Let s Start at the Top! The Big Break-Down of Biomes Another fantabulous presentation by Mrs. Battistone This biome is found just south of the North Pole northern Canada, Northern Europe and Asia. - less than 25 cm a year! (6-10 inches) - this is mostly snow The yearly average is -18 F (Winters can be as cold as -94 F and summers can be as warm as 54 F) Some common animals adapted to the tundra are Polar Bear Ptarmigan Musk Oxen Caribou Why? Some plants you might find in the tundra are Notice there are NO TREES in the tundra! Mosses Small shrubs Lichens That s because the soil is frozen almost all year around it s so frozen, it s called PERMAFROST! 1
What is happening to the? Humans build roads, fences and pipelines that disturb the migration routes of the animals there. This can lead to overgrazing, which makes food become a limiting factor! Let s move south to TAIGA / Coniferous Forest This biome is found just south of the tundra (50-60 degrees latitude) 30 75 cm a year Taiga - A mix of snow, rain and dew - In the summer, 20-70 F - In the winter, -65 to 20 F Some animals you might find in the taiga are Taiga Moose Snowy Owl Lynx Some plants you might find in the taiga are Taiga What s happening to the taiga? Humans like to make paper out of evergreen trees so we cut them down, taking out entire forests! Mosses Conifers (evergreen) trees!!! This makes space a limiting factor because animals are losing their habitats! 2
Let s move onto This is our biome (VA), covering most of the eastern USA, western Europe and parts of Asia. 75 150 cm a year - between 30 and 90 F Here are some animals you might find in our biome Squirrel Here are the plants found in our biome Evergreens Maples Black Bear Oaks White-Tailed Deer Remember, deciduous forests are full of deciduous trees that means that they change colors and lose their leaves in the fall and winter. What s happening to the Deciduous forest? The human population keeps growing so we keep cutting down our forests to make place for suburbs and cities We then pollute the areas that haven t been de-forested already! 3
Let s move into the Grasslands! Grasslands are mainly found in the middle of the USA and a large part of South America. Grasslands that are found in Africa are known as savannas Grasslands / Savanna Between 25 and 75 cm of rain a year Between -40 and 70 Grasslands / Savanna Here are some animals you might see on the grassland/savanna Grasslands / Savanna Here are some plants that you will see in a grassland or savanna Grasses American Bison Zebra Wheat Corn Prairie dogs What s happening to our grasslands? Many grasslands and savannas are suffering from overgrazing too many domestic animals are eating the grasses and are ruining the soil. Let s move onto our wettest biome Tropical Rainforest This biome is found in South America, parts of Africa, and India. This is the biome found mainly around the Equator! 4
Tropical Rainforest 125-660 cm of rain a year Average humidity is between 77% and 88% all the time Here are some animals you may see in the tropical rainforest Tropical Rainforest 68 through 93 F Monkeys and Lemurs Tree Frogs Macaws Here are some plants you may see in the tropical rainforest Tropical Rainforest Buttresses What s happening to the Tropical Rainforest? Similar to other biomes, the tropical rainforest is the source of many resources that humans use unfortunately, that means that we are cutting down the rainforest (An acre and a half a second) and taking away trees and habitats for other animals! Orchids and Epiphytes Last one! Desert! Deserts are found in the southwestern part of the USA, in the middle of Africa, and in parts of the Middle East 15 25 cm a year Desert - 55 to 110 F (yes some deserts can be very cold especially at night) 5
Here are some animals you might find in the desert Desert Snakes Here are some plants that are found in the desert Desert Brittle Bush Saguaro Cactus Joshua Tree Gila Monster Roadrunner What s Happening to the Desert? As humans, we tend to take resources away from the environment in this case, we take water away from the animals and plants in the desert! 6