Topic 6 People And The Biosphere

Question 1

What are biomes ?

Answer 1

Biomes are large-scale ecosystems that have distinctive vegetation

Question 2

What are the 4 main biomes ?

Answer 2

Forests
Grasslands
Tundra
Hot deserts

Question 3

Where are temperate deciduous forests found ?

Answer 3

Temperate deciduous forests are found in Europe, the USA, and China.

Temperate deciduous forests can be identified by their four seasons, with the trees in the deciduous forests shedding their leaves in winter.

Rain falls throughout the year.

Question 4

Where are tropical forests found ?

Answer 4

Tropical forests are found near the equator.

Tropical rainforests are found in areas like the Amazon jungle or the Daintree Rainforest in Australia.

They are usually located between the tropics, where it is always hot and the humidity/moisture is high.

Question 5

Where are boreal forests found ?

Answer 5

at the highest latitudes.

Question 6

Where is the tundra biome found ?

Answer 6

Environments like the Arctic, Alaska, Finland and places close to the North Pole are tundra biomes. In other words, places with high latitudes.

Question 7

What are the tundras summers like vs the tundras winters ?

Answer 7

They get very long days in summer and very short days in winter (only a few hours of sunlight).

Winter temperatures are usually below freezing, it doesn’t rain much and the dominant types of vegetation are grasses and moss.

Question 8

Just beneath the soil, what is the layer of the tundra called that is always frozen ?

Answer 8

there is is a permafrost layer (ground that is always frozen)

Question 9

Where is the grassland biome found ?

Answer 9

The grassland biome is usually found between +23.5° and -23.5° latitude.

Question 10

What are the seasons like for the grassland biome ?

Answer 10

In grasslands, there is a wet and a dry season and as you would expect, the dominant vegetation is grass.

There are few trees in grassland.

The American Midwest, the Argentinian pampas and South Africa are examples of the grassland biome.

Question 11

Where is the Savannah grassland found ?

Answer 11

Savannah grasslands are found between the tropics.

Question 12

Where is the temperate grassland found ?

Answer 12

found at higher latitudes.

Question 13

Where is the hot desert biome found ?

Answer 13

The hot desert biome is 15o - 35o north and south of the equator.

Question 14

What is the temperature and precipitation like in hot deserts ?

Answer 14

There is almost no rainfall, temperatures are very high in the day and freezing at night.

The Sahara desert is an example of this.

Cactuses and other plants with evolutionary adaptations to deal with the lack of water are the only plants that survive.

Question 15

What Affects The Distribution of Biomes?

Answer 15

Drainage
Rock type
Soil type
Altitude

Question 16

How does drainage effect the distribution of biomes ?

Answer 16

Soil gets waterlogged easily if drainage is bad. Plants can only survive in these areas if they are adapted to damp conditions.

Question 17

How does soil type effect the distribution of biomes ?

Answer 17

Nutrient-rich soils are able to support more plant life, larger ecosystems, and more biodiversity.

Drainage and the pH (acidity or alkalinity) of the soil will determine which kind of plants can live there.

Which plants can live in an area will then determine which kind of animals can live in the area.

Question 18

How does rock type effect the distribution of biomes ?

Answer 18

Some rocks weather/erode easily and contain lots of minerals. An area with these kinds of rocks will have more nutrient-rich soil.

Limestone and marble weather easily. Clay is rich in minerals.

The permeability of rocks also influences biomes because the permeability of rocks affects water supplies in the local area.

Question 19

How does altitude effect distribution of biomes ?

Answer 19

Temperatures are lower at higher altitudes.

Warmer temperatures are better for supporting large and biodiverse ecosystems.

High altitudes are normally on mountainsides so the relief is steep.

Soils are thin at high altitudes because there isn’t much dead plant matter (organic matter) to support nutrient cycling.

Question 20

What are the two things biomes are made up of ?

Answer 20

biotic and abiotic components

Question 21

What are biotic components of a biome ?

Answer 21

living components are the flora (plants) and fauna (animals)

Question 22

What are abiotic components of a biome ?

Answer 22

non-living components are soil, rock, atmosphere and water

Question 23

How is vegetation and soil an example of biotic and abiotic parts of a biome interact ?

Answer 23

The kind of soil that forms depends on how many plants live in an area, how much dead organic matter is created, and how much rainfall washes away that soil.

In turn, the kind of soil also plays a role in determining what type of plants are able to survive.
E.g. dense vegetation cover and high leaf fall mean that the soil will be nutrient-rich, and so can support lots of plant growth.

Question 24

How is water an example of biotic and abiotic parts of a biome interact ?

Answer 24

Water availability impacts what plants are able to grow.

E.g. only desert plants like cacti are able to grow in very dry soils.

Question 25

How is biological weathering an example of biotic and abiotic parts of a biome interact ?

Answer 25

Biological weathering involves the breaking up of rocks by living things.
E.g. growing tree roots can widen cracks in rocks.

Question 26

What is the climate in tropical rainforests ?

Answer 26

There aren’t really seasons in tropical rainforests.

All year, the temperature is in the range of 21°C and 30°C.

There is lots of rain/precipitation in tropical rainforests. For example, there’s roughly 80 inches (2,000mm) of rainfall each year in the Amazon rainforest.

Rainforests have up to 80 inches of rainfall each year.

This heavy rain washes away minerals and nutrients from the soil.
This means that the soil left behind is infertile (bad for crop growth).