Tundra

Geography - top of globe, covering most lands north of arctic circle - Across north Scandinavia, northern Russia, northern Siberia, northern Alaska/Canada - Reaches south of arctic circle into Hudson bay, patches of Greenland and northern Ireland

Climate - cold and dry - not quite as cold/hot in winter/summer as boreal - short summers - precipitation from <200 mm to a little over 600 mm - precipitation > evaporation - short summers are soggy

Soils -

soil building is slow organic matter accumulates layer of permafrost even during the summer solufication moves soils down slopes pattern on surface of tundra soils (netlike, polygonal)

Boreal Forest

covers over 11% of Earths land area in northern hemisphere extends from Scandinavia, across Russia/Siberia to central Alaska, across central Canada in a band

winters are usually longer than 6 months summers too short to support temperate forests found in some moderate climates (Umea, Sweden); but also some very variable climates

low fertility, thin, acidic slows down decomposition of plant litter & soil building nutrients are found in the plant litter mycorrhizal fungi thin top soil may have layer

Biology - perennial herbaceous plants (grasses, sedges, mosses, lichens) - woody vegetation (dwarf willows, birches, lowgrowing shrubs) - very slow growing plants - very short with strong stems - supports substantial numbers of large mammals (caribou, bears) - small mammals (arctic fox, squirrel) - birds (ptarmigan, snowy owl) - abundant insects - evergreen conifers (spruce, fir, pines) - deciduous aspen & birch grow throughout Canadian boreal forests - willows along shores of rivers& lakes - mosses & nonvascular plants

Human Influences - past => limited to small populations of hunters & herders - present => exploration & extraction of oil/natural gas/ diamonds - rising temperatures = permafrost is melting = more organic material for decomposition = more CO2 emissions

humans consumed boreal forest animals for thousands of years northern people ate berries found in boreal harvesting of both animals & plants have

between 50 and 65 N lat tundra on the north, temperate forests/ grasslands to the south fingers of forest can be found from west to east coast of NA, reppear in western Europe, extending to east coast of Asia

(Verkhoyansk, Russia from 30C to -70C !) moderate precipitation (200 mm 600 mm) evaporation rates are low; infrequent droughts droughts = forest fires

of permafrost in extreme climates.

Temperate Forest

can be found 30-55 latitude, though MOST of forest is between 40-50 Asia: most of japan, eastern china, korea, eastern Siberia Europe: souther Scandanavia to northwestern Iberia; British

no extreme temperatures 650 nm to over 3000 nm precipitation more precipitation than temperate grasslands winters are milder in deciduous forests than in coniferous

usually fertile soils most fertile is under deciduous forests, where the soil is neutral or slightly acidic, rich in both organic matter & inorganic nutrients fertile soils may occasionally

large diversity of insects between moss & canopy layers, forest is open with little herbaceous vegetation large expanses of bogs & fens, lots of moss species => contains waterlogged soils, major predator is wolf; winter home of migratory caribou & reindeer year round home for moose & bison birds such as crossbills & zpruce grouse lower diversity than tropical forest, but can have more biomass vertically stratified = herbs; shrubs; shadetolerant trees; canopy = largest trees small arboreal mammals (squirrels) =

become intense in this area lumber, pulop, oil & gas exploration

a lot of large cities (Toronto, Tokyo, London, NYC, DC) are built on temperate forests many temperate deciduous forests can recover after years of logging & agriculture

Temperate Grasslands

Isles through Eastern Europe NA: Atlantic Sea coast to Great Plains & reappear on West Coast (nocal through southeastern Alaska) SA: southern Chile, New Zealand & Southern Australia largest biome in NA prairies extend from Southern Caanda to Gulf of Mexico; Rocky Mountains to deciduous forests of the East Can be found in Idaho, Washington & California Eurasia broken band from Eastern Europe to Eastern China Southern Hemisphere

forests Coniferous -> more severe winters & drier summers -

occur in coniferous, but the acidity of needles often leads to reduced decomposition coniferous nutrient movement is more conservative; more dynamic in deciduous

canopy deer, bear, fox = forest floor bats & others = inside of large trees fungi & bacteria = important consumers

300-1000 mm of precipitation annually droughts may persist for several years max rain occurs in summer

wide variety of plant materials most productive soils are deep, basic or neutral, and fertile & lots of organic matter the blacker the better ;)

dominated by herbaceous vegetation no woody vegetation up to 80% of living biomass is below ground grassland varies from 5 cm in dry, short-grass prairies to over 300 cm in wetter tall-grass prairies once supported tons of herbivoires (bison, wild horses, grizzly bear) = humans pushed them into the mountain

agricultural development in NA has critically endangered the biome plow = temperate became most fertile continuous agriculture has led to loss of organic material frequent droughts = needs irrigation

Mediterranean

Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil, New Zealand & Australia occur on all continents except Antarctica most extensive around Mediterranean Sea & NA (California to northern Mexico) Found in central Chile, southern Australia, southern Africa 30-40 lat majority is north of subtropical deserts in northern hemisphere & south of them in southern Hemisphere called chaparral in western NA and matoral in Spain garrigue in Mediterranean

small animals such as mice & grasshoppers are numerous plants & animals show adaptations to drought trees & shrubs are typically evergreens and have small, tough leaves decomposition is slowed during dry summer, occurs during other times many trees have thick, tough bark that is resistant to fire shrubs burn readily but resprout rapidly most herbaceous plants grow during the cool time but die during the summer to avoid fire diverse animals (vertebrates & invertebrates) migatory birds & insects spend Ex. Open oak woodlands in Spain & Portugal are product of agricultural management system Long-term sustainable agriculture Climate agreeable, high population densities

cool & moist during fall, winter & spring summer = hot & dry ideal conditions for frequent & intense fires

low to moderate fertility forest fires can cause soil loss through erosion

basin fynbos in south Africa; mallee in Australians 20% of land surface two bands = one at 30 N lat and other at 30 S lat some are found either deep in the interior continents (Gobi in Asia) or in rain shadow of mountains cool western coasts of continents some may receive no rainfall, while others might get nearly 300 mm of rainfall water loss is due to evaporation & transpiration exceeding precipitation lack of water, not temperature that makes it a desert. You can get a cold ass desert, and it is still a desert. low in organic matter, sand & rock soil soils under desert shrubs contain large amounts of organic matter often contain high concentrations in salt -

winter in Mediterranean

Desert

Tropical Savannah

occur north and south of tropical dry forests Africa: south of sahara desert, African highlands & south-central Africa

alternates between dry & wet seasons seasonal drought = fire rains in summer = intense lightening that starts fires fire helps

soil with low permeability to water impermeable soils help savannahs persist in wet areas such as south America scattered trees

sparse landscape vegetation is typically graygreen adaptations small leaves, only produce leaves in response to rainfall, green stems some cacti grow towards the sun to expose the minimum amount of surface area to direct sunlight animal abundance is low, but diverse. Many are only active at dusk/dawn or night populated by wandering animals that move in response to variations in rainfall & food availability mammalian herbivores frequent fires led

human populations concentrated around oases and river valleys increasing in area due to human activity plowing, overgrazing & deforestation lead to soil erosion

savanna was where early humans observed/learn ed to use fire livestock ranching is main source of livelihood in savanna

Tropical Dry Forest

SA: southcentral Brazil, Venezuala & Colombia Much of northern Australia Parts of southern Asian = in Eastern Pakistan & Northwestern India occupy large portion of earths surface between 10 and 25 lat Africa: found in both north and south of central African rain forests Americas: south and north of Amazon rainforest West coast of Central America and into North America along west coast of Mexico Most of india and Indochina peninsula

maintain landscape of grassland & scattered trees drier than tropical dry forests mean rainfall is 300-500 mm

occur only where soils are well drained

to fire resistance flora

combination of growing population, high density of livestock and drought has devastated areas known as the sahel in Africa.

More seasonal than tropical rain forest Dry season (6-7) months, then a season of abundant rainfall Seasonal rains come during the warmer part of the year

Great age less acidic than rain forests and richer in nutrients annual torrential rain makes soil vulnerable to erosion

height of trees is correlated with precipitation. Tall trees = wet areas driest places = small trees & open landscape trees drop leaves during dry season produce ruits that are attractive to animals, animaldispersal of trees wind-dispersed seeds in open areas share many animal species with rainforest & savanna animals alternate wet & dry seasons

79% of the population live in tropical dry forest & moist forest heavy human settlement because it has relatively fertile soil extensive clearing for agriculture has decreased the area of tropical dry forest massive loss of biological diversity

Tropical Rain Forest

North/north east of Australia straddle equator in Southeast Asia, West Africa & South/Central America Outside of equator, rainforests can be found in Central America/Mexic o, Southeastern Brazil, eastern Madagascar, southern Indian and northeastern Australia

conditions are warm & wet year-round temperatures do not vary average temp is 25-27, not hot 2000-4000 mm rain rain is fairly evenly distributed

rapid decomposition heavy rains leach nutrients away nutrient-poor, acidic, thin & low in organic matter = lateritic soil more nutrients are tied up in living tissue high concentrations of iron and aluminum large number of fungi, bacteria etc. some rainforests have very fertile soil (young volcanic soils); can be found along rivers

humans live on the rainforest floor trees dominate rain forest landscape, avg is 40 m tall many form shallow root systems, so that it can absorb nutrients as they are made available buttress roots help them keep upright, does not need deep anchoring root system lots of species epiphytes = plants that grow on other plants large population of bacteria, fungi, arthropods, algae, plants, small animals insects are the most diverse intricate relationships between species

many of worlds staple foods, 25% of prescription drugs are derived from tropical plants destroying rain forest for timber, minerals & short-lived agricultural profits

Mountains

built by geological processes western sides of NA and SA; Africa Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa & mountains of East Africa that run from Ethiopia to southern Africa Australia eastern side of continent Eurasian Pyrenes, Alps, Caucasus, Himalayas

change from low to high elevation middle latitudes -> climate is cooler and wetter at higher altitudes less precipitation at higher elevations of polar mountains and some tropical mountains other tropical religions precipitation increases up to middle elevation then decreases higher up the mountain high tropical mountains warm days, freezing nights changes in climate have led to distribution of mountain organisms

mountain soils change with elevation steeper topography -> well drained and thin/vulnerable to erosion persistent winds blowing from lowlands deposit soil particles and organic matter on mountains

vegetation will change as you move up/down the mountain isolation have led to distinctive gene pools and mixes of species

useful as a source of raw materials (wood, forage for animals, minerals, medicinal plants) livestock grazing can occur during the summer human exploitation has led to conflict between recreation seekers & livestock ranchers