Biomes

• A biome has it's own kinds of plants, animals, and soil.  It also has it's own patterns of temperature and rainfall.
• Grassland-main plants are grass, not much rainfall.

 

• Prairie-mild climate grassland. Sun burns grass in the summer which makes rich soil good for farming.

 

• Savanna-grassland with shrubs and few trees, warm all year, less fertile soil.

 

• Deciduous forests-trees lose leaves each year. Cold winters, warm summers, trees broad leaves keep sunlight from reaching ground.  Ground is covered with leaves that decay to make the soil rich, covered with flowers and ferns.

 

• Tropical Rain Forest- hot humid, much rain, tall leafy trees.

 

• Parts of a Forest-

1. Canopy-tops of trees spread over the forest like an umbrella, receive most light
2. understory-dense layers of damp leaves
3. floor- too dark for many plants to grow

• Desert-sandy or rocky, little rain, extreme temperatures

 

• Taiga-Russian word for "forest", cool forests in upper regions of the north, lakes and ponds, formed by glaciers, conifers grow here, winters long and cold, animals have thick fur to protect them from cold, melting snow provides water for animals.

 

• Tundra-cold dry, no trees, ground frozen all year, little rain, long icy winters, summers short and cool, plants grow close to the ground and use shallow roots to get water, animals have extra layers of fat to stay warm, some birds fly south to find warm weather in winter.

 

• Freshwater Ecosystem-streams and rivers have flowing water.  Lakes and ponds have still water which makes it easier for algae and plants to grow.
• Wetland-ecosystem where roots of plants grow below water.
• Estuary-ecosystem where ocean and freshwater meet
• Algae can grow in the ocean on the surface where there is plenty of sunlight to grow.