Which Biome is Your Home?
Let's Discuss Earth's Five Major Biomes By Autumn and Amber
Aquatic Biome
Aquatic biomes can be broken down into two regions; freshwater and marine. A freshwater region would be like a pond, and a marine region would be like an ocean or estuary. Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration—usually less than 1%. Marine regions cover about three-fourths of the Earth’s surface and include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries. Marine algae supply much of the world’s oxygen supply and take in a huge amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The evaporation of the seawater provides rainwater for the land
Desert Biome
Rainfall must be less than 50 cm a year to be considered a desert biome. There are four major types of deserts; Hot and dry, semiaird, costal, and cold. Canopy in most deserts is very rare.
Forest Biome
Forest biomes are dominated by trees and woody vegetation. There are three major types of forests; tropical, temperate, and boreal. Forests contain 70% of carbon present in living things! Tropical forests are characterized by the greatest diversity of species. They occur near the equator. Temperate forests occur in eastern North America, northeastern Asia, and western and central Europe. Well-defined seasons with a distinct winter characterize this forest biome. Boreal forests, or taiga, represent the largest terrestial biome. Seasons are divided into short, moist, and moderately warm summers and long, cold, and dry winters.
Grassland Biome
Lands dominated by grasses, rather than shrubs or trees. There are two main divisions of Grasslands; tropical(savannas), and temperate grasslands. Savanna is grassland with scattered individual trees. Temperate grasslands are characterized as having grasses as the dominant vegetation. Trees and large shrubs are absent.
Tundra Biome
The 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. Tundra is separated into two types: arctic tundra, and alpine tundra. To be considered a Tundra it must meet these requirements....
- Extremely cold climate
- Low biotic diversity
- Simple vegetation structure
- Limitation of drainage
- Short season of growth and reproduction
- Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material
- Large population oscillations
Classifications of The Earth's Biomes
After learning about the world's biomes, do you know which biome is your home?
Just for fun! Extra Credit!
Listen to this original song about biomes! For extra credit, come up with your own biome song!
Biome Song!