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Image credit: NASA Visible Earth http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=2430
TROPICAL RAINFOREST (selva)
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Climate: tropical rainforest (Af)
high PE
high AE
high NPP
chronic surpluses
Primary limiting factor: none
competition for sunlight and space
Soils: oxisols and some ultisols
Vegetation
broadleaf evergreen trees
layered ecosystem: understory, canopy layer, emergent layer
thick root mat on forest floor
very high diversity
Image credit: Marietta College Department of Biology and Environmental Science's Biomes of the World http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/biome_main.htm
MEDITERRANEAN WOODLAND & SCRUB (chaparral)
Climate: Mediterranean (Cs)
hot, dry summer
high summer PE
low summer AE
seasonal deficit
Primary limiting factor: lack of moisture in summer
Soils: alfisols
Vegetation
drought resistant trees and shrubs
small, thick waxy leaves
adapted to fire
San Gabriel Mountains, California
Image credit: K.A. Lemke
Chaparral in Oregon
Image credit: US Department of the Interior, Burea of Land Management, Medford District. http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/tablerock/table-rock-plants-chaparral.php
MIDLATITUDE DECIDUOUS & MIXED FOREST
Climate: humid subtropical (Cfa), marine (Cfb), humid continental (Dfa, Dfb)
moderate to moderately high AE and PE depending on seasonal pattern of precipitation & temperature
moderate to moderately high NPP
seasonal surplus; little deficit
Primary limiting factor: cold winter temperatures
Soils: ultisols & alfisols
Vegetation
deciduous broadleaf trees dominate (oak, maple, beech, hickory, elm)
also evergreen needleleaf trees
understory generally well-developed
moderate species diversity
Image credit: K.A. Lemke
Image credit: Tom Detwyler, World Biomes CD-ROM, Environmental Views series. Used with permission from Optilearn Inc. Stevens Point, WI.
NORTHERN CONIFEROUS /BOREAL FOREST (taiga)
Climate: Dfc, Dfd
cold temperatures (slow photosynthesis, frozen water)
moderately low precipitation; primarily in summer
moderately low AE and PE
moderately low NPP
seasonal surplus; no deficit
Primary limiting factor: cold temperatures
Soils: spodosols; thick litter layer
Vegetation: coniferous forests
needleleaf evergreen trees (spruce, pine, fir, larch)
broadleaf deciduous trees (alder, birch, aspen) in early successional sites
sparse understory
fire
Animals: moose, bear, deer
Image credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Digital Library System http://images.fws.gov/
Climate: tropical wet and dry/savanna (Aw) and drier margins of tropical rainforest (Af)
high PE
seasonal AE
moderate NPP
seasonal drought
Primary limiting factor: dry winter
Soils: alfisols, some ultisols
Vegetation
continuous cover of grasses with scattered drought resistant trees
trees have deciduous habit or deep tap roots
Animals
grazing herds of herbivores: buffalos, giraffes, elephants, zebra, oryx,
predators: lions, cheetas, leopards, hyenas
Moderately high diversity
Tanzania
Image credit: B. Wolff, United Nations. World Biomes CD-ROM, Environmental Views series. Used with permission from Optilearn Inc. Stevens Point, WI.Zambia
Image credit: M. Boulton, F.A.O. World Biomes CD-ROM, Environmental Views series. Used with permission from Optilearn Inc. Stevens Point, WI.
Climate: BSh, BSk, drier margins of Cf and Df
PE varies depending on temperature
moderate to moderately low AE
moderate NPP
slight seasonal drought
Primary limiting factor: moisture
Soils: primarily mollisols; some aridisols
Vegetation:
prairie grassland (tallgrasses; up to 6 ft)
steppe grassland (shortgrasses)
extensive root systems
fire tolerant
Animals:
herd animals (e.g. bison, antelope)
burrowing animals (e.g. prairie dogs)
carnivores (e.g. coyotes)
Image credit: Jeff Vanuga, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service http://photogallery.nrcs.usda.gov/Detail.asp
Image credit: Lynn Betts, , USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service http://photogallery.nrcs.usda.gov/Detail.asp
Image credit: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Wyoming http://www.wy.blm.gov/botany/habitats.htm
Climate: tropical desert (BWh) and midlatitude desert (BWk)
high PE in tropical deserts; seasonally high PE in midlatitude deserts
low AE
low NPP
chronic drought
Primary limiting factor: lack of moisture
Soils: aridisols, entisols
Vegetation: drought resistant shrubs, succulents, annuals
water storage
reduced leaf area
tap roots
raingreen habit
Animals
burrowing
nocturnal
Australia
Image credit: K.A. Lemke
Arizona
Image credit: K.A. Lemke
Climate: tundra (ET), subarctic (Dw & Dfd)
Cold temperatures (slow photosynthesis, frozen water)
Low precipitation
Low AE and PE
Low NPP
Primary limiting factor: cold temperatures year-round
Soils: gelisols in arctic tundra, but not alpine
Vegetation
low species diversity
shrubs, mosses, lichens; no trees
low lying vegetation gains protection from cold winter temperatures by snow cover
Animals
few carnivores; more herbivores
adaptation strateties: hibernation, fat protection, migration
Arctic tundra, Alaska
Image credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Digital Library System http://images.fws.gov/
Alpine tundra
Image credit: K.A. Lemke Arctic tundra & caribou, Alaska
Image credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Digital Library System http://images.fws.gov/
Treeline
Image credit: K.A. Lemke
Biome - Climate Association
Forest: A, C, D
Savanna: transition from A to B
Grassland: transition from C to B and from D to B
Desert: B
Tundra: E
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