Coniferous Forest

Coniferous forest ecosystems are found

in regions of the Earth that experience
somewhat long and cold winters, with
summer being much shorter. Between
the tundra to the north and the
deciduous forest to the south lies the
large area of coniferous forest.
Coniferous forests consist mostly of
conifers, trees that grow needles instead
of leaves, and cones instead of flowers.
Conifers tend to be evergreen, that is,
they bear needles all year long. These
adaptations help conifers survive in
areas that are very cold or dry. Some of
the more common conifers are spruces,
pines, and firs.

The vegetation in the Coniferous forest is small in size, but large enough to feed the vast
herbivore population. Most of these animals survive the brutal winters by migrating or
hibernating.

Most animals are herbivores; however some carnivores and omnivores are thrown
in. Animals in Coniferous Forests include the red fox, moose, snowshoe hare, great
horned owl, and the crossbill.

Common life forms living in this biome are evergreen trees, small mammals such as
rodents, large mammals such as moose and deer, and a variety of insects, spiders, and
plants life.
 Grasslands
Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of
grasses, flowers and herbs. Latitude, soil and local
climates for the most part determine what kinds of
plants grow in particular grassland. A grassland is a
region where the average annual precipitation is
great enough to support grasses, and in some
areas a few trees. The precipitation is so erratic that
drought and fire prevent large forests from
growing. Grasses can survive fires because they
grow from the bottom instead of the top. Their
stems can grow again after being burned off. The
soil of most grasslands is also too thin and dry for
trees to survive.

When the settlers of the United States moved

westward, they found that the grasslands, or prairies as they called them, were more than just
dry, flat areas. The prairies contained more than 80 species of animals and 300 species of birds,
and hundreds of species of plants.

There are two different types of grasslands; tall-grass, which are humid and very wet, and short-
grass, which are dry, with hotter summers and colder winters than the tall-grass prairie.

Grassland biomes can be found in the middle latitudes, in the interiors of continents. They can
have either moist continental climates or dry subtropical climates. In Argentina, South America,
the grasslands are known as pampas. The climate there is humid and moist. Grasslands in the
southern hemisphere tend to get more precipitation than those in the northern hemisphere,
and the grass tends to be the tall-grass variety.

In the winter, grassland temperatures can be as low as -40° F, and in the summer it can be as
high 70° F. There are two real seasons: a growing season and a dormant season. The growing
season is when there is no frost and plants can grow (which lasts from 100 to 175 days). During
the dormant (not growing) season nothing can grow because its too cold. Plants usually start
growing when the daily temperature reached about 50° F.

In temperate grasslands the average rainfall per year ranges from 10-30 inches. In tropical and
sub-tropical grasslands the average rainfall per year ranges from 25-60 inches per year The
amount of rainfall is very important in determining which areas are grasslands because it's hard
for trees to compete with grasses in places where the uppers layers of soil are moist during part
of the year but where deeper layer of soil are always dry.

The most common types of plant life on the North American prairie are Buffalo Grass,
Sunflower, Crazy Weed, Asters, Blazing Stars, Coneflowers, Goldenrods, Clover, and Wild
Indigos.

Some common animals in the grasslands are Coyotes, Eagles, Bobcats, the Gray Wolf, Wild
Turkey, Fly Catcher, Canadian Geese, Crickets, Dung Beetle, Bison, and Prairie Chicken.
 Desert
A Hot and Dry Desert is, as you can tell from the
name, hot and dry. Most Hot and Dry Deserts don't
have very many plants. They do have some low
down plants though. The only animals they have
that can survive have the ability to burrow
underground. This is because they would not be
able to live in the hot sun and heat. They only come
out in the night when it is a little cooler.

A cold desert is a desert that has snow in the winter

instead of just dropping a few degrees in
temperature like they would in a Hot and Dry
Desert. It never gets warm enough for plants to
grow. Just maybe a few grasses and mosses. The animals in Cold Deserts also have to burrow
but in this case to keep warm, not cool. That is why you might find some of the same animals
here as you would in the Hot and Dry Deserts.

Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's land surface. Most Hot and Dry Deserts are near the
Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn. Cold Deserts are near the Arctic part of the world.

Hot and Dry Deserts temperature ranges from 20 to 25° C. The extreme maximum temperature
for Hot Desert ranges from 43.5 to 49° C. Cold Deserts temperature in winter ranges from -2 to
4° C and in the summer 21 to 26° C a year

The precipitation in Hot and Dry Deserts and the precipitation in Cold Deserts is different. Hot
and Dry Deserts usually have very little rainfall and/or concentrated rainfall in short periods
between long rainless periods. This averages out to under 15 cm a year. Cold Deserts usually
have lots of snow. They also have rain around spring.

Hot and Dry Deserts vegetation is very rare. Plants are almost all ground-hugging shrubs and
short woody trees. All of the leaves are replete (packed with nutrients). Some examples of these
kinds of plant are Turpentine Bush, Prickly Pears, and Brittle Bush. For all of these plants to
survive they have to have adaptations. Some of the adaptations in this case are the ability to
store water for long periods of time and the ability to stand the hot weather.

Cold Desert's plants are scattered. In areas with little shade, about 10 percent of the ground is
covered with plants. In some areas of sagebrush it reaches 85 percent. The height of scrub
varies from 15 cm to 122 cm. All plants are either deciduous and more or less contain spiny
leaves.

Hot and Dry Deserts animals include small nocturnal (only active at night) carnivores. There are
also insects, arachnids, reptiles, and birds. Some examples of these animals are Borrowers,
Mourning Wheatears, and Horned Vipers. Cold Deserts have animals like Antelope, Ground
Squirrels, Jack Rabbits, and Kangaroo Rats.
 The Tundra

Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes. Tundra

comes from the Finnish word tunturia, meaning
treeless plain. It is noted for its frost-molded
landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little
precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing
seasons. Dead organic material functions as a
nutrient pool. The two major nutrients are nitrogen
and phosphorus. Nitrogen is created by biological
fixation, and phosphorus is created by
precipitation.

Characteristics of Tundra

1. Extremely cold climate

2. Low biotic diversity
3. Simple vegetation structure
4. Limitation of drainage
5. Short season of growth and reproduction
6. Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material
7. Large population oscillations

All of the plants are adapted to sweeping winds and disturbances of the soil. Plants are
short and group together to resist the cold temperatures and are protected by the snow
during the winter. They can carry out photosynthesis at low temperatures and low light
intensities.

Animals are adapted to handle long, cold winters and to breed and raise young quickly
in the summer. Animals such as mammals and birds also have additional insulation from
fat. Many animals hibernate during the winter because food is not abundant. Another
alternative is to migrate south in the winter, like birds do. Reptiles and amphibians are
few or absent because of the extremely cold temperatures. Because of constant
immigration and emigration, the population continually oscillates.
 Tropical Rain Forest
The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round
warmth. An average of 50 to 260 inches of rain falls yearly.

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.

Rainforests now cover less than 6% of Earth's land surface. Scientists

estimate that more than half of all the world's plant and animal species
live in tropical rain forests. Tropical rainforests produce 40% of Earth's oxygen.

A tropical rain forest has more kinds of trees than any other area in the world. Scientists have
counted about 100 to 300 species in one 2 1/2-acre (1-hectare) area in South America. Seventy
percent of the plants in the rainforest are trees.

About 1/4 of all the medicines we use come from rainforest plants. Curare comes from a tropical
vine, and is used as an anesthetic and to relax muscles during surgery. Quinine, from the
cinchona tree, is used to treat malaria. A person with lymphocytic leukemia has a 99% chance
that the disease will go into remission because of the rosy periwinkle. More than 1,400 varieties
of tropical plants are thought to be potential cures for cancer.

All tropical rain forests resemble one another in some ways. Many of the trees have straight
trunks that don't branch out for 100 feet or more. There is no sense in growing branches below
the canopy where there is little light. The majority of the trees have smooth, thin bark because
there is no need to protect them from water loss and freezing temperatures. It also makes it
difficult for epiphytes and plant parasites to get a hold on the trunks. The bark of different
species is so similar that it is difficult to identify a tree by its bark. Many trees can only be
identified by their flowers.

Besides these four layers, a shrub/sapling layer receives about 3 % of the light that filters in
through the canopies. These stunted trees are capable of a sudden growth surge when a gap in
the canopy opens above them.

The air beneath the lower canopy is almost always humid. The trees themselves give off water
through the pores (stomata) of their leaves. This process, called transpiration, can account for as
much as half of the precipitation in the rain forest.

Many species of animal life can be found in the rain forest. Common characteristics found
among mammals and birds (and reptiles and amphibians, too) include adaptations to a life in
the trees, such as the prehensile tails of New World monkeys. Other characteristics are bright
colors and sharp patterns, loud vocalizations, and diets heavy on fruits.

Insects make up the largest single group of animals that live in tropical forests. They include
brightly colored butterflies, mosquitoes, camouflaged stick insects, and huge colonies of ants.
 Deciduous Forest
Deciduous forests can be found in the eastern half of
North America, and the middle of Europe. There are
many deciduous forests in Asia. Some of the major
areas that they are in are southwest Russia, Japan, and
eastern China. South America has two big areas of
deciduous forests in southern Chile and Middle East
coast of Paraguay. There are deciduous forests located
in New Zealand, and southeastern Australia also.

The average annual temperature in a deciduous forest is 50° F. Climate is a mix of

temperature and precipitation. Deciduous forests have almost 14 inches of rain in the
winter months and more than 18 inches of rain in the summer.

The deciduous forest has four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In
the autumn the leaves change color. During the winter months the trees lose their
leaves. Most deciduous forests have mild summers averaging about 70 °F. Summer
months usually begin in early June and end in late August. Winter months don't begin
until December. Winter temperatures are fairly cool with an average temperature of a
little below freezing. Almost all of the world's deciduous forest is located by an ocean.
The ocean and the wind are two big factors of why the temperature and climate
change so much in this biome.

The animals adapt to the climate by hibernating in the winter and living off the land in
the other three seasons. The animals have adapted to the land by trying the plants in
the forest to see if they are good to eat for a good supply of food. Also the trees provide
shelter for them. Animal use the trees for food and a water sources. Most of the animals
are camouflaged to look like the ground.

Animals found in the Deciduous forest

 American Bald  Duckbill Platypus  Fat Dormouse

Eagle  Eastern  Least Weasel
 American Black Chipmunk  White-Tailed Deer
Bear  European Red
 Coyote Squirrel

The plants have adapted to the forests by leaning toward the sun. Soaking up the
nutrients in the ground is also a way of adaptation.