Biomes

University of San Carlos de Guatemala
Engineering Faculty
School science
Technical Language 2

Biomes


Introduction

In our world there are different types of climates in certain land areas and a biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment. The climate and geography of a region determines what type ofbiome can exist in that region. Major biomes include deserts, forests, grasslands, tundra, and several types of aquatic environments. Each biome consists of many ecosystems whose communities have adapted to the small differences in climate and the environment inside the biome.

Objectives

* Understanding the meaning of which is a biome.
* Know the characteristics between different typesof biomes

Biomes

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a large area, creating a typical ecosystem over that area. Such major ecosystemsare termed as biomes. Biomes are defined by factors such as plant structures (such as trees, shrubs, and grasses), leaf types (such as broadleaf and needleleaf), plant spacing (forest,woodland, savanna), and climate. Unlike ecozones, biomes are not defined by genetic, taxonomic, or historical similarities. Biomes are often identified with particular patterns of ecological succession and climaxvegetation (quasiequilibrium state of the local ecosystem). An ecosystemhas many biotopes and a biome is a major habitat type. A major habitat type, however, is a compromise, as it has an intrinsic inhomogeneity.
The biodiversity characteristic of each extinction, especially the diversity of fauna and subdominant plant forms, is a function of abiotic factors and the biomass productivity of thedominant vegetation. In terrestrial biomes, species diversity tends to correlate positively with net primary productivity, moisture availability, and temperature.
Ecoregions are grouped into both biomes and ecozones.
A fundamental classification of biomes is:
1. Terrestrial (land) biomes
2. Aquatic biomes (including freshwater biomes and marine biomes)
Biomes are often known in English bylocal names. For example, a temperate grassland or shrubland biome is known commonly as steppe in central Asia, prairie in North America, andpampas in South America. Tropical grasslands are known as savanna in Australia, whereas in southern Africa it is known as certain kinds of veld (from Afrikaans).
Sometimes an entire biome may be targeted for protection, especially under an individual nation'sbiodiversity action plan.
Climate is a major factor determining the distribution of terrestrial biomes. Among the important climatic factors are:
* Latitude: Arctic, boreal, temperate, subtropical, tropical
* Humidity: humid, semihumid, semiarid, and arid
* seasonal variation: Rainfall may be distributed evenly throughout the year or be marked by seasonal variations.
* drysummer, wet winter: Most regions of the earth receive most of their rainfall during the summer months; Mediterranean climate regions receive their rainfall during the winter months.
* Elevation: Increasing elevation causes a distribution of habitat types similar to that of increasing latitude.
The most widely used systems of classifying biomes correspond to latitude (or temperature zoning) andhumidity. Biodiversity generally increases away from the poles towards theequator and increases with humidity.

Biome classifications chemes
Biomes are classification schemes which define biomes using climatic parameters. Particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a significant push to understand the relationships between these climatic parameters and properties of ecosystem energetics...