Polar Grasslands (Artic Tundra)

Polar Grasslands(Artic Tundra)

• Bitterly cold• Frigid winds, ice, snow• Low Precipitation• No trees!• Short growing season,

low biodiversity

Permafrost: permanently frozen ground

Producer toprimaryconsumer

Primary to secondaryconsumer

Secondary tohigher-levelconsumer

All consumersand producers to decomposers

Lemming

Arcticfox

Horned lark

Mosquito

Grizzly bear

Long-tailed jaeger

Caribou

Willow ptarmiganWillow ptarmigan

Snowy owlSnowy owl

Dwarf willowDwarf willow

Mountain cranberryMountain cranberry

Moss campionMoss campion

PolarGrasslands(Artic tundra)

Oil production and off-road vehicles in arctic tundra

Overgrazing by livestock

Release of CO2 to atmosphere from grassland burning

Conversion to cropland

Grasslands

Natural Capital Degradation

Temperate Shrubland or Chaparral

• Dense growth of low-growing, evergreen shrubs

• Mild winters• Long, hot, dry summers• Referred to as

“Mediterranean climate” along coastal areas • People like to live in

this biome

Chaparral

• Chaparral has a moderate climate but its dense thickets of spiny shrubs are subject to periodic fires.

Figure 5-18

Temperate coniferous forests Temperate deciduous forests Tropical rain forests

Forest Biomes

FOREST BIOMES• Variations in

annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and polar forests.

Tropical rain forest

(Manaus, Brazil)

Temperate deciduous forest

(Nashville, Tennessee)

Polar evergreen coniferous forest (boreal forest, taiga)(Moscow, Russia)

Tropical Rain Forests

• Warm temperatures• High humidity• Heavy daily rainfall

• Most biologically diverse biome

• Nutrient poor soils

Shrublayer

Canopy

Emergentlayer

UnderstoryUnderstory

GroundlayerGroundlayer

Harpyeagle

Tocotoucan

Woolyopossum

BraziliantapirBlack-crowned

antpitta0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45H

eigh

t (m

eter

s)

stratification

Temperate Rainforest

• Occurs in coastal temperate areas– Coast of North America

from Canada to northern California

• Ample rainfall or moist, dense ocean fogs

• Spruce, Douglas fir, redwoods

Temperate Deciduous

Forest

• Long, warm summers• Cold winters• Abundant

precipitation• Nutrient rich soils

Producer to primaryconsumer

Primaryto secondaryconsumer

Secondary tohigher-levelconsumer

All producers andconsumers todecomposers

Bacteria

Fungi

Wood frog

Racer

Shagbark hickory

White-taileddeer

White-footedmouse

White oak

Graysquirrel

Hairywoodpecker

Broad-wingedhawk

Long-tailedweaselLong-tailedweasel

May beetleMay beetle

MountainwinterberryMountainwinterberry

Metallic wood-boringbeetle and

Metallic wood- boring beetle and larvae

Evergreen Coniferous Forests ‘Boreal’ or ‘Taiga’

• 60° N Latitude• Long, dry and extremely

cold winters• Short, mild summers• Plant diversity is low• Deep layer of

decomposed conifer needles provide rich source of peat bogs

• Boreal = Northern

Producer to primaryconsumer

Primaryto secondaryconsumer

Secondary tohigher-levelconsumer

All producers andconsumers todecomposers

Bacteria Bunchberry

Starflower

Fungi

Snowshoehare

Bebbwillow

Moose

Wolf

Balsam fir

Blue jay Greathornedowl

Greathornedowl

WhitespruceWhitespruce

Pine sawyer Pine sawyer beetle and larvae

MartenMarten

Human impacts on forests• Clearing of tropical forests for agriculture,

livestock grazing, and timber• Clearing of temperate deciduous forests

for timber, agriculture and urban development

• Clearing of evergreen coniferous forests• Conversion of diverse forests to less

diverse tree plantations

Tree Plantation(monoculture)

MOUNTAIN BIOMES• High-elevation

islands of biodiversity

• Often have snow-covered peaks that reflect solar radiation and gradually release water to lower-elevation streams and ecosystems.

Natural Capital Degradation

Mountains

Agriculture

Timber extraction

Mineral extraction

Hydroelectric dams and reservoirsIncreasing tourism

Urban air pollution

Increased ultraviolet radiationfrom ozone depletion

Soil damage from off-roadvehicles

HUMAN IMPACTS ON TERRESTRIAL BIOMES

• Human activities have damaged or disturbed more than half of the world’s terrestrial ecosystems.

• Humans have had a number of specific harmful effects on the world’s deserts, grasslands, forests, and mountains.

Wetlands

• Saturated soil, all or part of the year

• Anaerobic conditions• Swamps, marshes, bogs• Very biodiverse!• Water purification

Fresh Waters

• Ponds, lakes, streams & rivers

• Phytoplankton• Debris from land

Other Aquatic biomes…

• Intertidal = the most awesome biome• Open ocean = low productivity (no nutrients or

phytoplankton)• Benthos = bottom of the ocean, no photosynthesis• Coral reefs = high biodiversity, high productivity

(increase in temp causes bleaching)• Upwellings = off coast, bring nutrients from the depths,

very productive! (El Nino disrupts it)• Thermal vents, black smokers = chemosynthetic,

diverse community, @ divergent plate boundaries

Climatogramshows temperature and precipitation patterns

What causes distribution?

• Evolution– Natural selection

• Geography• Climate• Chance

Biomes and Diversity

• Species diversity within a biome is directly related to– Availability of moisture/water– Temperature– Net Productivity

There are common themes in climate that will help you determine what biome you’re seeing!

Tundra!

Temperate orMid-Latitude

Tropical

Desert

Rainforest

Savannah

Deciduous Forest