Biomes are defined as "the world's major communities, classified according to the

predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular

environment" (Campbell).
Biomes are classified in various ways. This page will group biomes into five major
types:

Aquatic

Deserts

Forests

Grasslands

Tundra

Biomes are very large ecological areas on the earths surface, with fauna and flora (animals and plants) adapting to their
environment. Biomes are often defined by abiotic factors such as climate, relief, geology, soils and vegetation. A biome
is NOT an ecosystem, although in a way it can look like a massive ecosystem. If you take a closer look, you will notice
that plants or animals in any of the biomes have special adaptations that make it possible for them to exist in that area.
You may find many units of ecosystems within one biome.

There are five major categories of biomes on earth. In these five, there are many sub-biomes, under which are many
more well defined ecosystems.
Deserts
This biome is the driest; it only receives 50cm of rainfall a year (about 10% of the rainfall in the rainforest). Its
plants and animals have to survive in an environment with little water and dramatic temperature changes from
day to night. Some animals and plants may find if difficult to adapt, but reptiles and cacti thrive in these
conditions.
This biome includes: 1. Hot and dry desert biomes include the Sahara of North Africa
and the Chihuahuan of Southern USA and parts of Mexico.
2. Semiarid desert biomes include the sagebrush of Utah, Montana and Great Basin.,
3. Coastal desert biomes include Atacama Desert of Chile
and Peru, and
4. Cold deserts
Annual rainfall in the desert is less than 10 inches (25 cm) and, in some years, may be zero. Because of the
extreme dryness of the desert, its colonization is limited to
plants such as cacti, sagebrush, and mesquite that have a number of adaptations that conserve water over
long periods;
fast-growing annuals whose seeds can germinate, develop to maturity, flower, and produce a new crop
of seeds all within a few weeks following a rare, soaking rain.
The photo shows the desert in the Anza-Borego park in southern California.
Many of the animals in the desert (mammals, lizards and snakes, insects, and even some birds) are adapted for
burrowing to escape the scorching heat of the desert sun. Many of them limit their forays for food to the night.
The net productivity of the desert is low. High productivity can sometimes be achieved with irrigation, but
these gains are often only temporary. The high rates of evaporation cause minerals to accumulate near the
surface and soon their concentration may reach levels toxic to plants.
Forests
Forest biomes cover about 1/3 of the Earths land surface. They are dominated by trees and contain many
different plants and animals. Forests take in the carbon that we exhale and give off the oxygen we breathe in,
making them really important to our survival.
This biome includes: Tropical, Deciduous, and Taiga (boreal) forests
Temperate Deciduous Forest
This biome occupies the eastern half of the United States and a large portion of Europe. It is characterized by:
hardwood trees (e.g., beech, maple, oak, hickory) which
are deciduous; that is, shed their leaves in the autumn.
The number of different species is far more limited than in the jungle.
Large stands dominated by a single species are common.
Deer, raccoons, and salamanders are characteristic inhabitants.
During the growing season, this biome can be quite productive in both natural and agricultural
ecosystems.
Chaparral
The annual rainfall in the chaparral biome may reach 2030 inches (6476 cm), but in contrast to the grasslands,
almost all of this falls in winter. Summers are very dry and all the plants trees, shrubs, and grasses are
more or less dormant then.
The chaparral is found in California. (The photo shows the chaparral-clad foothills of the Sierra Nevada in
California.) Similar biomes (with other names, such as scrub forest), are found around much of the
Mediterranean Sea and along the southern coast of Australia.
The trees in the chaparral are mostly oaks, both deciduous and evergreen. Scrub oaks and shrubs like manzanita
and the California lilac (not a relative of the eastern lilac) form dense, evergreen thickets. All of these plants are
adapted to drought by such mechanisms as waxy, waterproof coatings on their leaves.
The chaparral has many plants brought to it from similar biomes elsewhere. Vineyards, olives, and figs flourish
just as they do in their native Mediterranean biome. So, too, do eucalyptus trees transplanted from the
equivalent biome in Australia.
The chaparral biome is one that is found in areas of every single continent. However, many people dont
realize it is the same. That is because there are several different types of terrain that this particular biome is
associated with. In some areas they are flat plains but in other regions there are hills. Still yet, others consist of
mountain terrain areas. They really are lovely areas with lots to offer.
A chaparral biome is created when cool water from an ocean merges with a landmass that is at a high
temperature. You will find them about 30 to 40 degrees below and above the equator. They are found just
beyond the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The major chaparral biomes are found along the coast
of Baja and California. They are also found in various areas around the Mediterranean Sea.

Tropical Rain Forest
In the Western Hemisphere, the tropical rain forest reaches its fullest development in the jungles of Central and
South America.
The trees are very tall and of a great variety of species.
One rarely finds two trees of the same species growing close to one another.
The vegetation is so dense that little light reaches the forest floor.
Most of the plants are evergreen, not deciduous.
The branches of the trees are festooned with vines and epiphytes (see the photo taken in the Luquillo
National Forest of Puerto Rico).
Epiphytes are plants that live perched on
sturdier plants. They do not take nourishment
from their host as parasitic plants do.
Because their roots do not reach the ground,
they depend on the air to bring them
moisture and inorganic nutrients. Many
orchids and many bromeliads (members of
the pineapple family like "Spanish moss")
are epiphytes.
The lushness of the tropical rain forest suggests a high net productivity, but this is illusory. Many of the
frequent attempts to use the tropical rain forest for conventional crops have been disappointing. Two problems:
The high rainfall leaches soil minerals below the reach of plant roots.
The warmth and moisture cause rapid decay so little humus is added to the soil.
More on jungle soils.
The tropical rain forest exceeds all the other biomes in the diversity of its animals as well as plants. Most of the
animals mammals and reptiles, as well as birds and insects live in the trees.
The closest thing to a tropical rain forest in the continental United States are the little wooded "islands" found
scattered through the Everglades in the southern tip of Florida. Their existence depends on the fact that it never
freezes, and they often escape the fires that periodically sweep the Everglades.
Temperate Rain Forest
The temperate rain forest combines high annual rainfall with a temperate climate. The Olympic Peninsular in
North America is a good example. An annual rainfall of as much as 150 inches (381 cm) produces a lush forest
of conifers.

Freshwater
Freshwater is water that has a salt level of less than 1%. Most species living in freshwater cannot live in salt
water, although there are some exceptions. This biome also plays an important role for life on Earth. It provides
drinking water for humans and other animals, it is also vital for plant growth.
This biome includes: Ponds, lakes, Streams, Rivers and Wetlands
A freshwater biome is one that many people overlook the importance of. They are much smaller bodies of
water, but important just the same. These freshwater biomes include lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks. They all
dump water into a marsh area, typically from the mouth of the rivers. Some that people never consider though
include ditches, gutters, canals, and even puddles. They too can be a freshwater biome due to the fact that life
will use them for survival.
Freshwater biomes cover 1/5 of the Earth and they are vital to our survival. More than half of the drinking water
for humans and animals comes from this resource. When you take your daily shower you often just turn on the
faucet and take it for granted. However, just about all of that water comes initially from a freshwater biome
resource.
These bodies of water dont have to be very deep at all. They can be as low as only one foot of water in them.
They never have more than six feet of water in them. The Florida Everglades in the United States is the biggest
freshwater biome in the world. However, you will find freshwater biomes all over the world.
They are very important to the overall balance of things. Some people assume that this is the largest of all
biomes but it isnt. It is simply the fact that the freshwater biomes are so spread out every where you look that
gives the impression that they do make up a larger area than they really do.

Grasslands
It may not surprise you to hear that grasslands are filled with grasses. However, the length of the grass and the
number of trees within these biomes vary depending on the amount of rainfall. Since rainfall in the grasslands is
lower than rainforest but higher than desert, trees exist, but they are limited to growing near streams and other
water sources.
This biome includes: Savanna and Temperate grassland.
Grasslands are also known as prairie or plains. The annual precipitation in the grasslands averages 20 inches
(~51 cm) per year. A large proportion of this falls as rain early in the growing season. This promotes a vigorous
growth of perennial grasses and herbs, but except along river valleys is barely adequate for the growth of
forests.
The photo shows grassland in the Badlands National Monument in South Dakota.
Fire is probably the factor that tips the balance from forest to grasslands. Fires set by lightning and by
humans regularly swept the plains in earlier times. Thanks to their underground stems and buds, perennial
grasses and herbs are not harmed by fires that destroy most shrubs and trees.
The abundance of grass for food, coupled with the lack of shelter from predators, produces similar animal
populations in grasslands throughout the world. The dominant vertebrates are swiftly-moving, herbivorous
ungulates. In North America, bison and antelope were conspicuous members of the grassland fauna before the
coming of white settlers.
Now the level grasslands supply corn, wheat, and other grains, and the hillier areas support domesticated
ungulates: cattle and sheep.
When cultivated carefully, the grassland biome is capable of high net productivity. A major reason: rainfall in
this biome never leaches soil minerals below the reach of the roots of crop plants.

Marine
This biome covers more of the Earths surface than any other about 70%. Some areas are so deep that they can
contain entire mountains and even volcanoes. Like many of the other biomes on the planet, they play an
important role. This biome provides most of the rainwater that comes down from the sky and it is home to
some of the planets most diverse species.
This biome includes: Oceans, Coral Reefs, and Estuaries
Tundra
This is the coldest of all the biomes and species diversity is limited as a result. In fact, its name comes from the
Finnish word tunturi, meaning treeless plain. It receives even less rainfall than most deserts, although it remains
wet because the cold temperatures delay water from being evaporated. Plants, such as mosses and lichens, adapt
to these frigid conditions by having a shorter growing season.
This biome includes: Arctic and Alpine tundra
At extreme latitudes, the trees of the taiga become stunted by the harshness of the subarctic climate. Finally,
they disappear leaving a land of bogs and lakes.
The climate is so cold in winter that even the long days of summer are unable to thaw the permafrost
beneath the surface layers of soil.
Sphagnum moss, a wide variety of lichens, and some grasses and fast-growing annuals dominate the
landscape during the short growing season.
Caribou feed on this growth as do vast numbers of insects.
Swarms of migrating birds, especially waterfowl, invade the tundra in the summer to raise their young,
feeding them on a large variety of aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates.
As the brief arctic summer draws to a close, the birds fly south, and
all but a few of the permanent residents, in one way or another, prepare themselves to spend the winter
in a dormant state.

Taiga
The taiga is named after the biome in Russia.
It is a land dominated by conifers, especially spruces and firs.
It is dotted with lakes, bogs, and marshes.
It is populated by an even more limited variety of plants and animals than is the temperate deciduous
forest.
In North America, the moose is such a typical member that it has led to the name: "spruce-moose"
biome.
Before the long, snowy winter sets in, many of the mammals hibernate, and many of the birds migrate
south.
Although the long days of summer permit plants to grow luxuriantly, net productivity is low.
The taiga biome is one that has very long and cold winters. They summers are short and they are cool in
temperature. The cool air masses from the arctic can move in rapidly. The average temperature in the
summer is from 64 degrees to 72 degrees. However, in the winter months it can be -14 degrees. This is
the largest land biome, covering 27% of the Earths surface.
There is heavy snowfall in the winter months. During the summer it is humid and rainy. The average
annual rainfall is approximately 33 inches for the taiga biome. There is often no cloud cover in this
biome so the temperatures can drop very fast at night. It does warm up enough in the spring though for
flowers to melt and the ice to melt into the ponds.
The taiga biome is the home of the needle leaf forest regions. It is a lonely existence in this area. As a
result many of the animals in this area often suffer from struggles to find enough food to survive. It may
surprise you to discover that this particular biome is the largest one in the world. You will find it over
various areas of North America and Eurasia. The largest taiga biomes are found in Russia and Canada.
Savanna
When we think of the Savanna Biome, it is understandable that we think of hot and dry areas. However, it
may surprise you to learn that there is a very wet season and then a very dry season in the Savanna. They are
found in the lower latitudes. This particular biome falls in between a grassland and a forest region. They
often border the rainforests and can overlap with other types of biomes.
There are many areas out there where you will find the savanna biomes. They include Africa, Australia,
Madagascar, India, South America, and the Southeast part of Asia. Sometimes the animals and plants living
in the savanna biome are on the brink of death before they rainy season begins. They may not be able to
make it any longer without water when suddenly it begins to pour from the sky.
The largest place where you will find the savanna biome is in Africa. In fact, 46% of the land there fits this
particular profile. That is why it is very hard for them to sustain growing their own food in many locations.
You often see that this is an underdeveloped country, and a big part of it is that the land they have to work
with is very difficult for such survival.
Wetland
The wetland biome is one that many people dont really see as being important. In fact, in many areas they
consider it to be a nuisance. Swampland is the most common type of wetland biome you will find. They also
include marshes and bogs and they can be various sizes. Some of them are very long and deep. Others are
nothing more than a few feet of water in a given location but they are still very important.
In a wetland biome the water is always going to be standing still. You will find them in many low lying areas. It
is common for them to be very close to lakes, rivers, and streams. They may have water in them all the time or
only during particular times of the year. That is a key factor that separates it from other forms of biomes. The
combination of both land and water are essential for this biome to form.
They help the environment to be better due to the fact that they have a natural supply of water. They help to
prevent flooding in many locations as they are able to take on excess water from the other sources. However,
when a river or lake is low they can also release water back into them. They also have the natural ability to
purify surface water.
Plant matter is released into freshwater biomes from a wetland biome. The importance of this is that it allows
for fish to have plenty of types of food for them to survive. Florida has one of the largest wetland biomes in the
world. The humid conditions are perfect for such forms of plant and animal life to be able to survive.
Louisiana has long been a home for various wetland biomes. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina has destroyed
many of these areas. The changes in the environment proved to be too much for them to fully recover from. In
some areas they are slowly recovering but only time will tell how it turns out. Protecting the wetland biomes has
to be a priority though due to the fact that they are so important to those other biomes around them.