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Terrestrial biomes
Review your understanding of the taiga, tropical rainforest, temperate forest, shrubland, grassland, savanna, desert, and tundra biomes in this free article aligned to AP standards.
Key points
- A biome is a community of plants and animals living in, and adapted-to, a certain climate.
- Many of Earth’s biomes are terrestrial, or land-based. The characteristics of terrestrial biomes are heavily influenced by temperature and rainfall. The major terrestrial biomes are listed below.
- Tropical rainforests are found at latitudes near the equator. In these areas, average temperatures and rainfall are high throughout the year. This warm, wet climate allows tropical rainforests to have high biodiversity.
- Temperate forests are generally found at latitudes between 30° and 60° north and south of the equator. These forests experience well-defined seasons, with a distinct period of winter.
- Temperate deciduous (seasonal) forests have cold, dry winters, and hot, humid summers. The deciduous trees of these forests shed their leaves each winter to save energy.
- Temperate rainforests have mild, frost-free winters and rainfall that is evenly distributed throughout the year.
- Coniferous forests (also known as boreal forests or taigas) are found at latitudes between 50° and 60° north of the equator. These forests experience short, warm, moist summers and long, cold, dry winters. The coniferous trees of these forests have thin, needle-like leaves that do not shed in winter. They also produce seeds in cones, which forms the root term of the name coniferous.
- Deserts exist at many latitudes, but most form at latitudes around 30° north and south of the equator. Rainfall in deserts is low and highly variable. Deserts closer to the equator have warmer temperatures than deserts further from the equator. Different types of plants live in warm or cold deserts, but they all have special ways to conserve water in these arid environments.
- Grasslands can occur at any latitude. Grasslands experience seasonal drought, occasional fire, and grazing by herbivores. These features stop trees and shrubs from overgrowing grasses. Warmer grasslands with scattered trees are called savannas. Milder grasslands with very few trees are called temperate grasslands, which include prairies and steppes.
- Scrublands (also known as shrublands, chaparrals and woodlands) are located in western coastal regions between 30° and 40° north and south of the equator. Scrublands usually get more rain than deserts and grasslands, but less than forested areas. As a result, scrublands are dominated by shrubs and short trees.
- The tundra biome is located primarily in the arctic, and is the most inhospitable of the biomes. It is cold and dry, with a short growing season and a layer of permanently frozen soil called permafrost. The tundra is relatively low in biodiversity, but is home to various species of plants and animals that are adapted to the tundra's cold, dry conditions.
Want to join the conversation?
How would the animals adapt due to the change of temperature? How would it also affect with the biomes?(6 votes)
Animals are 'shapeshifting' as the planet warms, as limbs, ears and beaks change size to adapt to rising temperatures. While these adaptations may alleviate overheating in the short term, these species can't adapt forever. It can also affect the biomes by overwhelming the capacity of ecosystems to mitigate extreme events and disturbance, such as wildfires, floods, and drought.(2 votes)
- Why do we have biomes?(4 votes)
- We have created and classified our world into "biomes" because it helps us better understand the individual enviornments in our world. Looking at the Earth as a whole would be too much for ecologists to study at once.(4 votes)
Is it accurate to say that there is a correlation better the amount of rain an area gets and the size/quantity of its trees?(5 votes)
Hmm...an interesting question. I wouldn't assume so, as that would not be scientific, but you do have a point. I think there is much more biodiversity based on precipitation and temperature. For example, a tropical rainforest biome has much more biodiversity than a taiga biome.(0 votes)
Is this whole part required to be memorized? I mean it is quite a lot.(4 votes)- How are the animals able to adapt to the different temperatures?(1 vote)
Every individual animal is genetically slightly different and these genetic differences will mean that some individuals are marginally better suited to their environment than others. These individuals are more likely to survive for longer and to be successful at finding a mate and breeding, meaning their well-suited genes are more likely to be passed on while individuals that are not so well-suited are more likely to die out without reproducing as much. This means that the population generally becomes better suited to its environment over time.
This is the case regardless of whether the environmental conditions are constant or gradually shifting - in other words, whether a habitat is constantly hot or gradually becoming hotter, the animals in it who are best able to thrive in hot conditions are the ones who will be most successful.
To give a specific example, fennec foxes are well-suited to hot environments because their large ears help them regulate their body temperatures. Therefore, foxes with small ears will struggle to regulate their temperature and will be unlikely to survive or thrive in high temperatures, so they will not be able to pass on the "small ear" gene. In contrast, foxes with large ears will be very successful, live long lives (or at least, won't die as a result of overheating) and have lots of opportunities to reproduce and pass on the "big ear" gene. Over time, there will be fewer and fewer poorly-adapted small-eared foxes and more and more well-adapted big-eared foxes. If the temperature of their habitat was to drop considerably over a long period of time (decades), this would reverse and you would see more and more small-eared foxes, who are better able to retain heat, and fewer big-eared foxes, who lose their heat through their large ears and become vulnerable to the cold.(6 votes)
- How do animals adapt to new environments and how long does it usually take them?(2 votes)
- It can take many years for them to adapt to a new environment(3 votes)
- How are the animals able to adapt to the different enviroments?(1 vote)
through natural selection(5 votes)
- how does temperature affect biomes and how do animals adapt to it?(4 votes)
- I believe temperature affects chemical processes and metabolism so it fundamentally affects the the biology(0 votes)
- Hey guys, I want to broaden my understanding of terrestrial biomes and get myself familiar with all types and their locations. Which reading materials (like magazines) should I read?(2 votes)
- is this stuff still going on or in the world i would say(1 vote)
Yes of course. Biomes aren't something that last for a short period of time.(2 votes)