What is a Biome?

A biome is a regional, extensive type of environment distinguished by unique climate and soil condition and unique biological communities adapted to those specific features. Biological productivity and biodiversity varies greatly from one biome to another. Precipitation and temperature are two of the most important factors in terrestrial biome formations. Large landforms like mountains and forces of nature such as sun and wind also influence the biological community.

Here are a few examples of biomes from around the world; Tropical rainforests often support intricate and biologically diverse ecosystems. The soil in a tropical rainforest tends to be nutrient poor, and thin, despite this the number of organisms within the forest can be staggering. It is projected that one half to two thirds of all species of insects and terrestrial plants live in rainforests.

In areas where there is not enough annual rainfall to support trees there will be open grasslands or savannas, which are areas that have light tree cover. Similar to tropical rainforests these environments do experience a rainy season but they are less reliable. Grassland plants have adapted to the fires, heat, and droughts of their environment.

Deserts can be hot or cold but they always have little to no annual precipitation. Although the vegetation can be very meager, it is surprisingly diverse and unique. They have often adapted to survive through long droughts and extreme temperatures. A desert is usually characterized as having less than 30 cm of rainfall a year.

Tundra is a barren landscape unable to support trees and large bushes. The available growing season in this region is only two or three months. During that time a burst of plant growth and insect life thrives in the twenty four hour sunshine. Many bird species travel to the arctic every year to feed.

A temperate forest can be either deciduous or coniferous. That is a coniferous tree being one that produces cones and remains green through the year (an evergreen) and a deciduous tree being one that loses its leaves once a year. Broadleaf or deciduous trees usually occur where the rainfall is plentiful. The loss of chlorophyll is what causes the leaves to produce the brilliant colors during autumn. During the spring while the canopy above is still mostly bare the understory blooms to produce ephemeral plants and flowers. Coniferous trees often occur where moisture is limited and sometimes unavailable in winter or summer. The waxy, thin needles help the tree to retain moisture.

A marine biome is usually classified as the open oceans and its various hadal zones. There is rich biodiversity on all levels. One of the main building blocks in these environments is phytoplankton or algae. It is these tiny photosynthetic plants that turn the suns energy into usable energy for many other larger organisms. For life that is too deep for the sun's rays to reach organisms depend on chemosynthesis for energy, usually produced from underwater vents on the ocean floor.

Freshwater are not as wide-ranging as marine environments they are still very diverse. Most terrestrial communities depend on freshwater environments to some extent or another. conditions that affect characteristics of an aquatic community are the silt and other suspended matter within the water; the availability of nutrients; the temperature; currents; and depth; the characteristics of the bottom; connections to other aquatic and terrestrial systems; and internal currents.