Aquatic biome Water is the common link among the five biomes and it makes up the largest part of the biosphere, covering nearly 75% of the Earth’s surface. Aquatic regions house numerous species of plants and animals, both large and small. In fact, this is where life began billions of years ago when amino acids first started to come together. Without water, most life forms would be unable to sustain themselves and the Earth would be a barren, desert-like place. Although water temperatures can vary widely, aquatic areas tend to be more humid and the air temperature on the cooler side. The aquatic biome can be broken down into two basic regions, freshwater (i.e, ponds and rivers) and marine (i.e, oceans and estuaries). Freshwater biome Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration — usually less than 1%. Plants and animals in freshwater regions are adjusted to the low salt content and would not be able to survive in areas of high salt concentration (i.e., ocean). There are different types of freshwater regions: • Ponds and lakes • Streams and rivers • Wetlands Marinebiome Marine regions cover about three-fourths of the Earths surface and include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries. Marine algae supply much of the worlds oxygen supply and take in a huge amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The evaporation of the seawater provides rainwater for the land. • Oceans • Coral reefs • Estuaries Temperate deciduous forests or temperate broad-leaf forests are dominated by trees that lose their leaves each year. They are found in areas with warm, moist summers and mild winters.[1] The three major areas of this forest type occur in the northern hemisphere: eastern North America, eastern Asia,[2] and Europe. Smaller areas occur in Australasia and southern South America.[3] Examples of typical trees include oak, maple, beech, and elm. The diversity of tree species is higher in regions where the winter is milder, and also in mountainous regions that provide an array of soil types and microclimates.[4] One of the worlds great protected examples of this forest type is found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator (in the equatorial zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn). This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall. Rainforests can be found in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and on many of the Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean islands. Within the World Wildlife Funds biome classification, tropical rainforests are thought to be a type of tropical wet forest (or tropical moist broadleaf forest) and may also be referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforest. Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae), however sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica. Grasslands are found in most ecoregions of theEarth. For example there are five terrestrial ecoregion classifications (subdivisions) of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (ecosystem), which is one of eight terrestrial ecozones of the Earths surface. swamp is a wetland that is forested.[1] Many swamps occur along large rivers where they are critically dependent upon natural water level fluctuations.[2] Other swamps occur on the shores of large lakes.[3] Some swamps have hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodic inundation.[4] The two main types of swamp are true or swamp forests and transitional or shrub swamps. In the boreal regions of Canada, the word swamp is colloquially used for what is more correctly termed abog or muskeg. The water of a swamp may be fresh water, brackish water or seawater. Some of the worlds largest swamps are found along major rivers such as the Amazon, the Mississippi, and the Congo.[5] Conservationists have worked hard to preserve swamps such as those in northwest Indiana in the United States Midwest that have been preserved as part of the Indiana Dunes.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 12:43:45 +0000
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