This is a presentation on the concept and types of biomes which form an integral part of ecology.

2. • Biomes are the diverse regions of our planet which can be distinguished by their flora, fauna,
climate and biological diversity.
• Many units of ecosystem within one BIOME.
• Biomes are the regions of the world with similar climate, animals and plants.
• There are 2 types of biomes i) Terrestrial ii) Aquatic
• Terrestrial Biomes are a way to divide the earth’s surface based on climate patterns, soil types,
fauna and flora that inhibit the area.
• Biomes are very large ecological area on the earth’s surface with fauna and flora adapting to their
environment.
• Aspects to find for each biome i) Latitude & altitude ii) Temp. iii) Precipitation/ Humidity iv) Soil v)
Wind vi) Plants vii) Animals

3. Types of Terrestrial Biomes
• Taiga/ coniferous forest/ Boreal forest
• Tundra
• Desert
• Grassland
• Chaparrals
• Tropical rain forest
• Temperate deciduous forest

6. Description
It is the world’s largest terrestrial biome, found south of
the Arctic Circle and across most of Canada, Alaska,
Russia and northern Europe. This biome has long, cold,
dry winters and short, cool, wet summers . This region
lies between 55° to 70° in the Northern Hemisphere.
Climate
Temperatures vary from −54°C – 30°C throughout the
whole year. In much of the taiga, -20°C would be a winter
day temperature, while 18°C would be an average
summer day, annual precipitation from 40 cm -100 cm,
takes the form of snow.

7. Vegetation
Taigas also have some small-leaved deciduous trees like birch, alder,
willow, and poplar. The very southernmost parts of the taiga may have
trees such as oak, maple, elm and lime scattered among the conifers.
Two major types of taiga. The southern part is the closed canopy forest,
consisting of many closely spaced trees with mossy ground cover The
other type is the lichen woodland or sparse taiga, with trees that are
farther-spaced and lichen ground cover; the latter is common in the
northernmost taiga.
Wildlife
Mammals include foxes, lynxes, bears, minks, squirrels, while larger
ones include grey wolves, reindeers and moose.
Migrating birds found in taiga biome are geese, water fowl,
woodpecker and duck.

8. Tundra

9. Description
The tundra is a cold, treeless area of low, swampy plains
in the far north around the Arctic Ocean. It includes the
northern lands of Europe (Lapland and Scandinavia), Asia
(Siberia), and North America (Alaska and Canada), as well
as most of Greenland and Antarctica. Ground covered with
little snow. Below the surface soil is permanently frozen (
permafrost). Decomposition is very slow because of the
extreme cold. Arctic tundra located between north pole and
coniferous forest or taiga. Growing season ranges from
50-60 days. This region lies beyond the Arctic Circle (66 °
30’ North)
Climate
Tundra climates indicate a climate in which at least one month
has an average temperature high enough to melt snow, but no
month with an average temperature in excess of 10 °C . Total
annual rainfall less than 35 cm, range from 25 to 100 cm.

10. Vegetation
Tundra is a type of biome where the tree growth is hindered by low
temperatures and short growing seasons. Tundra vegetation is composed
of dwarf shrubs, grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in
some tundra regions. The ecotone (ecological boundary region) between
the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline. The
tundra soil is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. Trees grows less than 1 m
high. Shallow roots to absorb the limited water resources.
Wildlife
Animals that live on the tundra must be able to adapt to very cold
temperatures. They must also be able to raise their young during the very
short summer months. Animals found in the tundra include musk ox, the
Arctic hare, polar bear, Arctic fox, caribou and snowy owl.
Regions
There are largely two types of tundra: Arctic tundra and alpine tundra.

11. Desert

12. Description
A desert is a barren area where little precipitation or rainfall occurs, living
conditions are opposing for plant and animal life. About one-third of the
land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar
regions, where little precipitation occurs, are known as polar deserts or
"cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation,
temperature that prevails, causes of desertification or by their geographical
location. Some world famous deserts are Sahara Desert in Africa (largest),
Atacama Desert in Chile, and Thar Desert in India. Hot deserts lie between
the latitudes 20 ° - 30 ° North and South of the Equator.
Climate
Desert is defined as an area that receives less than 25 cm. of precipitation a
year. Deserts that receive rain as their main form of precipitation are
referred to as 'hot' deserts, while deserts that receive snow as their main
form of precipitation are 'cold' deserts. The average daytime temperature is
37.7°C, while at night the average temperature is -3.8 °C. This large
difference is due to low amount of moisture in the desert air.

13. Vegetation
Common plant types that are found include cacti, succulents, small
shrubs, and grasses.
To tolerate the conditions and increase chances for survival, desert
plants have developed special adaptations. Some of the most
common adaptations include storing water in the leaves or stems,
having few leaves or waxy coverings on the leaves to reduce water
loss, and having long tap roots that can penetrate the deep water
table. Some plants even go dormant for over half the year and only
grow when water becomes available.
Wildlife
Animals adapted to live in deserts are called xerocoles. There is no
evidence that body temperature of mammals and birds is adaptive to
the different climates, either of great heat or cold. Examples of some
desert fauna are camels, bustards, lizards, snakes(cobras), kangaroos
and arthropods (spiders, termites, ants, locusts, etc.)

14. Grasslands

15. Description
Grasslands lie between forests and deserts. Grasslands are
characteristic of areas where there is a balance between the amount
of rainfall: not too much as to support a forest and not so less to make
the land barren.
Types of grassland
I) Temperate characterized by having grasses as the dominant
vegetation. Trees and large shrubs are absent. Rainfall is less than in
savannas. Annual rainfall 50.8 – 88.9 cm. Temperature range is very
large - 40. 0°C ( winter) to 38°C (summer). Grassland biomes are
known as prairies in North America.
They are called pampas in South America. Steppes are grassland
biomes in colder regions across Asia and the Northern parts of Russia.
II) Tropical savanna is a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem
characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the
canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to
reach the ground to support herbaceous layer consisting mostly of
grasses. Savanna is grassland with scattered individual trees.

16. Savannas cover almost half the surface of
Africa and large areas of Australia,
South America and India.
Climate is the most important factor in
creating a savanna. Savannas are always
found in warm or hot climates. In general,
tropical grasslands receive 50 to 150
Cm of rain in a year and in every
season experience 15 to 35 °C temperature.
It is crucial that the rainfall is concentrated
in six or eight months of the year, followed by a long dry period when
fires can occur.
Savannas which result from climatic conditions are called climatic
savannas. Savannas that are caused by soil conditions and that are not
entirely maintained by fire are called edaphic savannas.

17. Vegetation
Tall grasses can be found in North American prairie, South American
grasslands and African savanna. Woody plants, shrubs or trees may
occur on some grasslands – forming savannas, scrubby grassland or
semi-wooded grassland, such as the African savannas . Plants growing
in the grasslands are wheat , wild oats, bamboo, buffalo grass,
sunflowers etc.
Wildlife
They support the greatest aggregations of large animals on earth. For
example Jaguars, African wild dogs, black-footed ferret, African
elephant, Sunda tiger, black rhino, white rhino, savanna elephant,
greater one-horned rhino, Indian elephant and swift fox. In grasslands,
we can find a large number of grazing animals such as zebras and
antelopes. Therefore there are also many predators in grasslands, like
lions and cheetahs.

18. Chapparals

19. Description
Chaparral is a coastal biome, found in small sections of most continents,
including the west coast of the United States, the west coast of South America,
the Cape Town area of South Africa, the western tip of Australia and the coastal
areas of the Mediterranean. In Europe it is called the maquis, Australia has the
mallee, Chile the matorral, and South Africa calls it fynbos. It is also called the
Mediterranean Forest, Woodland, and Scrub biome. The chaparral biome has
many different types of landscape. Some examples are flat plains, rocky hills and
mountain slopes. This region lies between 30 ° and 45 ° North and South of the
Equator on the western margin of the continents.
Climate
These regions experience dry warm summers and wet cold winters. Air would be
dry, heat is more, relative humidity is less. The winter is very mild and wet
(10°C), most of the rain in this biome comes in the winter. The summer is hot
and dry (37.5°C). The Chaparral receives about 38–100 cm. of precipitation a
year. This makes fires and droughts very common.

20. Vegetation
The plants in this region are highly flammable during the late summer and autumn
months when conditions are hot and dry. They grow as woody shrubs with thick,
leathery, and often small leaves, contain green leaves all year (evergreen), and are
usually drought and fire resistant.
Common plants include poison oak, shrubs, trees, and cacti. Oak trees, pines and
mahogany trees also do well in the biome. The chaparral biome of Australia consists
mainly of dwarf eucalyptus trees.
Wildlife
These animals include ground squirrels, jackrabbits, gophers, skunks, toads, lizards,
snakes, and mice. Other animals include aardwolves, pumas, foxes, owls, eagles, deer,
quail, wild goats, spiders, scorpions, and various kinds of insects. Many chaparral
animals are nocturnal . Sparrow, thrush, wren, hummingbird and great horned owl are
some birds found in this region.

21. Tropical Rain Forest

22. Description
The equatorial region is also known as Rrainforest, Selvas or the
Evergreen forest. They are found in the Amazon Basin in Brazil,
Congo Basin, Malaysia and Indonesia. This lies between latitudes
10° North and South of Equator.
Climate
The mean annual temperature is 27°C. Annual range of
temperature is very small and there is not much difference
between summer and winter conditions. The mean annual rainfall
is over 250 °C. Conventional type of rainfall occurs every
afternoon. This region experiences high humidity.

23. Vegetation
The forest is thick and has abundant varieties of trees, creepers, vines,
bushes, shrubs , ferns and orchids. The trees are broad-leaved and
evergreen. They do not shed leaves at any particular time of the year like
deciduous trees, since growing conditions are favourable throughout the
year. Mahogany, ebony and rosewood are important trees found in this
region. These trees yield hardwood which is suitable for making furniture.
Wildlife
Enormous species of animal found in this region due to warm temperature
and vertical habitats. More animals are found in trees than on the floor.
Most of the animals are arboreal (adapted to living in the trees) like
monkeys, apes and lemurs. Reptiles (ex: snakes and crocodiles) and
amphibians ( ex: lizards and frogs )and birds (ex: Toucan and hornbills) are
found here. In addition to these leopards and hippopotamuses are also
found.

24. Temperate Deciduous Forests

25. Description
The region lies between 40 ° and 60 ° North and South latitudes on the
Western side of continents. They are found in Britain, Western France,
Western Germany, Denmark , Norway, Western Canada, North-West
USA, South Chile, East Asia and New Zealand.
Climate
They are found in areas with warm moist summers and cool winters. Average
temperature in summer is between 18° C – 20 ° C and average rainfall varies
from 40 to 120 cm. There are four distinct seasons: winter, autumn, summer
and spring. High humidity causes winter cold to be sharp and piercing.

26. Vegetation
The trees are deciduous, shedding their leaves in autumn and
winter which is known as fall period. Important trees found
here are oak, birch, maple and beech. Most of them have thick
trunks and broad leaves and yield hardwood.
Wildlife
Very few wild animals like deer, foxes , hare , badgers, squirrels,
wolves , hedgehogs and beavers are found in this region.
Extensive fishing grounds found in this region, consisting of
cod, salmon, haddock, herring and mackerel.

27. Bibliography:
www.wikipedia.com
www.britannica.com
www.nationalgeographic.com
www.worldwildlife.org
Fundamentals of Ecology by E.P. Odum and Gary W. Barrett