Biomes of the earth Essay

A Biome is all of the life zones, all plants, beasts, and other organisms, as wellspring as the physical environment in a particular argona. A biome is characterized by its plant life, which is determined by its location. For example, nitrogenern coniferous timberlands pull round in sub-arctic portions of North America and Asia, but further north, the conditions are exclusively too harsh and the season too brief for maneuvers to formulate. Instead of trees, the laconic vegetation of the tundra thrives in these areas. The same progresss with altitude, as trees give way to gip alpine vegetation in high mountainous regions.A biome is unruffled of m both ecosystems, which are smaller communities of plants and animals and their habitats, the physical parts of their environment that impinge on them. Whereas, the boundaries of a biome are determined by climate, the boundaries of ecosystems are physical features, such(prenominal) as ridges or riverbanks, which separate one com munity from another. Any effrontery place may moderate several different ecosystems that vary in size and hardness. A tropical island, for example, may stick out a fallwater forest ecosystem that covers hundreds of square miles, a mangrove swamp ecosystem along the coast, and an submerged coral reef ecosystem. No matter how the size or complexity of an ecosystem is characterized, all ecosystems exhibit a constant exchange of matter and energy between the biotic and abiotic community.The ecosystems of a particular biome tend to have plants with mistakable growth forms and animals with exchangeable feeding habits. Major biomes include tropical rain forest, northern coniferous forest, tundra, relinquish, grassland, savanna, and chaparral.The tropical rain forest is the intimately complex biome in the world. This biome is found at low elevations in the tropics where it is forever warm and wet. Rain forests are characterized by a dense tree rouseopy tree top branches and lea ves that overlap with each other, creating a shaded forest interior. These stubopies may reach up to 160 feet high. The thick canopy allows gnomish sunlight to penetrate, so rain forest floors have little cornerstone cover. The soil lacks nutrients, and approximately plants are able to store what few nutrients they can absorb. There are more species of plants in rain forests than in any other ecosystem in the world. Deep within the clutter of dense foliage, person species boast unique characteristics suited to their highly specialized existence. Middle-story plants, for example, often have large leaves to capture what little light filters through the canopy, while epiphytes have overlapping leaves that trap and store water.The northern coniferous forest, also know as the taiga in Russia, is found in a broad subarctic band across Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Russia, and China, where the winters are long and cold. Conifers, such as spruce, larch, and fir, are the dominant pla nts, but lichens and mosses are abundant too. These forests normally occupy at a time glaciated regions and occur in association with lakes, bogs, and rivers.The tundra is the treeless plain that lies north of the northern coniferous forests and on the Antarctic Peninsula in the southern hemisphere. Trees cannot rifle in this biome because of the cold temperatures, high winds, and heavy snowfall, as well as the permafrost, a layer of permanently frozen subsoil. Plant life tends to grow low to the ground. In the summer, large numbers of birds migrate to the tundra to feed on insects. Other animals found in this area include reindeer, wolves, fox, voles, and lemmings. A similar biome, called the alpine biome, is found in high mountain areas around the world. correspondent harsh conditions cause vegetation to grow low to the ground in alpine meadows.Desert biomes are characterized by less than 10 inches of one-year precipitation and high temperatures. To combat this lack of moistur e, desert plants have authentic water-conserving features, such as leaves that are light-colored, small, thick, or waxy. Animals that live in the desert are often light-colored, blend in well with their surroundings, and are usually more active at night to avoid the blazing set off during the day.Grassland biomes are found on every continent except Antarctica, accounting system for about one quarter of the Earths land surface. typically found on flat or rolling terrain, grasslands tend to occur in the interior of continents where precipitation is lower. Periodic droughts occur in most grasslands, accompanied by searing heat that scorches most vegetation in the area. Grasslands are covered with grasses, sedges, and other low-growing, perennial plants. Drought, fire, and grazing by herbivores, such as bison and deer, restrict tree growth. Most grasslands have been extensively cultivated and are now regions where major crops of wheat, corn, and other grains are grown. Temperate natural grasslands wax in regions characterized by an annual rainfall between 10 and 30 inches.Tropical savannas are expansive grasslands dotted with trees. The worlds largest and best-known savanna is the African savanna, which covers much of the continent south of the Sahara desert. In the African savanna, herds of animals graze on the tall grass, and giraffes browse on the trees. Other tropical savannas are found in South America, India, and Australia.The chaparral biome is dominated by dense thickets of mostly small-leafed evergreen shrubs. It is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. This biome can be found in the foothills of calcium and Mediterranean climate regions. bush plants have adapted to the frequent fires that result from lightning and dry conditions. The chaparral shrublands of California, with mix communities of low-growing evergreen or deciduous shrubs, represent a distinct habitat in large parts of western North America. Some of the most well-d eveloped chaparral shrubland is found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Range mountains of California and in mountainous areas of Arizona and Utah.All of these biomes contain different animal species. However, all of these biomes have the same purpose in the world. That purpose is to nourishment and sustain life on our planet.