Things to Note 1

BIOME
These are large ecosystems characterized by similar vegetation, animals and climate. The
non living factors such as light intensity, wind, soil quality, amount of rainfall, temperature and
nutrient determine what plant and animal determine the zone. There are several terrestrial and
two aquatic ecosystems; freshwater and marine ecosystems while scientists do not agree on
the number of land based biomes, the six most widely accepted biomes are tundra, taiga,
grasslands, deciduous forest, desert and tropical rain forest.

TUNDRA
This is the biome with the coldest climate, sparns a huge portion of land just below the poles
and in high mountains environment at other altitude. It generally receives 10 - 40cm of
precipitation annually. (Mostly snow), with long severe winter and brief summers. At its
warmest temperature, the ground only thaws about 1m and below is a permanently frozen
ground called Permafrost. The most typical plants are mosses, lichens and other small plants
that can survive extreme cold. Polar bears, musk-oxen, reindeer, arctic foxes, arctic hares,
lemmings, seals and penguin (their various spps)

TAIGA
These are also known as BOREAL forest. They cover the upper portion of europe, Russia, and
north America and part of South America. Boreal forest experience lengthy snowy cold
winters and short mild summer with 20 -60cm of rainfall per year. Cone-bearing ever
green trees dominate the land scape but spongy bogs also distinguish taigas. Various
types of Large deers, particularly elk and wapiti dominate this biome but lyns, wolves,
porcupines wolverines, hares and several species of bears also frequent these areas.

DECIDUOUS FOREST
These are marked by deciduous trees i.e. trees that shed their leaves annually. The or
temperate forest biome encompasses the eastern half of north America from Southern
Ontario and Quebec to Northern Florida, most of Eastern hemisphere, in parts of
southern Australia, New Zea-lands, South Africa and South America, similar broad leaf
trees have adapted to different rainfall pattern both drier and wetter. It receives 60cm - 100cm of
precipitation each year and winters are long but not as harsh as the boreal forest. Animal life is
varied and includes ground squirrels, foxes, bear, mice, snakes, rabbits, lizards and deer.

GRASS LAND
They comprise the largest of the several biomes in north America, covering much of the central
part of the continents and covers large areas of eastern and southern Africa, south America and
central America, and a vast area of central Asia. Rainfall ranges from 10-60cm annually.
Large portions of north America grass lands are now planted with oats, wheat, barley, and
maize. Grass lands in north America which used to be dominated by Bisons, now contains
prairie dogs, coyotes, and badgers, while those in central Asia supports wild horses, savannah
are a type of grassland in tropical or sub tropical areas such as the serengetic plain of east
Africa which support buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, antelopes, elephants, lions and cheetahs.
TROPICAL RAIN-FOREST
This is characterized by rapid plant growth, thick forest canopy, a profusion of flowery trees and
a huge diversity of animal species and occurs in equatorial areas where more than 500cm of
rainfall per year. A multitude of insects and other invertebrate thrives along with birds,
monkeys, snakes and lizards.

DESERT
This is the hottest and driest biome receiving less than 25cm of rain annually. There are
deserts in North America and South America, Asia, Australia and Africa. Plants are well adapted
to the dry conditions, mesquites and creosote bushes have long root system that tap water deep
in the ground, cactuses store water in stems and leaves while in Africa and Australia, the
Acacia flourishes. Insects, reptiles especially lizards, bird and small mammals reside in the
desert, mainly active only at night. An environment that is completely free of plant is called
a desert including regions too cold to support vegetation, i.e frigid desert, other definition
use the term to apply only to hot and temperate desert.

BIOMES IN NIGERIA
FOREST and SAVANNA of various types constitute the two broad types of vegetation in Nigeria
(Fig. 2). The forest communities which cover the southern parts of the country with mean
annual rainfall of over 1150 mm are made up of the following: (i) coastal; forest and mangroves,
found along the coastal creeks, estuaries and lagoon littoral; (ii) deltaic swamp forest with
fresh water occurs extensively in the Niger Delta and in the flood plains of the large
rivers (e.g. Ogun Forest Reserve); (iii) moist lowland forest, but presently high forest, is
restricted to few forest reserves in Ondo and Benin areas and in the Cross River basin
along the border with Cameroon; and (iv) forest-savanna mosaic, characterized by the
“derived savanna” vegetation varying rapidly over short distances, where “low forest,
dense woodlands and thickets alternate with open tree and grass savannas”

Savannah Communities;
I) Guinea savannah: Largest Vegetation Zone in Nigeria, Middle belt
II) Montane Vegetation; Found around Jos as leguminous wooded savannah & in mambilla
plateau above 1450m
III) Sudan savannah; longer and severe dry season than Guinea zone
Iv) Sahel Savannah; Less than 500mm of rainfall,dry season upto 9mths
V)Flood plain complexes; Mixture of several vegetation types including riparian forest and
seasonally inundated tree grass and palm savannah regardless of latitude

***NIGERIA Straddles two distinct major regions:

1)The southern forest zone, occupying one-third of the country
2)The grasslands of savannah, occupying the remaining two-thirds
***Striking feature of the these two zones is their great variety of plant species found very useful
either locally or in the exchange economy, example; Wood,the chief product(also from
secondary forest & derived Savannah zones) lol

*The leaves of Pandanus spp, commonly used for making mats & baskets,
*Palm tree used for making brooms
*Raphia leaves; used for roof-thatching rafters & brooms
* Woody lianas; used in making ropes, scouring pads, twine & cordage

***Lumbar, root&tree-crop production prevalent in humid forest region,..... Sub humid Sudan
savannah belt to the north specializes in grain crop& cotton prod.
Onitcha-orlu & Nsukka-Okigwe;reduced fallow period,gully erosions are serious,......Wood
land of Nigeria/Benue; numerous flood plain used for cultivating the rice, millet, yam & sugar
canes,..... Palm grooves; covers several thousands of kilometers of south eastern part of
Nigeria,..... Groundnut belt;covers north-central Sudan zone, has sub-humid climate favouring
the Crop. To the south and east are cotton and tobacco growing areas,.....Cotton is grown on
heavy Zaria clay soils

GRASSLANDS/SAVANNAH;
Rainfall of 10-60cm per annum, types of plants found,5cm tall,..Types of animals found
snakes,hare,antelope.
Grass lands are terrestrial ecosystem dominated by nearly continuous cover of grasses. Not
friendly to the establishment of tall and woody plant. Key to the persistent grasslands is
repeated disturbance like seasonal flooding,periodic fires & grazing by large mammals.
Growing conditions here are only favourable for a short season.

Types;
Tame Grasslands,.. Tall Grass prire,.. Mixed Prire,.. Short grass planes,.. Desert grassland,...
Tropical(savannah) grassland[has more than two vegetation],... Cultured by humans,... Tall
grasses,... Combination of short and tall grass,.... Short grass,.... Grassland closest to the
desert,.... Grassland closest to the tropical

RAIN FOREST;
The largest tropical rainforest is found in Brazil. Rainforest are forest biomes located in
earth equatorial zone.Trees here ain't ever green, but they retain the color throughout the year
cos temp and ppt are high enough. There's diversity of plants and animals here. The trees
here make-up about half of the earth total forested area and contain more plant and animals
than any other biome
Tropical rainforest found in Brazil, central America, Central and southern Africa, south
east Asia, the west coast of India, the northern queens land in Australia. These forest
thought to cover about 1.6B hectres with 50-60% found naturally the remaining 40% as
plantations
 Overall it is high temperature and level of moisture that control the global distribution
of the rain forest. Mean monthly temperature range between 25°c and 35°c ppt measure about
100mm every month with no long dry period. In some areas, annual rainfall can be as high as
4000mm. Away from the equator a dry season can occur with increased temperatures that may
modify the structure of the rainforest As the length of the dry season increase the forest
eventually gives way to savannah ecosystems.

Features of rain Forest

The rainforest are distinctive in their variety of plant and animal complex ecosystem,..... They
are the most productive ecosystem in the world due to high level solar energy and water
available,... The forest may actually contain about 60% of plant on earth,with 90% of primate
spps. 40% of birds spp and 80% of all insects

Types; these types of rainforest as a result of variations in soils topography, lithology & moisture
availability
1)Equatorial Rainforest; The closed permanently green broad leaved Forest typical of
lowlands,... Most Luxuriant(Abundant in growth or detail) type of tropical forest cos it occurs
where there are no clear Seasons

2) Montane(Mountain) Forest; Occurs at higher elevations between 1000ft and 4920ft.

Temperature is lower due to increased altitude,biome less in comparison.

3) Monsoon Rainforest; Occurs in areas that experience monsoon climate(Tropical rainy

season when the rain lasts for several months with few interruptions),..There's marked seasonal
pattern of rainfall with a distinct dry season during which many tree spp loose their leaves.
Overall productive is high when rainfall returns intense period of growth occurs,..... Less
diverse than their equatorial counterpart,. Have a lower canopy.
4)Peat And Swamp Forest; Occurs primarily in south east Asia,,.... Found in lowland areas
where decomposition is limited by water logging,it can cause a considerable thickness of pest to
build up. These peat is an important global carbon store.

5) Mangrove Rainforest; They aren't regarded as rainforest but as swamp forest,... Dominated
by spp adapted to live in brackish water logged condition,... Plant spp diversity lower than
rainforest,but it provides breeding grounds for marine lives upon which coastal fishes depends.

STRUCTURE OF THE RAIN FOREST

*Success and climax; The forest canopy is in a continuous state of change with gaps
developing and closing as result of plant succession,... Succession is a cycle starting with
gaps phase through the seedling stage, ending with re establishment of a closed
canopy,... Gap in forest arise naturally either from the death of trees or earthquakes etc
*Vertical Layering; Typically the forest is stratified in 3/5 layers,....The tallest trees exceeds
45m(150ft) are known as Emergents,they umbrella shaped,have smaller leaves than those
found in lower layers,..... Beneath the emergent at about 30-40cm is the closed canopy,.... The
trees in this area retain their leaves through out the year, giving the evergreen
appearance,...The lower closed canopy occur at about 20cm,it's made up of juvenile
emergence & upper canopy spp,.....Less than 3% of solar radiation reach the forest floor

* Flora and Fauna; Structures that help tree grow more effectively,buttress root, wide
woody-wings at the base of the trunk, large leafs(commonly found where there's low/reduced
transpiration due to high humidity),....Forest mammals tend to be long lived and slow breeding
,..many endemic spp found in the rain Forest,..... Adaptation for living in high canopy include
flying, gliding, prehensile tad,.... Bats and tree frogs along with climbing spp like orangutan and
some primate spp occur higher,..... Animals that dwell on the forest floor,tiger,jaguars,snake,

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
,...... Of two types namely;

1) MARINE ECOSYSTEM; Two third of the earth covered by marine water,...The aquatic habitat
can be divided into the more productive coastal ecosystem (salt water, wetlands,
beaches,and dunes, estuaries lagoon,coral reefs) & open ocean

Types; Open oceans,.... Coastal ocean system

*Open oceans; Includes all Marine water through out the globe,beyond the continental shelf
including bentic/bottom environment,.....Nutrient conc is low as a result, contains small
percentage of marine organism

*Coastal Ecosystem; These extend from the rocks or san duns above the high tide mark on
land through out the relatively warm nutrient rich shallow neritic waters that cover the gently
sloping shallow edge of the continental shelf, Ecosystem in this division includes the following
estuaries, places fresh water regimes merge with saline waters of the ocean, coral reefs,
habitat found in the tropical or subtropical waters of the neritic zones, salt water
wetlands, such as bays, lagoons, salt flaks, mould flags, salt mashes, and in tropical waters
mangrove swamps and beaches and dunes.

2)Fresh water Ecosystem; includes lakes, ponds streams, rivers, freshwater wetlands with
water conc Less than 1%,..... Intimately connected to terrestrial ecosystem In which they found,
river for example help shape the land as they thread their water from head water to the sea,....
The environment influences the river ecosystem
Standing bodies of freshwater (lakes,ponds, freshwater wetlands) provides a diff habitat
unlike the moving stream water. All freshwater ecosystem are linked through the hydrologic
watercycle
Types of freshwater;
* Lakes and ponds
Lakes and ponds are bodies of standing water,... Excluding freshwater wetland,it can range
from small ponds to thousands of square kilometers largest lake,.... Occupy basins formed by
glaciers, volcanos, rivers, wind/chemical weathering,... About half of all inland water are in
deep permanent freshwater lakes

*Streams and Rivers; Bodies of river,Permanent/temporary and moves in one direction,..

Develop in the lowest topographic area of the landscape eroded and sculptured by water
flowing through it,... Well watered region (temperate & humid tropical areas) are characterized
by permanent streams and large permanent rivers whille in drier regions, temporary
streams are more common.

*Freshwater wetlands; Ecosystems that are neither wholly aquatic nor wholly terrestrial,but
exhibit both characteristics,.... Includes systems characterized by grasses, sedges & other
fresh water hydrophyte,.. include forested swamps e.g riparian system,big,fens, freshwater
mashes,both tidal and non tidal.

INTERACTION IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM

*Nutrient Cycling; in temperate regions, many lakes undergo two periods of mixing,.one in
summer, another in autumn, as a result of seasonal differences in temp&winds. In summer top
water becomes warmer than bottom and lakes becomes stratified. Decomposers at the lakes
bottom break down dead organic matter then release large amount of nutrients that remains
trapped in the lower layer of the water (Hypolinion),. carrying out the process,
decomposers may deplete the oxygen supply in the Hypolinion,the layer becomes
unsuitable for most organisms. Summer stratification disappears in autumn, with advent of
cooler autumn temp as the waters in the upper layer(Epilinion) cools and sink,mixes with the
Hypolinion to bring oxygenated water from surface to bottom, nutrients rich water bottom to
surface. The process may overturn again in spring after winter.

*Biological Communities; Freshwater lakes organsms categorized into diff communities,

communities include benthors(organisms that attach themselves or rest at the lakes bottom,
Periphyton (Floating organisms whose movements primarily dependent on currents,
Nekton(free swimming organism like fish, amphibians,insect&mammals,),
Neuston(organisms that rest or swim on the surface)

*CO - EVOLUTION; As diff spp in an ecosystem interact, they can evolve together and develop
certain characteristics in response to their relationship. A process called Co - evolution is one of
the main processes that shape and organize community in an ecosystem

VEGETATION ZONES IN NIGERIA;

Two broad types of vegetation in Nigeria; Forest and Savannah,within these are 3sub
groups,... Montana vegetation (Third vegetation type)

*A third vegetation type, called MONTANA TYPE VEGETATION, is typical of Adamawa and Jos
Plateau. The vegetation zones, climatic regions and annual precipitation are on almost equal
parallels, showing the degree of interdependence or the influence of climate and precipitation on
vegetation Belts. Nigeria has two broad types of vegetation, namely: Forests and Savannah.
Within each of these are three sub-groups of vegetation. A third vegetation type, called Montana
types vegetation, is typical of Adamawa and Jos Plateau. The vegetation zones, climatic regions
and annual precipitation are on almost equal parallels, showing the degree of interdependence
or the influence of climate and precipitation on vegetation belts.