The document describes several biomes: tundra, taiga/boreal forest, temperate forest, desert, grassland, and tropical rainforest. It provides details on the characteristic climate, vegetation, and locations of each biome. The tundra is the coldest biome with very low trees due to the short growing season and permafrost. The taiga/boreal forest is the largest terrestrial biome dominated by coniferous trees. Temperate forests are seasonal and colorful with deciduous trees. Deserts are the hottest and driest biome. Grasslands are dominated by grasses. The tropical rainforest is the most diverse and humid biome located along the equator.

10. TUNDRA
Coldest of all biomes
• “tunturia” (Finnish) –treeless plains
• -40 – 18oC with low amounts of
precipitation (similar to desert)
• Almost no trees due to short growing
season and permafrost
• lichens, mosses, grasses, sedges,
shrubs
• Regions south of the ice caps of the
Arctic and extending across North
America, Europe, and Siberia (high
mountain tops)

11. TAIGA/BOREAL
Largest terrestrial biome
Coniferous forest
• consist mostly of conifers (needles and cones)
Conifers tend to be evergreen, that is, they bear
needles all year long which help conifes survive in
areas that are very cold or dry.
• Some of the more common conifers are spruces,
pines, and firs.
• -40°C to 20°C, average summer temperature is 10°C
• Restricted to the northern hemisphere (taiga/boreal)
yet some tropical conferous forests exist in Asia and
the lower latitudes
• Canada, Europe, Asia, and the United States

13. TEMPERATE FORESTS
Seasonal and most colorful biome
Deciduous forests
• most notable for their four seasons. Leaves change
color in autumn, fall off in the winter, and grow back
in the spring which allows plants to survive cold
winters
• -30°C to 30°C, yearly average is 10°C, hot summers,
cold winters
• Broadleaf trees (oaks, maples, beeches), shrubs,
perennial herbs, and mosses
• Eastern United States, Canada, Europe, China, and
Japan

14. DESERT
Hottest and driest of all biomes
• The temperature in the desert can change
drastically from day to night because the air
is so dry that heat escapes rapidly at night.
Average of 38°C (day), average of -3.9°C
(night)
• about 250 mm of rain per year which means
that the desert only gets 10 percent of the
rain that a rainforest gets (2000mm)!
• Cacti, small bushes, short grasses
• Between 15° and 35° latitude (North and
South of the equator); examples are Mojave,
Sonoran, Chihuahua, and Great Basin (North
America); Sahara (Africa); Negev (Middle
East); and Gobi (Asia)

15. GRASSLAND
Grass, grass, grass!
• generally open and continuous, fairly flat areas of
grass.
• Grasses (prairie clover, salvia, oats, wheat, barley,
coneflowers) and a lot of herbivores
• The height of grass correlates with the amount of
rainfall it receives. Grasslands receive about 500 to
900 mm of rain per year (deserts <300 mm and
tropical forests >2,000 mm)
• The prairies of the Great Plains of North America,
the pampas of South America, the veldt of South
Africa, the steppes of Central Eurasia, and
surrounding the deserts in Australia
• Found on every continent except Antarctica

18. TROPICAL RAINFOREST
Most diverse and humid among all biomes!
Wet the whole year round
• 20°C to 25°C, must remain warm and frost-free
• 2,000 to 10,000 millimeters of rain per year
• Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of
Capricorn
• known for its dense canopies of vegetation that
form different layers