Biomes

 Biomes 

What is a Biome?

    A biome is a very large-scale community of organisms. National Geographic’s education article called “Putting the ‘Me’ in Biome” further defines biome by stating, “Biomes are classified based on the local environmental conditions and the living organisms, particularly the flora, or plants.” Biomes are how scientists classify ecosystems.  Within these ecosystems or biomes there is often competition for resources. Dynamics within the community of the ecosystems are affected by the physical environment such as elevation and geology as well as its climate such as season, sunlight, and rainfall. There are terrestrial (land) and aquatic (water) biomes.

Terrestrial Biomes

    Terrestrial biomes are typically classified by their dominant plant types (plants most common in the area) existing in the same area with similar climate conditions. There are some terrestrial biomes you might be familiar with, such as the tropical rainforest. Although there may be some you are less familiar with such as the tundra.

Tropical Rainforest

    The tropical rainforests straddle the equator in Southeast Asia, West Africa, and South America. They are broadleaf evergreen forests. According to an article written by Masterclass called “Broadleaf Evergreen Guide: How to Grow Broadleaf Evergreen,” “Broadleaf evergreens are a variety of trees and shrubs that grow distinctive, showy leaves that stay on their branches year-round.” The soil has low levels of organic matter. The thick vegetation and climate causes decaying matter to not reach the soil. The climate is warm and wet all year round. Even though there is little variation in climate, there are major variations in plants. 

Tropical Rainforest

Example of broadleaf evergreen

Tundra

Tundra Landscape

    The tundra is a northern biome that is heavily dominated by a variety of mosses and liches. Its location rings around the top of the globe. The tundra is a very cold and dry climate with little amounts of precipitation. According to National Geographic’s article “The Five Major Biome,” “A tundra has extremely inhospitable conditions, with the lowest measured temperatures of any of the five major biomes with average yearly temperatures ranging from -34 to 12 degrees Celsius (-29 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit).” The climate causes decomposition to be slow, so the soil builds at a slow rate. Low growing vegetation dominates the landscape of the tundra. The tundra supports many mammals such as the arctic hare, polar bear, and reindeer. The tundra is affected by human activity including oil extraction and exploitation.  

Polar Bear

Arctic Hare

Reindeer

Aquatic Biomes

Ocean

    Aquatic biomes are a little more ambiguous to classify compared to terrestrial biomes. They are typically classified as freshwater or marine. The largest and most known aquatic biome is the marine ocean. It covers over 360 million square kilometers of the globe. The largest ocean basin is the Pacific Ocean, and the smallest is the Indian ocean. The Marinan Trench is the deepest explored part of the ocean at over 10,000 meters deep. The habitats at the bottom of the ocean are called benthic while the habitats above are called pelagic. Thermal stratification occurs in tropical oceans. When warm water with lower density meets cool water with higher density the cool water settles at the bottom of the ocean and the warm water rises to the top. Although marine oceans are the largest and most common aquatic biome, rivers and streams major freshwater aquatic biomes on Earth.

Rivers and Streams

    Rivers and streams snake most landscapes of the world. They are a collection of surface runoff. Surface runoff comes from precipitation that then drains into the rivers and streams. They very along three spatial dimensions including pools, rifles, and runs. Rivers and streams have the riparian zone, the transition between aquatic (water) and terrestrial (land) environments.  

River Run

Riffle and Pool Example

Why is this important?

    It is important to know about biomes because of how essential biodiversity is. Humans put a huge damper on biodiversity. The tundra is suffering from oil extracting and exploration. The rainforest are a main target for logging. Litter is rampant in aquatic ecosystems. This is all due to humans. It is important to fight for conservation of our worlds valuable biomes and focusing that conservation on main areas of biodiversity. Humans need to work to protect our wonderful world.

References 

National Geographic Society. (2023, October 19). Putting the "Me" in Biome. Education, National                         Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/putting-me-biome/ 

National Geographic Society. (2023, November 2). The Five Major Types of Biomes. Education, National             Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/five-major-types-biomes/

Masterclass. (2021, September 20). Broadleaf Evergreen Guide: How to Grow Broadleaf Evergreen. Home            & Lifestyle, Masterclass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/broadleaf-evergreen-care-guide