Koppen Climate System a. The characteristics that are used to distinguish between categories are the temperature of the area and how much precipitation falls on average. b. Climate zones are very closely related to global biomes, but don’t always entirely overlap. They’re closely related because they’re “designed to overlap with distinct Vegetative Regions of the world.” It’s also due to the fact that weather plays a huge part in whether or not plants can survive in a certain area, like cacti in deserts. c. The 6 major climate zones are: Humid Tropical, Humid Mesothermal, Humid Microthermal, Polar, Desert/Arid, and Highlands. i. We find …show more content…
Desert: Desert. Semi-Arid Steppe: Mid-latitude Grassland. Mediterranean: Mediterranean Woodland/Shrubland. Continental: Mid-latitude Forest. Subarctic: Boreal Forest. Tundra: Tundra. Ice sheets: Polar Ice Sheets. 5). Biomes a. Biomes are essentially ecosystems but on a larger scale (since climates are only based off of two thing, temp and precipitation, and biomes are based off of vegetation, which there are more than a billion different types). They’re different from ecosystems because an ecosystem is based around the “organisms and their physical environment” as well as the interactions between the two. Whereas biomes are determined by the plants growing in the environment. b. Biomes are based mainly off the plants because animals migrate to and away from areas, whereas the plants stay put; creating a more accurate representation of the type of environment. c. Productivity is the rate that organisms can reproduce, or how much new growth an area experiences on average. …show more content…
Midlatitude forest: broad leafed deciduous trees and can be very dense. Boreal forest: mainly conifer trees, mosses, lichens, and very wet ground. Tundra: since there’s not enough light for trees to grow only moss and lichens can survive. Polar: no vegetation at all. The vegetation in these areas have to adapt to the amount of sunlight that shines down, how much precipitation the area experiences, the changes in temperature, and natural disasters (tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, fires, floods, etc.…). iii. I am 95% confident that I can identify the biomes on a geographic map. iv. I am 99% confident that I can identify the biomes on a graph of precipitation vs. temperature. v. Some of the major changes that are occurring are a decline in the number of species present, even to the extent of the extinction of a species. Another major change is the aspect of global warming, which is warming the earth, leading to some areas becoming desert like. Deforestation, desertification, and the release of greenhouse gases are just some of the
What is a biome? Biomes are major life zones characterized by vegetation type or by the physical environment. Climate plays a role in determining the nature and location of Earth’s biomes. Texas has 10 different ecosystems with lots of diversity. Minnesota has 4 different ecosystems which are also quite diverse. Regardless of the size of the biomes or the number of biomes in each state, they are all important not just to the locate environment but on a global level because of the life they support. We are going to take a look at the different biomes, comparing climate and rainfall, as well as vegetation fauna.
Plants in the Taiga are important because the majority of the land is dense conifers. In the Taiga there are acres sometimes miles of the exact species of plant. Plants adapt to the climate so not all plants can thrive or survive so there is not a huge variety of plants. Spruce, fir and hemlock are the most abundant trees in the Taiga and some deciduous trees include poplar, birch and aspen. Evergreens have special adaptations in their shape that help support them when it snows. Tamaracks are one of a few trees other than evergreens that do lose their leaves and lives in the Taiga.
Another biome in the park is their temperate forest. Temperate forests have high humidity, high levels of precipitation, and variety of trees are also included. Freshwater biomes surround the park as well.
The tundra artic plains completely covering most of the earth’s lands north of the coniferous forest belt. The tundra’s ecosystem is very sensitive. It doesn’t have a good ability to restore itself. Controlled by sedge, heath, willow, moss, and lichen. Plains that are pretty much alike, called alpine tundra, occur above the timberline in the high mountains of the world. Even the Antarctic area has a couple of its own arctic regions itself.
Temperate grassland biomes can be found in North America, Africa, the pampas of South America and many parts of Eurasia. Grass is the main plant in Temperate Grassland biomes, trees and shrubs are rare to see in this type of biome. Temperate grasslands also have an extremely high abundance of wildlife. The wildlife living in this biome includes bison and pronghorn sheep, but mainly the animals most affected were the cattle and horses that lived on the surrounding farms.
The plants we grow for food needs specific resources to thrive, which includes the night temperature and enough water. A changing climate could create a lot of problems. Climate change could make it too hot and also make it too cold to grow crops in some areas of the world and also climate change can cause drought, which is made by the unavailability of water for irrigation. Climate change is likely to cause stronger storms and more floods, which will damage the crops. . Latin America and Southern Asia is seeing it in lethal storms and floods whereas Europeans are experiencing it in melting glaciers, forest fires and disastrous heat waves (Pearce, 2006). Deforestation is another anthropogenic factor that is causing climate change because of the need for fossil fuel, agricultural lands are being used. Forests are being burnt down by humans on a daily basis. As agricultural lands becomes less in need of growing population, people extend their space by cutting and clearing forest. The land beneath the forest sometimes tends to be unproductive and lacks the natural chemicals for a growing. The plantation will serve as a source of food for a few years after then the land becomes useless because of its infertility, it nutrients get depleted and used up. Deforestation results in numerous problems such as destruction of our natural resources, ecosystem, wildlife,
are mainly based in plains and lowlands of some kind. The Low Arctic Tundra is
Rainforest can be very moist, hot, and humid due to all of the rainfall. The average rainfall is
These changes include changes such as the atmosphere and the ocean becoming warmer, decreasing amounts of snow and ice, increase in the sea level and increase in the levels of greenhouse gases.
The major biomes are the tundra, taiga, tropical rain forest, temperate forests, desert, grassland, savanna, chaparral, and marine. Each biome has it’s own characteristics, such as the tundra. The tundra is a biome that is located in the Northern Hemisphere of the world. It circles the North Pole and reaches down to the Taiga. The tundra has a very cold and harsh climate, especially in the winters.
in a habitat, changes in climate, the development or destruction of a mountain range, river
Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes. Tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia, meaning treeless plain. It is noted for its frost-molded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing seasons. Dead organic material functions as a nutrient pool. The two major nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen is created by biological fixation, and phosphorus is created by precipitation. Tundra is separated into two types: arctic tundra and alpine tundra.
Climate change is manifested in; variations in minimum and maximum temperature, frequent and extensive droughts, high intensity rainfalls and floods, seasonal and regional pest and disease prevalence leading to conflicts for pasture and water resources, high food insecurity; encroachment into
Biodiversity refers to wide diversity found in the living components of the earth which refers to the numerous varieties of flora and fauna including those of microorganisms too. The interaction of biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem is very important aspect of life on earth. Biodiversity helps us to understand the variations among species and also how life originated on earth. Its study helps us to understand the inter-relationship between various forms of life and their adaptation to different conditions.