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You are probably familiar with terrestrial ecosystems, as you live in one :).
There are nine main biome types. We are going to learn a little bit about all nine of them, but don't feel the need to memorize anything.
Deserts
Deserts
Deserts are characterized by low and uneven annual precipitation, very hot days, and very cold nights.
Read this Science Focus about deserts and answer the question at the end of it on a Google Doc:
deserts.pdf
Tropical Desert
Tropical Desert
These deserts are hot and dry with very little vegetation. They have hard, very windblown surfaces.
They are probably the type of desert that you picture when you think of a desert.
Examples include: the Sahara, the Great Australian Desert, and the Namib.
Temperate Desert
Temperate Desert
These deserts have high daytime temperatures and low nighttime temperatures. The vegetation consists of drought-resistant shrubs and cacti and is widely distributed.
Examples include: the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert.
Cold Desert
Cold Desert
These deserts have cold winters and warm summers. There is very little precipitation and the vegetation is sparse.
Examples include: the Gobi Desert and Antarctica.
On your Google Doc, write down how you think climate change has influenced desert ecosystems.
On your Google Doc, write down how you think climate change has influenced desert ecosystems.
Grasslands
Grasslands
Grasslands are usually found on the interior of continents and are characterized by an abundance of grass. They have more rainfall than a desert, but less than a forest.
Read this article about the grasslands, then answer this question:
What is our role in conserving the grasslands?
Tropical Grasslands
Tropical Grasslands
The savanna is the main type of tropical grassland. They are characterized by warm weather all year, alternating wet and dry seasons, and scattered clumps of trees.
Tropical grasslands are found in Africa, Australia, and South America.
Temperate Grasslands
Temperate Grasslands
These grasslands have hot and dry summers with bitterly cold winters. There is very little precipitation but the plants thrive underground in a deep network of roots that hold the topsoil in place. This makes these grasslands very resilient.
Temperate grasslands are found in North American and Eastern Europe. Many of the grasslands in the United States have been destroyed to grow crops.
Cold Grasslands
Cold Grasslands
These grasslands are bitterly cold, very windy, and covered in ice or snow. They have long, frigid winters and no trees.
The Arctic tundra is a cold grassland.
On your Google Doc, write down why you think it is important to conserve grasslands instead of turning them into farmlands.
On your Google Doc, write down why you think it is important to conserve grasslands instead of turning them into farmlands.
Forests
Forests
Forests are characterized by an abundance of trees. They receive the most rain of all the terrestrial ecosystems.
Read this article about forests and answer this question:
What are the "global ecological catastrophes" that happen when trees go extinct?
Tropical Rain Forest
Tropical Rain Forest
These forests are near the Equator. This makes them very hot, very humid, and very rainy. They have a wide variety of plants and animals, which makes them one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.
Examples include: the Amazon, the Congo, and the Sumatra rain forest.
Temperate Forests
Temperate Forests
These forests can be deciduous (aspens, maples, hickories, etc.) or coniferous (pine, firs, spruce, redwoods, etc. ). They have warm summers with cold winters.
Deciduous forests are typically found in the Northern Hemisphere.
Temperate rain forests are typically found along coastal regions (California Redwoods, for example).
Boreal Forests
Boreal Forests
These forests are cold with long, moist winters. They are coniferous forests with lots of evergreen trees. There is very little plant diversity and the majority of the animals are large (bears, moose, wolves, and burrowing rodents).
These forests can be found in Alaska, Canada, and Russia.
On your Google Doc, write down how you think climate change is changing the forest ecosystems.
On your Google Doc, write down how you think climate change is changing the forest ecosystems.
Checkpoint 3:
Checkpoint 3:
On your Google Doc, you should have two answers per overall type of biome (one from the beginning and one from the end).
Look at this chart about human impact, and answer the following prompt:
Has the damage from human activity become too great to fix? Why or why not?
Submit your Google Doc to Slate.
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