Biomes

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Biomes
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Spheres of the Earth

• Atmosphere
• Stratosphere
• Troposphere
• Lithosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Biosphere

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Weather

• Short-term properties of the troposphere at any
  given place and time
• Includes
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Humidity
• Precipitation
• Sunshine
• Cloud cover
• Wind speed and direction

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Climate

• average longterm weather of an area
• Two main factors
• Temperature
• precipitation

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Global Circulation effect on regional climates

• Uneven heating of earths surface
• Seasons from tilting of earth on its axis
• Rotation of earth preventing air currents from
  moving due north or south
• Variations in amount of solar radiation hitting
  earth
• Creation of convection cells

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Coriolis Effect

• Deflection of winds
• To the right in northern hemisphere
• To the left in the southern hemisphere

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Currents and Upwelling

• Suppression of upwelling along coast of Peru
• Triggers extreme weather changes

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El Nino
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Microclimates

• Local conditions affecting Weather
• South facing exposures
• Plants and humidity
• Cities and heat

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Rain Shadow Effect

• Loss of moisture on wind-facing side of a
  mountain

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Weather Variability

• Fronts boundary between two air masses with
  different temperatures and densities
• Warm Fronts
• Cold Fronts

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Warm Front

• Boundary between advancing warm air mass and
  cooler one it is replacing
• Warm air less dense so it rises above cooler air
• Moisture condenses creating clouds
• As clouds thicken get rain

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Cold Front

• Advancing mass of cool air
• Cool air is denser than warm air it replaces so
  it forces warm air to rise creating thunderclouds
• High winds associated with cold front

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Pressure

• Greater number of air molecules above a surface
  increases molecules to exert a force on that
  surface and consequently, the pressure increases.
  
• A reduction in the number of air molecules above
  a surface will result in a decrease in pressure.
• Atmospheric pressure is measured with a "barometer

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High Pressure

• High pressure contains cool, dense air that
  warms as it descends to the earth usually
  producing fair weather

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Low Pressure

• Low pressure less dense warm air spirals toward
  center of air mass center of low rises creating
  rain

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Extreme Weather Events

• Tornadoes
• Hurricanes
• Pre-existing weather disturbance
• Warm tropical oceans
• Moisture
• Relatively light winds aloft

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Biomes

• Ecosystems with communities adapted to
  differences in climate, soil and environmental
  factors

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Major Terrestrial Biomes

• Desert Biome
• Grassland, Tundra and Chaparral
• Forest Biomes
• Mountain Biomes

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Desert Biome

• Area where evaporation exceeds precipitation
• Located in areas where air has lost its moisture
  (30 latitude)

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Deserts

• Tropical hot year round with very little
  precipitation Saudi Arabia
• Temperate hot in summer and cool in winter with
  some precipitation Nevada California

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Deserts

• Polar warm summers and cold winters with little
  precipitation Northwest China

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Plant adaptations

• Small or no leaves
• Shallow roots
• Water storing tissue succulents
• Storage in seeds
• Dormancy

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Animal Adaptations

• Small body size
• Activity at night
• Thick skin
• Dry feces

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Human Impacts

• Disruption of soil
• Sinking of desert land under depleted aquifers
• Mining
• Solar collectors for energy

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Grassland, Tundra and Chaparral

• Areas with enough precipitation to allow grass
  and some shrubs even trees to grow seasonal
  drought, grazing and periodic fires prevent trees
• Found in the interior of continents

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Grasslands

• Tropical grasslands high average temperatures,
  low to moderate precipitation and prolonged dry
  season occur beyond borders of tropical rain
  forest

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Grasslands

• Temperate grasslands winters very gold and
  summers are dry and hot low to moderate
  precipitation that falls unevenly throughout
  region - Kansas
• Polar grasslands or tundra very cold throughout
  the year with frigid winds and snow and ice
  cover. Low precipitation falls as snow.
  Permafrost layer of soil that does not thaw
  prevents infiltration forming bogs and shallow
  pools that insects thrive in. - Alaska

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Savannas

• Tropical savannas warm all year with
  alternating wet and dry seasons with abundant
  rain rest of year although may experience drought
  - Serengeti
• Chaparral long, hot dry summers and mild wet
  winters. Maintained by fire and periodic
  flooding and mud slides. California

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Plant Adaptations

• Wind pollinated grasses
• Broad-leafed deciduous plants and isolated trees

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Animal Adaptations

• Herds of grazing and browsing (twig and leaf
  nibbling) hoofed animals
• Small mammals
• Abundant insect life
• Predators on herbivores

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Human Impacts

• Livestock
• Cropland
• Poor farming practices soil loss
• Mining and oil exploration

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Forest Biomes

• Undisturbed areas with moderate to high levels of
  rainfall
• Found worldwide

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Forests

• Tropical Rain Forest warm temperatures, high
  humidity and almost daily rainfall soil
  nutrients and sunlight are limiting factor in
  plant growth. Very high biodiversity equator
  Brazil
• Tropical Deciduous Forest warm year round with
  most rain in Monsoon season followed by long dry
  season. Contains deciduous trees that loose
  leaves between rain forests and savannas - Asia

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Forests

• Temperate deciduous forest moderate
  temperatures changing with seasons long warm
  summers with cold winters abundant
  precipitation spread out throughout the year
  Lynchburg
• Evergreen Coniferous Forests winters long , dry
  and extremely cold. moderate to low rainfall
  with drought conditions in winter. Nutrient poor
  acidic soils. Pacific coast - Russia

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Plant Adaptations

• Emergent layer upper story of trees
• Canopy dense layer of leaves and branches
• Understory small trees adapted to low light
• Shrub layer shrubs adapted to less light
• Forest floor open and free of vegetation

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Animal Adaptations

• Multitude of niches among forest floor and canopy
  layer

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Human Impacts

• Land cleared for food, wood and cropland
• Hunting
• Mining for peat, ore and other minerals

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Mountain Biomes

• Conditions are variable with altitude and sides
  of the mountain
• Many variations in vegetation take place over
  very short changes in distance

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Plant Adaptations

• Cooler Climates
• Acid Rain
• Rocky soil
• High Winds

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Animal Adaptations

• Mountain terrain
• Harsh Climate

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Human Impacts

• Rapidly increasing population
• Logging and mining
• Development ski resorts, golf courses, dams and
  reservoirs
• Warfare
• Air pollution at higher elevations acid rain
  and UV from ozone depletion