Biomes

A biome is a large geographical region where certain types of plants and animals thrive.

Each biome has unique environmental conditions which plants and animals have adapted to. The major land biomes have names like tropical rainforest, grasslands, desert, temperate deciduous forest, tundra etc

The differences in these biomes can have relationships with differences in climate and where they are located in relation to the Equator. Global temperatures vary with the angle at which the sun's rays strike the different parts of the Earth's curved surface. Because the sun's rays hit the Earth at different angles at different latitudes, not all places on Earth receive the same amount of sunlight.

These differences in the amount of sunlight cause differences in temperature.

Biomes located in the high latitudes (60° to 90°) farthest from the Equator receive the least amount of sunlight and have lower temperatures (these are often known as Taiga and Tundra). Biomes located at middle latitudes (30° to 60°) between the poles and the Equator) receive more sunlight and have moderate temperatures (temperate deciduous forest, temperate grasslands and cold deserts). At the low latitudes (0° to 23°) of the Tropics the sun's rays strike the Earth most directly. As a result, the biomes located there receive the most sunlight and have the highest temperatures. (tropical rain forest, tropical grassland and the warm desert)

Another notable difference among biomes is the amount of precipitation. In the low latitudes, the air is warm, due to the amount of direct sunlight, and moist, due to evaporation from warm sea waters and ocean currents. Storms produce so much rain that the tropical rain forest receives 200+ inches per year, while the tundra, located at a much higher latitude, is much colder and dryer, and receives just ten inches.

Soil moisture, soil nutrients, and length of growing season also affect what kinds of plants can grow in a place and what kinds of organisms the biome...