Biomes and Nutrient Cycling

Terrestrial Biomes

• Large group of plants and animals occupying a major habitat

• a distinct biological community that has formed in response to a shared physical climate.

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Definition of a Biome

Reorder

Re order these systems from largest to smallest

• Biosphere

• biome

• ecosystem

• community

• population

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Boreal forest Coniferous forest

• Chaparral

• Desert

• Freshwater

• Grasslands

• Marine

• Savanna

• Temperate rain forest

• Temperate dry forest deciduous

• Tropical rainforest

• Tropical dry forest

• Tundra

Types of biomes

• Boreal forest Coniferous forest

• Chaparral

• Desert

• Freshwater

• Grasslands

• Marine

• Savanna

• Temperate rain forest

• Temperate dry forest deciduous

• Tropical rainforest

• Tropical dry forest

• Tundra

Types of Terrestrial biomes

Mission: Biomes

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360 Virtual Reality Biomes | Ask A Biologist

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• Named after its vegetation

• the biotic community of a large - scale ecosystem

• encompases numerous smaller - scale ecosystms.

Biome

Complete the dry biomes assignment in OTUS

Multiple Choice

Identify the biome based on the picture!

• Boreal forest

• Chaparral

• desert

• grasslands

Multiple Choice

Identify the biome based on the picture!

• Boreal forest

• Chaparral

• desert

• grasslands

Multiple Choice

Identify the biome based on the picture!

• Boreal forest

• Chaparral

• Tundra

• grasslands

Multiple Choice

Identify the biome based on the picture!

• Boreal forest

• Chaparral

• Tundra

• grasslands

Multiple Choice

Identify the biome based on the picture!

• Boreal forest

• Chaparral

• Tundra

• grasslands

• Terrestrial biomes are either wet or dry

• dru biomes receive some ran, just less than average and only in certain seasons.

• they can be hot or cold, but typically exist in subtropical, temperate, and polar regions.

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• savannah

• temperate rain forest

• temperate dry forest

• tropical rain forest

• tropical dry forest

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Wet biomes

• Savanna has a wet and a dry season

• slightly wetter than grasslands

• savanna = tropical grasslands (grasslands, like prairie, are temperate)

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Savanna

• temperate rain forests get snow and rain

• cooler than tropical locales

• examples : coastal Alaska, Washington state

• Mosses, ferns, shrubs, and conifers

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Temperate Rain forests

• Tropical forests are the most diverse

• can get 80 - 400 inches of rain!

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Tropical

• A.K.A. Deciduous forests have all 4 seasons!

• 'Deciduous' refers to the shedding of leaves every year. (ever greens and tropical trees do not do this!)

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Temperate dry forests

• they have shorter trees and more open canopy compared to their rainforest relations

• have more of a wet and a dry season (as compared to wet year round rainforests.)

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Tropical dry forests

Labelling

Label the layers of the forest!

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Over story

Litter

forb

shrub

Under story

Categorize

Options (5)

very noticeable 2 season changes wet and dry versus 4 seasons

wet and hot year round

typically 4 seasons with leaf color change in autumn

some types rely on forest fires to refresh soil

wet and mild to cool year round

What characteristics fit which biome?

tropical dry forest

Tropical rainforest

Temperate dry forest

temperate rainforest

Categorize

Options (13)

wet and dry seasons

more open canopy not as dense understory

trees lose leaves, are not evergreen

exist in tropical regions near equator

dense vegetation

receive lots of rain

rain year round

trees dont lose their leaves

very wet and humid

dense canopy and undergrowth

lots of tall trees

tall trees

exists outside the tropics between polar and subtropical regions

What characteristics do these biomes share?

Tropical dry and temperate dry

tropical dry and tropical rainforest

tropical & temperate rainforests

temperate rainforest and temperate dry

Multiple Select

all of these biomes share these characteristics

• Trees are the dominant vegitation

• receive enough rain to support large plants

• are completely dry and barren

• have little to no rainfall

Categorize

Options (8)

temperate rain forest

temperate dry forest wet season

savanna dry season

tropical dry forest wet season

tropical rainforest

savanna wet season

tropical dry forest dry season

temperate dry forest dry season

Categorize them by rainfall

heavy rain

moderate rain

little rain

• terrestrial biomes are either wet or dry

• wet / tropical biomes receive lots of rain, either year round or during the wet season

• wet biomes typically exist in tropical and subtropical regions.

• most have tall trees and plants, only savanna is very open with predominantly grass