainforest-facts.com/temperate-deciduous-forest.html
 Grasslands
•  Grassland - area in which the vegetation is
dominated by a nearly continuous cover
of grasses.
•  Grasslands occur in environments conducive to
the growth of this plant cover but not to that of
taller plants, particularly trees and shrubs. The
factors preventing establishment of such taller,
woody vegetation are varied. 5
•  Location: the prairies of the Great Plains of North
America, the pampas of South America, the veldt
of South Africa, the steppes of Central Eurasia,
and surrounding the deserts in Australia 6

 Africa’s Savanna

https://www.tes.com/lessons/Lfc4ulPIOvlzYQ/8-5-grasslands-habitat
 Deserts
•  Deserts cover about one Hifth of the Earth's surface and occur
where rainfall is less than 50 cm/year. Although most
deserts, such as the Sahara of North Africa and the deserts of
the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Australia, occur at low
latitudes, another kind of desert, cold deserts, occur in the
basin and range area of Utah and Nevada and in parts of
western Asia.
•  Most deserts have a considerable amount of specialized
vegetation, as well as specialized vertebrate and invertebrate
animals.
•  Soils often have abundant nutrients because they need only
water to become very productive and have little or no organic
matter. Disturbances are common in the form of occasional
Hires or cold weather, and sudden, infrequent, but intense
rains that cause Hlooding. 7


h#ps://nhpbs.org/natureworks/nwep8f.htm
 Tropical Rainforest
•  The tropical rainforest – hot, moist biome found near
Earth's equator. The world's largest tropical
rainforests are in South America, Africa, and Southeast
Asia.
•  Tropical rainforests receive from 60 to 160 inches of
precipitation that is fairly evenly distributed
throughout the year.
•  The combination of constant warmth and abundant
moisture makes the tropical rainforest a suitable
environment for many plants and animals. Tropical
rainforests contain the greatest biodiversity in the
world. Over 15 million species of plants and animals
live within this biome. 8
h#ps://sports.yahoo.com/incredible-tropical-rainforest-plants-see-113102400.html
 Aquatic Biomes

• Marine biome
• Freshwater biome
• Estuaries
 Marine Biome

•  The marine biome is the biggest biome in

the world! It covers about 70% of the earth.
•  It includes Hive main oceans: the PaciHic,
Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern, as
well as many smaller Gulfs and Bays.
•  Marine regions are usually very salty! There
is about one cup of salt per gallon of water
in the ocean. 9

h#ps://deepoceanfacts.com/threats-to-marine-biome
 Freshwater Biome
•  Freshwater is deHined as having a low salt
concentration — usually less than 1%.
•  A freshwater biome consists of any body of water that
is made of freshwater, such as lakes, ponds, streams
and rivers.
•  Many plants and animals in freshwater regions are
well-adapted to the low salt content and would most
likely not be able to survive in areas of high salt
concentration.
•  Most freshwater biomes consists of moving water and
various types of Hishes. Many different species of Hish
live in freshwater, such as, bass, salmon and trout. 10
h#ps://jennycontreras.weebly.com/freshwater.html
 Estuaries
•  The Estuary – where fresh and saltwater
mix.
•  Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands
are bodies of water usually found where
rivers meet the sea.
•  Estuaries are home to unique plant and
animal communities that have adapted to
brackish water—a mixture of fresh water
draining from the land and salty seawater.
11
h#ps://www.delmarvapublicradio.net/post/coastal-wetlands-health-improving-epa-says
 References
•  1. h#ps://www.dicDonary.com/browse/biome
•  2.
h#ps://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-biome-definiDon-types-
quiz.html
•  3. h#ps://ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/tundra.php#arcDc
•  4. h#ps://biologydicDonary.net/temperate-deciduous-forest/
•  5. h#ps://www.britannica.com/science/grassland
•  6.
h#ps://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/experiments/biome/biograssland.php
•  7. h#ps://ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/deserts.php
•  8. h#p://www.coM.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/rforest.html
•  9. h#p://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/marine.html
•  10. h#ps://jennycontreras.weebly.com/freshwater.html
•  11. h#ps://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/estuary.html