BIOMES Report

BIOMES OF THE EARTH
According to BluePlanetBiomes,
“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. Major biomes include
deserts, forests, grasslands, tundra, and several types of aquatic environments.
Each biome consists of many ecosystems whose communities have adapted to the
small differences in climate and the environment inside the biome.”
Key Points
 The climate, including precipitation and temperature, and the geography
control the type of biome found in a region.
 There are two major classifications of biomes, which are land and aquatic,
and these include the types of biomes known as deserts, forests, grasslands,
savannas, tundra, and freshwater environments.
 A habitat is the location where a group of one type of organism (a population)
lives, while a biome is a community made of all the habitats in a given region
and climate.
 Different organisms inhabit different types of biomes.
 Each type of biome can be found in multiple locations on Earth depending on
its climate, geography, and organisms.
Land Biomes
1. Tundra Biome
The Tundra Biomes are the coldest of all the land biomes and are characterized
with very little biodiversity capacity. The lands in Tundra Biomes are widely
barren due to the very little rain and the freezing temperatures. The Tundra
Biomes cover about a fifth of the earth’s land cover and are categorized into
the Alpine Tundra and the Arctic Tundra. These regions are located towards
the poles of the earth that result in the very low temperatures. In the summer,
the temperatures range between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius and as low as negative
35 degrees Celsius in the winter. As a result, constantly melted permafrost and
frozen surface moisture are common. Plants and vegetation cover in Tundra
regions are short, very little, and grow near each other and are adapted to carry
out photosynthesis in the freezing conditions. Examples are the lichen, mosses,
and heaths. Animals include some birds, polar bears, arctic foxes, butterflies, and
mountain marmots.
The Arctic Tundra is situated around the north-pole in the northern hemisphere. In
the summer, the temperatures in Arctic Tundra range between 2 and 4 degrees
Celsius and as low as negative 35 degrees Celsius in the winter. Ponds and bogs are
also common in Artic Tundra. Examples of animals specific to this biome include
salmon, birds, and insects.
The Alpine Tundra regions are spread all over the earth in very cold locations,
particularly around mountain regions such as the Cascade Mountains in North
America. Often, the Alpine Tundra regions have very little vegetation cover and very
few trees. Most of the areas are icy throughout the year and the temperatures range
from negative 2 degrees Celsius and as low as negative 35 degrees Celsius. Animals
specific to this biome are a few birds, some insects, and mountain.
2. The Grassland Biome
Grassland biomes are the regions with extensive grass species or grass species with
a small number of sparsely distributed trees. Grassland biomes are further
categorized into the Temperate Grasslands and the Savanna Grasslands. Africa
hosts one of the largest Savanna Grasslands, which constitutes more than a third of
the continent’s land cover.
Other Savanna Grasslands are found in Australia, South America, and India.
Temperate grasslands are located some plains in Central North America and
Argentina. Grasslands are mainly grasslands because they constantly disturbed from
developing into forests due to climatic conditions (termed as climatic savannas),
animal and human activities such as vegetation consumption and farming (termed as
derived savannas), or the characteristics of the soils (termed as edaphic savannas).
In Savanna Grasslands, the temperatures and rainfall are moderate. Animal here
include the hyenas, lions, leopards, snakes, buffaloes, giraffes and insects. In
Temperate Grasslands, the temperatures are very high and freezing during summer
and winter respectively. Animals here include hare, hawks, mice, foxes, owls, and
spiders.
3. Chaparral or Shrubland Biome
Shrublands or chaparrals are biomes found in very few regions of the world including
around the Mediterranean Sea, parts of Australia, and mostly in southern California.
This biome majorly contains shrubs and is dry and hot in the summer and moist and
cool during the winter. Wildfire occurrences are very common in chaparral biomes
especially in the months of summer.
The frequent fires are necessary for the proper germination of plants and seeds.
Plants growing in these regions have to be drought resistant which includes needle-
like leaves, deep digging roots, and thick stems. These characteristics altogether are
adaption techniques enabling the plants to conserve water and energy during the
dry and hot periods. Examples of plants include the sage, shrubs, eucalyptus, oak,
and cacti. The animals in this biome include deer, snakes, lizards, or the koalas in
Australia. Cougars may also be found in chaparral biomes.

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BIOMES OF THE EARTH

2. The Grassland Biome

3. Chaparral or Shrubland Biome

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