Section 2.4 - Earth's Biomes

Earth’s 6 biomes:

______: • permafrost, bitter cold, and high winds means no trees or tall plants • little annual rainfall, but accumulation on top of permafrost • mountain tops around the world can be alpine ______

______ (boreal forest): • large terrestrial biome • dominated by cone-bearing, evergreen trees (coniferous) • adapted to heavy snowfall

______ forest: • mid latitudes, with enough moisture to support trees • ______ trees drop their leaves in the winter

______: • deep, rich topsoil means a lot of conversion to agriculture • seasonal drought, occasional fires and grazing by large mammals prevents shrub and tree establishment

______ forest: • greatest diversity of plants and animals • closed tree canopy • pronounced vertical stratification (layering)

______: • sparse rainfall • extreme temperatures (hot and cold) • organisms adapted to CONSERVE water • many protective adaptations of plants to deter herbivory (the eating of plants)

A ______ is a large geographical region with a specific climate that the plants and animals that inhabit it are adapted to

Cells and biomes are ______ systems that exchange matter and energy with their surroundings

Dividing Earth into biomes helps scientists to study and understand the Earth and ______ between the living and non-living components of each ______ and how the biomes ______ with one another, it also makes it easier for scientists to predict how different groups of organisms may be affected by ______ that may occur in a region.

The tundra and desert biomes have the ______ average annual precipitation

Comparison of biome to a cell model is on page 391 of textbook