Types of Biomes
Name: ______________________________________________________ Period: ____ Date: _______
Essential Question: How do I describe the different types of biomes?
Biomes are the world's major habitats. These habitats are identified by the vegetation and animals that populate them.
The location of each biome is determined by the regional climate.
The Tundra biome ( coldest biome) is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and treeless. There are two
types of tundra, the arctic tundra and the alpine tundra . The arctic tundra is located between the north pole and the
coniferous forests or taiga. It is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and land that remains frozen year-round
called permafrost. Alpine tundra occurs in frigid mountaintop regions at very high elevations. Alpine tundra can be
found in high elevations anywhere in the world, even in tropic regions. Some locations of arctic and alpine tundra
include: Arctic Tundra: Northern Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Northern Europe. Alpine Tundra: Alaska, Canada,
Mexico, Northern Europe - Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden, Asia - Southern Asia (Himalayan Mountains), and
Japan (Mt. Fuji), Africa - Mt. Kilimanjaro, South America - Andes Mountains
Taigas, also called boreal forests or coniferous forests, are forests of dense evergreen trees that extend across
North America, Europe, and Asia. They are the world's largest land biome. Covering much of the globe. The
climate in the taiga biome is extremely cold. Taiga winters are long and harsh with temperatures averaging
below freezing. The summers are short and cool with temperatures ranging between 20-70 degrees Fahrenheit.
The annual precipitation is usually between 15-30 inches, mostly in the form of snow. Because the water
remains frozen and unusable to plants for most of the year, taigas are considered to be dry regions. Some
locations of taigas include: Alaska and Central Canada
Temperate Forests: are areas with high levels of precipitation, humidity and contain a variety of deciduous trees.
Deciduous trees change color depending on the seasons and lose their leaves in fall and winter. Temperate forests
receive abundant amounts of precipitation, usually between 20-60 inches of precipitation annually. This precipitation is
in the form of rain and snow. Some locations of temperate forests include: Eastern Asia, Central and Western Europe,
and Eastern United States. Temperate forest animals have many different ways to deal with the cold and lack of food in
winter. Some animals hibernate during the winter and arise in spring when food is more plentiful. Other animals store
food and burrow underground to escape the cold. Many animals escape the harsh conditions by migrating to warmer
regions in winter.
The desert biome is one that is very hot and dry. They are found at the lower latitudes. Light winds occur
often which evaporates any type of moisture that is typically going to develop in them. The heat is very dry
and that makes it hard for too many types of plants or animals to be able to survive in such biomes.
Approximately 20% of the Earth falls into this category. The Sahara desert in Africa is more than 3.5 million
square miles in size. The desert biome has two extremes that make it difficult to survive. First, it is extremely
hot and second, it is extremely dry. Most people don’t realize though that it can become cold as the sun goes
down in the desert. This is because there are very few trees or other elements there to retain any heat. One of
the famous desert biomes out there is called Death Valley. It is located in the Mojave Desert which is in the
United States. It spans through three states – Arizona, Nevada, and California. It is 25,000 square miles of sand
as far as the eyes can see.
Grassland is located in land. Grasslands in the United States are called prairies, while those in Africa are
called savannah. The annual precipitation of the grassland is 25-75cm,so it is really little rain. In the
grassland there is good vegetation. Some animals that live in savannah are zebras, wildebeest,and impala. In
the grassland there is good soil. Farming is common in grasslands.
R. Angat
Tropical Rain Forest, they are very dense and very wet all the time. In fact, it is typical for it to rain every
single day. The amount of rain per day though can vary. The location of the tropical rainforest is around the
equator. You will find tropical rainforest biomes in Australia, the Southeast of Asia, the Southern portion if
India, and South America. Tropical rainforest biomes are found in the lower latitudes. The temperature is
generally around 80 degrees. There is very high humidity too – from 77% to 88%. There isn’t a big change in
seasons like there are with many other biomes. Instead, this is what you can expect day after day. It will rain
just about every day due to the high humidity. The tropical rainforest biome is the most biodiverse among all
of the land biomes.
Clarifying Questions:
1. What is a biome?
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2. What are the two types of tundra biome?
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3. Why are there tundra biomes (coldest biome) on high mountains? Think!
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4. What kind of biome makes up Central Canada? _________________________________________________________
5. What are deciduous trees?
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6. Where are locations of the Mojave desert and Sahara desert?
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7. Why is it cold at night in the desert?
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8. What are prairies and savannahs?
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9. Where are tropical forests located?
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10. What kind of biome do we have in North Carolina? Think!
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11. What are the two extremes that make it difficult to survive in the desert?
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For items 12-23: Choose you answer from the following. You can use the choices more than once.
A. Desert
B. Taiga C. Tropical rainforest D. Temperate forest
E. Tundra
F. Grassland
____12. also called boreal forests or coniferous forests, are forests of dense evergreen trees
____13. areas with high levels of precipitation, humidity and contain a variety of deciduous trees.
____14. very hot and dry. They are found at the lower latitudes. Light winds occur often which evaporates any type of
moisture that is typically going to develop in them.
____15. in the United States are called prairies, while those in Africa are called savannah.
_____16. Is the most biodiverse biome.
_____17. very high humidity and a lot of rainfall.
_____18. extremely cold temperatures and land that remains frozen year-round called permafrost.
____19.
____20.
____21.
____22.
animals either hibernate or migrate during winter.
soil is very good for farming.
world's largest land biome.
trees changes colors depending on the season. Loses their leaves on autumn and winter.
____23. characterized by extremely cold temperatures and treeless.
R. Angat
Types of Biomes
Biomes established by altitude: Temperature is the major influence on the biomes discussed
above. Because temperatures decline with altitude as well as latitude, similar biomes exist on mountains even
when they are at low latitudes. As a rule of thumb, a climb of 1000 feet (about 300 m) is equivalent in changed
flora and fauna to a trip northward of some 600 miles (966 km).
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/B/Biomes.html
http://differenttypesofbiomes.weebly.com/
http://biology.about.com/od/landbiomes/a/aa052506a.htm
http://biology.about.com/od/landbiomes/a/aa050106a.htm
http://www.bioexpedition.com/tropical-rainforest-biome/
R. Angat