Biomes at a Glance Temperate Deciduous Forest Location of Temperature Deciduous Forests
Temperate deciduous forests are forests in cool, rainy areas; they have trees that lose their leaves in
Fall and regrow them in Spring. Temperate deciduous forests are found in the middle latitudes
around the globe and have four distinct seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. In the Northern
Hemisphere, these forests are found in North America, Europe, and Asia. In the Southern
Hemisphere, there are smaller areas of these forests, in South America, Africa, and Australia. The
growing season in these forests is about 6 months long.
Temperature and Precipitation: The average temperature in temperate deciduous forests is
roughly 75°F (24°C) but gets as high as 86°F (30°C), depending on the altitude of the forest.
Forests higher in the mountains are colder. Deciduous forests receive from 2 to 5 feet (0.5-1.5 m) of
precipitation (both rain and snow) each year. Humidity in these forests is high, from 60% to 80%.
Geography Temperate Deciduous forests can be found anywhere from the hills of mountains to valleys, and flat lands. Plants and Animals Temperate deciduous forests have a wide variety of trees, flowers, and shrubs. Common plants
found in temperature deciduous forests are pine trees, oak trees, elm trees, maple trees, many
types of ivy, flowers, and bushes.
Animals common found in temperate deciduous forests are bears, squirrels , deer, rabbits,
eagles, small birds, wolves, frogs, snakes, lizards, raccoons, and mice.
Deserts Deserts cover about one fifth (20 percent) of the earth's land area. The desert is a harsh environment
with very little rainfall and extreme temperatures; a desert is defined as a region that gets less than
ten inches of precipitation per year. Because of these dry conditions, there is limited plant and
animal life in deserts. Desert plants (like cacti) are not abundant; neither is animal life.
Temperature and Precipitation
Some deserts get both very hot (during the day) and very cold (during the night, when temperatures
can drop well below freezing). Some deserts, however, are always cold (for example, the Gobi
Desert in Asia, and the desert on the continent of Antarctica).
Animals and Plants
Different animals live in the different types of deserts. Animals that live in the desert have
adaptations to cope with the lack of water, the extreme temperatures, and the shortage of food. To
avoid daytime heat, many desert animals are nocturnal; they burrow beneath the surface or hide in
the shade during the day, emerging at night to eat. Many desert animals do not have to drink at all;
they get all the water they need from their food. Most desert animals are small. Common animals
you might find are mammals like coyotes, bats, camels, and Kangaroos. You might also find
reptiles like snakes and tortoises. The insects you could expect to find are spiders, flies, beetles, and
scorpians.
Plants that are common to deserts are cacti, small trees and grasses. Very little can grow in such dry
conditions.
Geography
Deserts are usually relatively flat and covered in sand. In cold deserts like Antarctica, there may be
some snow and ice.
Rainforests Precipitation and
Temperature
The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth. An average of 50 to
260 inches (125 to 660 cm.) of rain falls yearly.
Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets
higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20 °C); average humidity is between 77 and 88%;
rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year. There is usually a brief season of less rain. In monsoonal
areas, there is a real dry season. Almost all rain forests lie near the equator.
Plants and Animals
Rainforests contain the most plant and animal diversity (different types) of any biome. You
might find mammals like monkeys, panthers, sloths, and bats, birds like owls, finches, and
flamingos, reptiles like turtles, iguanas, and pythons; amphibians like poison frogs,
salamanders, and toads; and a wide variety of giant insects and tiny insects.
Just as there are thousands of animal species in the rainforest, there are thousands of varieties of
plants. Trees, vines, bushes, and low lying plants dominate the rainforest.
Geography
Like Temperate deciduous forests, rainforests can be found on mountains, valleys and flatlands.
Taiga A taiga, also called a boreal forest or northern coniferous forest, is a cold woodland or forest. This
biome span the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. Taigas are generally located
south of tundras and north of temperate deciduous forests and temperate grasslands. The taiga is the
largest land biome on Earth, covering about 50 million acres of land (20 million hectares); this is
about 17% of the Earth's land area. Taiga is a Russian word for marshy pine forest.
Precipitation and Temperature
The taiga is characterized by a cold, harsh climate, a low rate of precipitation (snow and rain), and
short growing season. There are two types of taigas: open woodlands with widely spaced trees, and
dense forests whose floor is generally in shade.
Plants and Animals
Taigas are relatively low in animal diversity because of the harsh winters. Some taiga animals are
able to cope with the cold winter environment, but many migrate south to warmer climates during
the winter and others go into hibernation. Animals found in the taiga are usually mammals like
deer, moose, wolves, rabbits, wolverines, and bears.
The most common type of plant found in the Taiga are conifer trees. Conifer trees are the family of
trees that represent needle trees (i.e. pine trees). These trees are always green and never lose their
needle cover.
Geography
Taigas can be found on mountains, valleys, or flatlands. They are always found in the northern
regions of the world.
Tundra Climate The tundra is a cold, treeless area; it is the coldest biome. The tundra is characterized by very low
temperatures, very little precipitation (rain or snow), a short growing season, few nutrients, and low
biological diversity. The word tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia, which means "treeless
plain."
Plants and Animals Types of animals found in the Tundra: o
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Mammals - Arctic foxes, Arctic hares, caribou, ermine, lemmings, musk oxen, polar
bears, porcupines, Arctic shrews, squirrels, voles, weasels, wolves
Birds - Arctic loons, snowy owls, falcons, ptarmigans, ravens, snow buntings, snow
birds, snow geese, sandpipers, Arctic terns, tundra swans, many species of gulls
Fish - cod, flatfish, salmon, trout
Insects - Arctic bumblebees, blackflies, flies, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, and moths
Plants don’t usually grow here because the ground is almost always frozen. Only when the ground melts and becomes softer can anything grow. Usually, the only thing that can grow are flowers and grasses. Geography Tundras can be found anywhere from mountains to flat lands to valleys. They are always found near the North pole. Grasslands A grassland is a grassy, windy, partly-­‐dry biome, a sea of grass. Almost one-­‐fourth of the Earth's land area is grassland. In many areas, grasslands separate forests from deserts. Deep-­‐rooted grasses dominate the flora in a grassland; there are very few trees and shrubs in a grassland, less than one tree per acre. There are many different words for grassland environments around the world, including savannas, pampas, campos, plains, steppes, prairies and veldts.
Animals
Many animals live in grasslands, from invertebrates (like grasshoppers and beetles) to large
mammals (like antelopes and bison). The different grasslands of the world support different
populations of animals.
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Africa - aardvark, African wild cat, African elephant, many antelopes, baboon, buffalo,
Cape hunting dog, cheetah, giraffe, gnu, hartebeest, hippopotamus, hyena, impala, jackals,
kudu, leopard, lion, meerkat,
Australia - dingo, emu, kangaroo, wallaby, wombat, and many other animals. Many nonnative animals have been introduced, including the camel, donkey, goat, horse, rabbit, and
sheep.
North America - American toad, badger, black-footed ferret, bison, black-tailed jack rabbit,
bumble bee, burrowing owl, California condor, carrion beetle, common snipe, coyote, deer,
dragonfly,
South America - armadillo, opossum, fox, jaguar, llama, puma, rhea, tapir, many rodents,
and many other animals.
Eurasia - golden pheasant, leopard gecko, snow leopard, vole, and many other animals.
Geography
Grasslands are usually flat or slightly hilly.
Oceans
Oceans cover almost 3/4 of the Earth's surface and contain roughly 97% of the Earth's water
supply. Life on Earth originated in the salty seas, and contines to be home to an incredibly diverse
web of life.
The Earth's oceans are all connected to one another. There are five oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic,
Indian, Arctic, and Southern. There are also many seas (smaller branches of an ocean); seas are
partly enclosed by land. The largest seas are the South China Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the
Mediterranean Sea.
Temperature and Climate
Oceans can have a wide range of temperatures. Near the poles, the surface of the ocean is
covered in ice, and under the surface is near 32F. Near the equator the temperature of the ocean
can close to 85F. Oceans receive every type of precipitation and temperature because they are
everywhere.
Plants and Animals
Oceans hold a wide variety of animals. The mammals you might find are whales, dolphins,
seals, and walruses. The reptiles you might find are turtles, snakes, and some crocodiles. The
amphibians you might find are salamanders and frogs. You will find a wide variety of fish from
sharks to tuna to salmon.
You will find some plants in the ocean but not a lot. Mostly, you can find seagrasses near the
shore of the oceans. You will also find seaweed and a very small type of plant called
phytoplankton which is what many organisms eat in the ocean.