Quick Review:1. What are the four forest biomes?
2. Where are they found?
3. Give at least one characteristic of each!
Terrestrial Biomes1. Temperate Grassland
– Interior of North America (prairies), South America & Asia– Moderate rainfall, but too little for trees
• Lightning-caused fires in summer• Root systems form dense layers to survive drought & fire• Soil is very fertile!
– Animals: antelope, bison, badgers, prairie dogs, burrowing owls, hawks
– Threats: farming & overgrazing soil erosion• Dust bowl 1930s
2. Savanna (tropical grassland)– Parts of Africa, South America, India, & Australia– Rain falls in spring & late-fall; drought in between– Plants: adapted to survive drought
• Lose leaves; body parts die off except for near ground• Large, horizontal root system to collect water
– Animals: lots of big herbivores• Elephants, giraffe, antelopes, zebra, wildebeest,
rhinos– Predators: lions, cheetahs, hyenas, crocs, snakes
3. Tundra – Found in northern arctic regions– Winters too cold & dry for trees to
grow– Has permafrost: permanently frozen
soil layer • Plants: mosses & lichens
– Dwarf shrubs – keeps plants out of wind & increased area for sunlight
– Animals: mosquitoes!, migratory birds, caribou, wolves, moose, mice, hares, foxes, polar bear
– Threats: oil – pollution & habitat destruction
Desert BiomesDesert = Low Precipitation
1. Tropical Desert– Ex: Sahara desert in Africa– Temperature changes during day: 100F + in day to cool
at night; daytime temps hot all year long– Very few plants
2. Temperate Desert– North & South America, Asia, Australia– Daytime temps high in summer, low in winter– Plants: adapted to obtaining & conserving H2O
• Cacti: thick, fleshy stems that store water; leaves have waxy cuticle
• Desert cont.– Animals: some mammals, snakes, lizards, tortoises
• Have thick skin to prevent water loss• Amphibians burrow & go dormant during “dry” season• Most are nocturnal
3. Cold Desert– Ex: China’s Gobi Desert– Winters are quite cold, summers
are warm/hot– Animals: lizards, gazelle, bactrian
camel
Bill, Bob and Bubba
Tundra
Taiga
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Grasslands
Desert
Rain Forest
