Biomes are a group of ecosystems with similar abiotic and biotic factors.

(example: hot/dry desert in Nevada and North Africa)

Rain Forests found near the equator

Abiotic Factors:

Warm temps (Avg. 25° C, 77° F)

Large Amounts of Moisture (Humidity Avg. 88%)

High levels of Rainfall (more than 100 inches per year: 8 feet)

Very Poor Soil (nutrients washed away/lots of plants)

Biotic Factors:Rainforests have more biodiversity than any other biome.

Animals that can live in trees (tails, fly, grip)

Organisms that need a lot of moisture (frogs/fungi)

Organisms that don’t need a lot of light (under the canopy)

Biotic Factors:Rainforests make 40% of the Earth’s oxygen.

Not a lot of light under canopy/ need to absorb light/ lots of vines

300 different types of species of trees every 2 acres, 70% of the plants are trees

Desert Biomes

Desert Biomes

Abiotic Factors:

Drastic Temp changes from day to night(49°C, 120°F to -18°C, -1°F)

Windy

Very dry (less than 9 in. of rain a year, less than one foot)

Sand/ Little or no topsoil

In the Desert Biome, plants (cactus) have the ability to hold water for

later use and most animals (scorpion) are nocturnal.

Animals usually have thick shells or skin

Get water from food, or store water (plants)

Come out at night and burrow during the day

Grassland

Grassland

Abiotic Factors:

Temperatures vary throughout the year, warm summer, cold winter

Windy

Has a rainy season and a dry season (10 to 30 in. a year, not enough rain to naturally support trees, but plenty for grass and shrubs)

Nutrient-rich soil

Dominated by grasses

Grazing animals

Plants and Animals that can adjust to fit season- ex. thicker coats in winter, burrow during extreme temps

Deciduous Forest

Abiotic Factors:

Temperatures vary greatly- very cold winter, hot summer

Four distinct seasons

Annual rainfall (50-300cm, 19-118 in.)

Soil- rich top layer, deep clay layer

Deciduous Forest

The weather in this area changes with

the seasons. It becomes very cold in the winter and

hot in the summer. There is enough

rainfall to support large trees.

Trees in this biome drop their leaves in the fall/winter and

new ones sprout each spring.

Nesting birds

Diverse animals

Animals that can adjust to fit season- thicker coats in winter, hibernating during extreme temps

A lot of brown and green organisms

Taiga: also known as northern coniferous

Abiotic Factors:

Long, Very cold winter season, below freezing for six months out of the year.

Cold season, Rainy Season

Snow is the main precipitation

Soil- poor in minerals and acidic

Coniferous trees- aspen, birch

Large animals

Animals with thick fur and that hibernate in severe conditions

Tundra

TundraAbiotic Factors:

Very cold (avg. -70°)

very windy

Dry, Little annual rainfall

Soil- underneath thin topsoil- frozen ground, no nutrients in the soil

Treeless land

Limited organisms due to low vegetation and extreme cold

Only shallow-rooted grass and small plants

Migration animals, very insulated

Lot of white animals