Coniferous forest biome

Coniferous forest biome

                Coniferous forest ecosystems are found in regions of the Earth that experience somewhat long and cold winters, with summer being much shorter. Thus, it is no surprise that these biomes are more common the closer one travels towards the Earth’s poles. Additionally, this biome is found high atop mountains where temperatures tend to be lower and winter tends to last longer.
              The Coniferous Forest is a forest of Conifers. A Conifer is a tree that produces its seeds in cones.  The Pine tree is the most common example.  Conifer leaves conserve water with the thick, waxy layer that covers their leaves, also known as needles.  The vegitation in the Coniferous forest is small in size, but large enough to feed the vast herbivore population.  Most of these animals survive the brutal winters by migrating or hibernating. 

                       

Average Annual Rainfall- 14-29.5 in.

Average Temperatures in the Summer- 57.2°F

Average Temperatures in the Winter- 14°F

Temperate coniferous forest         

Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. In most temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a mix of conifers and broad leaf evergreen trees and/or broad leaf deciduous trees. . Coniferous forests can be found in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Many species of trees inhabit these forests including cedar, cypress, douglas-fir,pine, podocarpus, spruce, redwood and yew. The understory also contains a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species.

Tundra

Tundra Biome

              In the very cold places of the world, survival isn't easy. The soil is frozen, its top surface thawing only during summer, and no trees can grow. Yet plants and animals that are adapted for the harsh conditions thrive. This biome is called tundra. Most of the world's tundra is found in the north polar region. It is called Arctic tundra. There is a small amount of tundra on parts of Antarctica that are not covered with ice. Plus, tundra is found on high altitude mountains and is called alpine tundra.

             Permafrost is the term given to frozen soil. During the winter months, permafrost reaches the surface of the tundra. It is very cold during the winter, with temperatures reaching -60 degrees Fahrenheit (-51 degrees Celsius). Very few animals are active in these harsh conditions.

              In the summer time, the tundra changes. The Sun is out almost 24 hours a day, so the tundra starts to warm up. The permafrost melts at the surface, and plant life grows. However, the permafrost only disappears for a few inches below the surface. There isn't enough soil for trees to grow, so only small plants are found in the tundra.

          At the same time, a variety of animals come out to feast on the plants. Insects come to feed on the animals, and birds appear to enjoy the insects.

Characteristics of tundra include:

1. Extremely cold climate


2. Low biotic diversity


3. Simple vegetation structure


4. Limitation of drainage


5. Short season of growth and reproduction


6. Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material


7. Large population oscillations

Tundra is separated into two types:

Arctic tundra

                    Arctic tundra is located in the northern hemisphere, encircling the north pole and extending south to the coniferous forests of the taiga. The arctic is known for its cold, desert-like conditions. The growing season ranges from 50 to 60 days. The average winter temperature is -34° C (-30° F), but the average summer temperature is 3-12° C (37-54° F) which enables this biome to sustain life. Rainfall may vary in different regions of the arctic. Yearly precipitation, including melting snow, is 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches). Soil is formed slowly. A layer of permanently frozen subsoil called permafrost exists, consisting mostly of gravel and finer material. When water saturates the upper surface, bogs and ponds may form, providing moisture for plants. There are no deep root systems in the vegetation of the arctic tundra, however, there are still a wide variety of plants that are able to resist the cold climate. There are about 1,700 kinds of plants in the arctic and subarctic, and these include:

• low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, and grasses


• 400 varieties of flowers


• crustose and folios lichen

                   All of the plants are adapted to sweeping winds and disturbances of the soil. Plants are short and group together to resist the cold temperatures and are protected by the snow during the winter. They can carry out photosynthesis at low temperatures and low light intensities. The growing seasons are short and most plants reproduce by budding and division rather than sexually by flowering. The fauna in the arctic is also diverse:

• Herbivorous mammals: lemmings, voles, caribou


• Carnivorous mammals: arctic foxes, wolves, and polar bears


• Migratory birds: ravens, snow buntings, falcons, loons,


• Insects: mosquitoes, flies, moths, grasshoppers


• Fish: cod, flatfish, salmon, and trout

                  Animals are adapted to handle long, cold winters and to breed and raise young quickly in the summer. Animals such as mammals and birds also have additional insulation from fat. Many animals hibernate during the winter because food is not abundant. Another alternative is to migrate south in the winter, like birds do. Reptiles and amphibians are few or absent because of the extremely cold temperatures. Because of constant immigration and emigration, the population continually oscillates.

Alpine tundra
   
                           Alpine tundra is located on mountains throughout the world at high altitude where trees cannot grow. The growing season is approximately 180 days. The nighttime temperature is usually below freezing. Unlike the arctic tundra, the soil in the alpine is well drained. The plants are very similar to those of the arctic ones and include:

• tussock grasses, dwarf trees, small-leafed shrubs, and heaths

Animals living in the alpine tundra are also well adapted:

• Mammals: pikas,, mountain goats, sheep


• Birds: grouse like birds


• Insects: spring tails, grasshoppers ,beetles

world biomes

Grassland biome

TROPICAL GRASSLANDS

           Tropical grasslands, or savannas, are also the homes of primates in Africa and Asia; no savanna-living primates exist in South America. Tropical grasslands comprise a mixture of trees and grasses, the proportion of trees to grass varying directly with the rainfall. Areas of high seasonal rainfall support single-story woodlands of tall trees, while lush grasses form the ground vegetation.

           Tropical grasslands, or savannas, lie north and south of tropical rain forests that are on the equator. Some areas beyond savannas are hot deserts. Other savannas may be lined with mountains, dense forests, and seas. South America is home to several large savannas. An example of one of these savannas is the llanos, which means plains, located in the Orinoco River basin. The llanos is north of the Amazon forests and is shared in areas of Columbia and Venezuela. It is the size of France or Texas. Another large tropical grassland can be found south of the Amazon forest in the Brazilian Highlands, called campos. Other South American grasslands can be found in southeast Venezuela and southern Guyana.

          The worlds largest savannas can be found in Africa. The savanna takes up almost half of the continent. It stretches from the Atlantic coast of West Africa to the east across Sudan, and then goes south through east Africa. From Mozambique the savanna heads west and goes through Zambia and Angola, back to the Atlantic Ocean (Lambert, 30). Other savannas can be found in India's great Deccan Plateau, and in Australia, north of central deserts.

TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS

         The temperate grasslands are located in the mid-latitudes on planet Earth. These include the Prairies of North America, Pampas of South America and the Steppes of Eurasia. The temperate grasslands are further divided on the basis of their general characteristics. The best example of this is the Prairie biome of North America. In semi-arid regions - which are typically characterized by growth of short grass, the Prairies are known as Short-grass Prairies, while the same in regions with high rainfall - typically characterized by growth of tall grass, they are known as Tall-grass Prairies. This is just one of the numerous lesser known attributes of this grassland biome.

         Temperate grasslands are a division of a larger biome grouping of grasslands that includes tropical savannas.  Both biome types are characterized by a dominance of grasses, yet temperate grasslands differ significantly from savannas.  First unlike savannas that can have trees and shrubs scattered throughout, temperate grasslands have trees and shrubs absent.  Temperate grasslands are also found in less tropical ecosystems and thus have a larger temperate fluctuation during the year.  Temperatures in temperate grasslands can vary tremendously which has a large impact on growing seasons.  Generally they also have less rainfall. 

Regional Expressions: Temperate Grasslands are found throughout the globe, generally in the interiors of the continents and north or south of the tropic of cancer/Capricorn.  The following are the major regional expressions of grasslands recognized around the globe.

• Veldts of South Africa
• Puszta of Hungary
• Pampas of Argentina/Uruguay
• Steppes of Russia / China
• Plains and Prairies of North America

Minor Expressions: There are smaller local expressions of grasslands as well.  These include the following:

• Australian Outback
• Minnesota Cedar Creek Region

       Biodiversity: Grasslands (temperate) are dominated by one or a few species of grasses while there are several hundred other types of grasses and non-woody flowering plants that while less abundant make up a vital part of the species composition. There are many types of grass species that are dominant species in their own region.  Each species of grass grows better with varying temperatures / rainfall / and soil conditions.  Grasses are dominant (instead of trees) because of fire, drought and grazing by large herbivores. 

       Drought: Drought plays a large role in keeping trees from taking over the grasslands.  Some years receive less rain than others, just as certain seasons receive significantly less rain than others.  Trees generally can not stand the lack of water as easily as grasses and thus grasses remain dominant.

       Fire: Fire plays a big role in this biome, preserving biodiversity and keeping trees from overtaking the grasses.  Lightning from large storms rolling over the grasslands ignites large grass-fires.  These fires help certain plants by germinating seeds, clearing ground cover to allow rare plants a chance and by nourishing the soil with freshly burnt vegetation.

         Soil: The soil of the temperate grasslands is deep and dark.  The upper layers are the most fertile because of the buildup of many layers of dead branching stems and roots.  This organic mater on the surface and in the dead roots provide a great degree of nourishment for the living plants.

         Rainfall: Rainfall is generally less in temperate grasslands than in tropical savannas, although drought usually plays less of a roll effecting biodiversity than it does in savannas.  Rain usually falls in temperate grasslands in the late spring and early summer.  There is an average of 20 – 35 inches of rainfall a year.  The amount of rainfall however determines the height of grasses in the grassland.  For north America, this rainfall gradient helps to divide the temperate grasslands into tall grass prairies (in wetter areas) and short grass steppes (in dryer habitats).

         Environmental concerns: There is a great concern for remaining grasslands in temperate regions.  Because the soil in these areas is incredibly rich and the land is flat and treeless, most of this biome has been turned into farms or ranches.  The result of this overuse and consumption of the grassland by agricultural practices is a fragmentation of once large tracks of grassland.  Fragmentation decreases biodiversity (Theory of Island Biogeography).  Plowing of grasslands, combined with wind has lead to huge dust storms, such as those which created the Great Dust Bowl in the American Depression of the mid 1920s.  Finally, in dryer areas, overgrazing and salt build-up from irrigation of the land have turned these areas into near-wastelands.

          Floral Diversity: The most common grasses include blue gamma grass, buffalo grass, Johnson grass, and various sorts of wheat and burley.  Common flowers include types of asters, coneflowers, Solidagos (goldenrods), vetches, Indian blankets and sweet clovers.

          Fauna Diversity: In North America common animals include: bison, pronghorns, deer, mice, rabbits, grouse, badgers, skunks, meadowlarks, various  owls, garter snakes, rattle-snakes, red-tailed hawks and prairie dogs. 

Major biomes

Mountain biome

          The mountain biome is harsh. The higher you climb the harsher it becomes due to the thinner atmosphere, high winds, and low temperatures. The type of flora and fauna change from the bottom to the top as the climate changes and the soil thins. The mountain biome has the largest variety of ecosystems and they will vary with the location of the mountain. I.e. the ecosystems of the Alps will not be the same as those of the Andes. The mountain biome is the most difficult to study as a whole because the fauna and flora varies from mountain range to mountain range.

            Mountains are usually found in groups called chains or ranges, although some stand alone. A mountain biome is very cold and windy. The higher the mountain, the colder and windier the environment. There is also less oxygen at high elevations.Several different types of plants and animals found in the mountain biome were left behind with the melting of the ice sheets as they retreated north at the end of the last ice age.

           The animals of this biome have adapted to the cold, the lack of oxygen, and the rugged landscape. They include the mountain goat, ibex (wild goat), sheep, mountain lion, puma, and yak. All of them are excellent climbers, which means they can move freely in the steep, rocky landscape. Types of plants vary depending on geographic location and altitude. Lower elevations are commonly covered by forests, while very high elevations are usually treeless.

               One common trait among the mountain biome fauna is that most of them are plant eaters. Such as the yak, mountain goat, the takin, ibex, chinchillas. Flora that can be found in most mountain biomes includes heather, lichens, coniferous tress, and chaparral.

                Mountains are a common sight on this planet. They make up one-fifth of the world's landscape, and provide homes to at least one-tenth of the world's people. Furthermore, 2 billion people depend on mountain ecosystems for most of their food, hydroelectricity, timber, and minerals. About 80 per cent of our planet's fresh water originates in the mountains. Since about half of the world's people are reliant upon mountains for fresh water, and in this time of increasing water scarcity, it is becoming increasingly important to protect the mountain biome.

                 All mountain ecosystems have one major characteristic in common--rapid changes in altitude, climate, soil, and vegetation over very short distances. Mountain ecosystems sport a high range of biodiversity, and are also a home to many of our planet's ethnic minorities. These cultures are sometimes 'protected' due to the challenging environment to produce a living, but others are not. More and more these indigenous people are being kicked out of their homes due to population and commercial growth, logging, and mining.

                 Rainfall varies greatly across the world's montane (mountain) biomes, ranging from very wet to very dry. However in all the biomes comes swift weather changes. For example, in just a few minutes a thunder storm can roll in when the sky was perfectly clear, and in just a few hours the temperatures can drop from extremely hot temperatures to temperatures that are below freezing.

                The world's mountains provide a home to several thousand different ethnic groups. The mountain people, which mainly consist of indigenous people, ethnic minorities, and refugees, have been able to cope with this harsh environment of the mountain ecosystem. They live as nomads, hunters, foragers, traders, small farmers, loggers, and miners, etc. They have been able to live off the land without widespread destruction and deforestation. Plant and animal species have been preserved by these people.

                The Himalayan Yew, a slow-growing conifer, is currently on the World Wildlife Fund's list of the ten most endangered animals. This plant can be found throughout Bhutan, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Burma, and maybe China. Taxol, which is promising to be a drug which can help cure cancer, is present in both the Pacific and Himalayan varieties. Found in the world's highest mountain range, the Himalayan Yew is extremely rare because of heavy deforestation and harvesting for Taxol extraction, without replanting.

 Major biomes

Savanna ecosystem

Savanna ecosystem

                A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses. Some classification systems also recognize a grassland savanna from which trees are absent.This article deals only with savanna under the common definition of a grassy woodland with a significant woody plant component.

          It is often believed that savannas feature widely spaced, scattered trees. However, in many savannas, tree densities are higher and trees are more regularly spaced than in forest. Savannas are also characterized by seasonal water availability, with the majority of rainfall confined to one season. Savannas are associated with several types of biomes. Savannas are frequently in a transitional zone between forest and desert or prairie. Savanna covers approximately 20% of the earth's land area.

         Many grassy landscapes and mixed communities of trees, shrubs, and grasses were described as savanna before the middle of the 19th century, when the concept of a tropical savanna climate became established. The Köppen climate classification system was strongly influenced by effects of temperature and precipitation upon tree growth, and his over-simplified assumptions resulted in a tropical savanna classification concept which resulted in it being considered as a "climatic climax" formation. The common usage meaning to describe vegetation now conflicts with a simplified yet widespread climatic concept meaning. The divergence has sometimes caused areas such as extensive savannas north and south of the Congo and Amazon Rivers to be excluded from mapped savanna categories.

         "Barrens" has been used almost interchangeably with savanna in different parts of North America. Sometimes Midwestern savanna were described as "grassland with trees". Different authors have defined the lower limits of savanna tree coverage as 5-10% and upper limits range from 25-80% of an area.

   

       Two factors common to all savanna environments are rainfall variations from year to year, and dry season wildfires. Savannas around the world are also dominated by tropical grasses which use the C4 type of photosynthesis.In the Americas, e.g. in Belize, Central America, savanna vegetation is similar from Mexico to South America and to the Caribbean. In North America nearby trees are of subtropical types, ranging from southwestern Pinyon pine to southeastern Long leaf Pine and northern chestnut oak.

Savanna ecoregions

Savanna ecoregions are of several different types:-

• Tropical and subtropical savannas are classified with tropical and subtropical grasslands and shrub lands as the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrub lands biome. The savannas of Africa, including the Serengeti, famous for its wildlife, are typical of this type.
• Temperate savannas are mid-latitude savannas with wetter summers and drier winters. They are classified with temperate savannas and shrub lands as the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrub lands biome, that for example cover much of the Great Plains of the United States. (See areas such as the Central forest-grasslands transition).
• Mediterranean savannas are mid-latitude savannas in Mediterranean climate regions, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. The oak tree savannas of California, part of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, fall into this category.
• Flooded savannas are savannas that are flooded seasonally or year-round. They are classified with flooded savannas as the flooded grasslands and savannas biome, which occurs mostly in the tropics and subtropics.

• Mountain savannas are high-altitude savannas, located in a few spots around the world's high mountain regions, part of the mountain grasslands and shrub lands biome. The highland savannas of the Angolan Scarp savanna and woodlands ecoregion are an example.

Our ecosystem