BIOMES

TERRESTRIAL BIOMES: major (global scale) regions of physically similar, but not taxonomically related, vegetation and animals (life zones, ecoregions)

Each biome type has a distinctive form of vegetation (physiognomy)
Tundra:
Mt. Cleveland, ID Mt Kathaden, MN

Deciduous Forest
Smokey Mts., VI Argentina
                Sugar maple Wolsfeld Woods MN                 Nothofagus forest http://www.doc.govt.nz/

Boreal Forest
Spruce-Fir, MN Spruce Forest, NR each biome type has different species on different continents (convergence)



UN-BIOME

POLAR / ALPINE: temperature too low and substrate too unstable to support permanent vegetation.


Torres Del Paine, Chile, 2004, Shawn Wheelock; GNP



BIOMES

    A. TUNDRA: treeless low (less than 1 m) vegetation with short perennials, water frozen. Typical plants include sedges, lichens, mosses, grasses, and dwarf woody plants. Typical animals include snowy owls, musk ox, reindeer, polar bears, and migrant birds. Very cold, often dry climate, but whith permanently frozen ground creating saturated soils during summer months. Freeze-thaw cycles fell trees.
  • Arctic Tundra is circumpolar (scanty Antarctic).
  • Alpine Tundra at high elevation.

    COLD, WIND

Point Barrow AK



BIOMES

    B. BOREAL FOREST (TAIGA): dense evergreen needle-leafed forest Typical plants include white spruce, black spruce, and jack pine. Typical animals include moose, black bears, wolves, and migrant birds. Cold winters with deep snow, but longer growing season than tundra. Warm-month average temperature greater than 10 oC. Periodic fires common.

    COLD but summer T > 10oC




BIOMES

    C. TEMPERATE FOREST: dense forest with thin, broad, deciduous leaves; or rainforests typically dominated by conifers. Tall trees with single boles creating deep shade. Understories often sparse. Typical plants include maples, oaks, elms (deciduous) spruce or auraucaria (rainforest). Typical animals include deer and squirrels. Freezing winters and warm, wet summers and a longer growing season than the boreal forest.

    DARK: seedlings compete for light

Temperate Deciduous Forest



BIOMES

    D. GRASSLANDS (STEPPE): treeless vegetation less than 1 m high. Typical plants include grasses and members of the sunflower family. Woody plants predominate in steppes. Typical animals include large grazing ungulates such as horses, buffalo, and rhinoceros. Cold or warm winters with growing seasons moisture too dry for trees; fires every 1-5 years.

    DRY, FIRES VERY FREQUENT

    Serengeti

    Shrub Invasion has followed historic fire suppression. Wupatki N.M.



BIOMES

    E. WOODLAND (CHAPARRAL): sparse to dense woody vegetation of low trees and shrubs, typically with very thick, tough evergreen leaves. Summers with little rain, fires every 5 - 20 years. Typical plants include oaks, manzanita, chamise, low pines, and junipers. Typical animals include birds and reptiles.

    SUMMER DROUGHT, Fire




BIOMES

    F. DESERT: sparse drought-resistant vegetation, typically spiny and with tiny leaves and photosynthetic bark. Typical plants include cactuses, acacias and short-lived annuals. Typical animals include reptiles and ground-dwelling rodents. Precipitation low (less than 250 mm/yr) and evapotransporation high (more than 250 mm/yr). Temperature generally high. Fires generally are rare due to low biomass.

    VERY DRY




DON'T FORGET

BIOMES HAVE ANIMALS, TOO
biome map



BIOMES

    G. TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FOREST AND SAVANNAH: thorny forest, woodlands, or scattered trees, many of which loose leaves during the dry season. Typical plants include acacias and grasses. Typical animals include giraffes and elephants. Warm frost-free winters, hot usually-wet summers, and a pronounced dry season. Fire and grazing are important vegetation-forming processes.

    HOT, Seasonal Drought, FIRE, GRAZING

    Nylsvley, South Africa [.]

    Calabozo, Venezuela Radford Univ. Fig., Map, Text



BIOMES

    H. TROPICAL RAIN FOREST: Dense tall evergreen forest. Typical plants include strangler figs and tree ferns. Typical animals include snakes and birds. Mild frost-free winters and summers with year-round rain.

    DARK, FROST-FREE, NUTRIENTS SCARCE


    Atherton, Australia [.]


    Barro Colorado, Panama [.]

    Olmedo
    El Salvador Rossil Olmedo, NATS 104, 2005


    Vines & Lianas: Grow on other trees, but rooted in ground

    epiphyte
    Epiphyte: Grow on other plants, roots on outside of tree. Staghorn Fern Gleichenia

    Bromeliad
    Bromeliad: Common epiphyte

    Caluiflory
    Caluiflory: (Large) fruits growing on tree trunks

    Prop Roots
    Prop Roots: Added support for tall plants in saturated ground

    Araceae
    Tropical Plants: Araceae, fly-pollination

    Banana
    Tropical Plants: Banana family, Musaceae

    Heliconia
    Tropical Plants: Heliconia

    Bat Flower
    Tropical Plants: Bat Flowers
    Khao Yai Thailand, 2003, Shawn Wheelock

    Oak Ridge NPP
    Oak Ridge NPP
    Rainforest PBS Text
    Rainforest Frog
    Sp05 Monkies


    Temperate Rain Forest

       Cooler, Frost, Lots of Rain
      Marion Owenby Herbarium