Scribd
Upload
22 views4 pages

The Five Major Types of Biomes

Uploaded by

Kim Khuyen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
22 views4 pages

The Five Major Types of Biomes

Uploaded by

Kim Khuyen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Education D O N AT E

Menu

A RT I C L E
OER

The Five Major Types of Biomes


A biome is a large community of vegetation and wildlife adapted to a
specific climate.

GRADES
5-8

SUBJECTS
Biology, Ecology

1/2

P H OTO G R A P H
Saguaro Cacti
Large Saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea) pop up in various spots around a
barren desert in Arizona, United States.

P H OTO G R A P H BY T H OM A S RO C H E

BAC KG RO U N D I N F O VO C A B U L A RY

Learning materials

INSTRUCTIONAL LINKS

Five Major Types of Biomes (Google Doc)

A biome is a large area characterized by its vegetation, soil, climate, and


wildlife. There are five major types of biomes: aquatic, grassland, forest,
desert, and tundra, though some of these biomes can be further divided
into more specific categories, such as freshwater, marine, savanna, tropical
rainforest, temperate rainforest, and taiga.

Aquatic biomes include both freshwater and marine biomes. Freshwater


biomes are bodies of water surrounded by land—such as ponds, rivers, and
lakes—that have a salt content of less than one percent. Marine biomes
cover close to three-quarters of Earth’s surface. Marine biomes include the
ocean, coral reefs, and estuaries.
Grasslands are open regions that are dominated by grass and have a warm,
dry climate. There are two types of grasslands: tropical grasslands
(sometimes called savannas) and temperate grasslands. Savannas are found
closer to the equator and can have a few scattered trees. They cover almost
half of the continent of Africa, as well as areas of Australia, India, and South
America. Temperate grasslands are found further away from the equator, in
South Africa, Hungary, Argentina, Uruguay, North America, and Russia. They
do not have any trees or shrubs, and receive less precipitation than
savannas. Prairies and steppes are two types of temperate grasslands;
prairies are characterized as having taller grasses, while steppes have
shorter grasses.

Forests are dominated by trees, and cover about one-third of the Earth.
Forests contain much of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, including
insects, birds, and mammals. The three major forest biomes are temperate
forests, tropical forests, and boreal forests (also known as the taiga). These
forest types occur at different latitudes, and therefore experience different
climatic conditions. Tropical forests are warm, humid, and found close to the
equator. Temperate forests are found at higher latitudes and experience all
four seasons. Boreal forests are found at even higher latitudes, and have the
coldest and driest climate, where precipitation occurs primarily in the form
of snow.

Deserts are dry areas where rainfall is less than 50 centimeters (20 inches)
per year. They cover around 20 percent of Earth’s surface. Deserts can be
either cold or hot, although most of them are found in subtropical areas.
Because of their extreme conditions, there is not as much biodiversity
found in deserts as in other biomes. Any vegetation and wildlife living in a
desert must have special adaptations for surviving in a dry environment.
Desert wildlife consists primarily of reptiles and small mammals. Deserts can
fall into four categories according to their geographic location or climatic
conditions: hot and dry, semiarid, coastal, and cold.

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). They also have a low amount of precipitation, just 15–25
centimeters (six to ten inches) per year, as well as poor quality soil nutrients
and short summers. There are two types of tundra: arctic and alpine. The
tundra does not have much biodiversity and vegetation is simple, including
shrubs, grasses, mosses, and lichens. This is partly due to a frozen layer
under the soil surface, called permafrost. The arctic tundra is found north of
boreal forests and the alpine tundra is found on mountains where the
altitude is too high for trees to survive. Any wildlife inhabiting the tundra
must be adapted to its extreme conditions to survive.

The National Geographic Society is making this content available under a


Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA license. The License excludes the National
Geographic Logo (meaning the words National Geographic + the Yellow
Border Logo) and any images that are included as part of each content
piece. For clarity the Logo and images may not be removed, altered, or
changed in any way.

Credits

You might also like