Terrestrial Biomes

What are the characteristics of the different terrestrial biomes?

A biomeglossary term (opens in a new window) is a large region characterized by its climate and organisms:

• Climate is largely dependent on latitudeglossary term (opens in a new window) and altitude.
• The major terrestrial biomes on Earth include deserts, tundra, taiga, rain forests, deciduous forest, grasslands, and chaparral.
• Desert biomes, in general, receive little rainfall, usually less than 25 centimeters annually.
• The average annual desert temperature ranges from 20°C to 25°C (68° to 77°F) with extremes highs reaching up to 49°C (120°F).
• Desert plant species include cacti and other succulent plants that can store water and nutrients in their stems and leaves.
• Some desert plants store water below ground in taproots and corms.
• Desert plants tend to be low-lying bushes or woody trees that are able to tolerate the heat and lack of water.
• Some desert plants are able to complete their life-cycle in a few weeks after a major rain storm..
• Many desert animals, such as reptiles and small rodents, burrow underground where temperatures are cooler. Other desert species are nocturnal.  
• Cold deserts exist in Antarctica and around the Arctic Circle.
• Cold deserts have long, extremely cold winters. The average winter temperature of cold deserts ranges between -2° and 4°C (28° to 39°F).
• The tundra is extremely cold, dry, and windy.
• The permanently frozen ground of the tundra is called permafrost.
• In the summer, the tundra is covered in lakes, bogs, and small streams that attract insects and migratory insect-eating birds.
• Rodents, rabbits, deer, caribou (or reindeer), foxes, wolves, and bears live in the tundra.
• The taiga is the largest biome in the world. It stretches across parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
• Taigas have extremely cold winter temperatures averaging below freezing for half of the year.
• The summers of the taiga are warm and humid. The majority of the precipitation in the taiga falls as rain in the summer.
• The taiga is made up of coniferous forests.
• Animals of the taiga include squirrels, insects, seed-eating birds, bobcats, and great horned owls.
• Rain forests receive high levels of precipitation throughout the year, on average between 50 and 660 centimeters annually.
• There are two types of rain forests: tropical and temperate.
• Tropical rain forests have warm temperatures and high levels of rainfall, making rain forests humid and ideal for plant life.
• It is estimated that more than half of the world’s plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests.
• Temperate rain forests are found further from the equator near coastal areas. They exhibit high levels of precipitation but more moderate temperatures.
• The deciduous forest biome experiences a temperate climate and is located at the middle latitudes scattered all over Earth.
• The four seasons of the year are very distinct in the deciduous forest biome.
• Deciduous trees change colors and lose their leaves each year.
• Many mammal species such as rodents, hares, opossums, skunks, weasels, bears, foxes, and wild dogs live in the temperate deciduous biome.
• Some grasslands are found in temperate climates near the middle latitudes and have variable levels of precipitation.
• The plant life of this biome is dominated by grasses, or non-woody plants.
• Grasslands found in the tropical and subtropical latitudes of the southern hemisphere are called savannas. They exhibit low levels of precipitation and warm temperatures. A few shrubs and small trees grow among the grasses of the savanna.
• Temperate grasslands and savannas are home to grazers such as elephants, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, rhinos, and antelopes.
• The chaparral biomeglossary term (opens in a new window) is fairly small in comparison to Earth’s other biomes.
• The chaparral biome is found at the middle latitudes usually near coasts.
• Chaparral climate is characterized by dry, hot conditions in the summer and mild winters with moderate rainfall.
• The terrain of the chaparral tends to be rocky, with both plains and mountains.
• The plants of the chaparral tend to have small leaves that are able to retain moisture.
• Animals living in the chaparral include jackrabbits, lizards, toads, ladybugs, skunks, foxes, and wrens.