EnE: Biodiversity- Biomes

2.2.3
Presented by Dr. Roman Saini
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Biomes: graphs
TROPICAL GRASSLAND/SAVANNA
• Distribution: Lie b/w 7-20°N & S i.e on either side of the equatorial
belt

• Hot desert on the poleward side and the tropical evergreen forest on
equatorial side.

• Semi-arid to semi-humid climate variation. Rainfall: 30 - 150 cms, -

Temperate: 22 -30°C (Max temp just before rainfall), Great heat in
summer, fewer clouds, low humidity, hot dry and dusty air, distinct
wet and dry seasons of relatively equal duration. All rain during
wet season
• They form a continuous belt in Africa and Australia

• South America - CAMPOS in Brazil; LLANOS in Venezuela,

Colombia, alos in Bolivia, Argentina etc.;

• Africa- Almost all the countries south to Sahel; Australia: in northern

region and Queensland

• Terai-Duar Savanna: India, Bhutan, Nepal

• Some region in Central America, southern North America (Mexico,

Florida, Hawaii)
• Vegetation: The seasonal rains allows grass to grow tall

• There is a scattering of trees on the grassland

• Grass grows upto 4 m quickly in clumps (Elephant grass) very

coarse and lack nutrients;

• Baobab (fire resistance tree) & bottle tree of Australia have huge
trunks, thick bark, long tap roots, few leaves and toreup water during
the short raini season. Hence, they are also called upside down tree.

• Acacia: leaves fall to reduce ETL, canopy in rain flattened ny winds

• Tropical and subtropical grasslands, Savannah and shrub-
lands: Grasslands are dominated by grass; Savannahs are
grasslands with scattered trees; Shrublands are dominant by woody
or herbaceous shrubs.

• Fire has huge impact on developing community structure

• Seasonal rhythm: Wet period-growth-dry period-decay of grass and

shedding of trees-wild fire happens

• It is also called BIG GAME biome because of presence of rich

wildlife
TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS/PRAIRIES
• Found b/w 40-55° N & S

• Lie in interior of the continent because of which climate is very

extreme (except in south America and south Africa which are
neared to sea)

• Areas: Southern region in Canada, central USA, Mongolia, Murray

darling basin of Australia and parts of South America

• Day and night range of temperature is very large, Temperate;

ranges from semi-arid to semi-humid.
• Temperature: warm to hot season (often with a cold to freezing
season in winter)

• Soil: fertile with rich nutrients and minerals, ideally suited to

extensive agriculture, some of the most productive grain-growing
regions in the world.

• Plants: grass; trees or shrubs in savanna and shrubland, trees do

not form a canopy as they would in a forest

• Heaths (low shrublands) and pastures (grasslands); forest growth is

hindered by human activity but not climate
• Rain variesL 25 - 96 cm

• Temperate grasses are short but bery nutritious

• They are treeless plains except some trees appear on mountains

• Tree species - Willows, Alders and Poplars

• Temperate grassland 2 types

• Tallgrass Prairies type - humid condition, taller

• Steppes/Shortgrass - dryer (semi-arid climate) and shorter

Regional names of Temperate Grasslands
North America Prairies

Eurasia (Russia, Ukraine) Steppes

Hungary Pustaz

Argentina Pampas

South Africa Velds

Australia Downs

China Manchurian

New Zealand Cantebury Plains/Tussocks

Temperate Coniferous Forest/Taiga/North
Coniferous/ Needle-leaf forest/ Northwood
• Boreal/Snow forest

• Lie b/w 55-70°N & S, Largest terrestrial biome (29% of world's forest
cover)

• Tundra region lies on the north and temperate grasslands on the

south

• Almost continuous belt in southern Canada, northern Europe and

Russia. Areas - southern Alaska, southern Canada, parts of Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Poland, Mongolia, Northern Russia and Siberia
• Winters are very cold, severe for >8 months with a temperature
much below freezing, Growing season occurs in summer (>10°C
temperature for <4 months)

• Rainfall: 25 - 10 cm, Rainfall is almost throughout the year

• Soil: Young and poor in nutrients. Lacks in deep, organically

enriched profile. Diversity of soil organisms: high. Soil is thin due to
cold. Fallen leaves and moss: decompose extremely slowly (growth
of lichen is seen), limits organic addition to soil. Evergreen needles
acids leach the soil, creating spodosol/podzol
• The trees are able to survive great range of temperature (upto -50°C
in places like Verkhoyansk) and a short grwoing season

• The region represent simplest assemblage of plants of any

biome: one species covered a large area, undergrowth is very
scarce. Fire plays an important role in?

• The trees are softwood, evergreen and have needle shaped

leaves, cone shaped and branches are short and remained
drooping so that snow slips down

• Important species are Pine, Fir, Larches, Spruce, Hemlock, Cedar

Tundra Biome
Tundra Biome
 Tundra Biome
• It lies on the northern side of coniferous forest (65°N)

• Tundra (Russian: Uplands, treeless mountain tracts)

• Summer isotherm of 10°C marks the beginning of tundra

& 0°C marks the limit on the poleward side

• There are three types of tundra: arctic tundra, alpine

tundra and Antartica tundra
• TIMBER LINE: ecotone/ecological boundary region between the
tundra and the forest (line beyond which tree are not found)

• Below 25-90 cms, there is a permanent layer of frozen water

throughout the year. Beyond this depth, there is no liquid water. This
is called PERMAFROST (permanently frozen)

• Area: Northern part of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Siberia

and spitsbergen island (largest and only permanently populated
island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway)
• Climate: Winters are very long around 9 months & very severe, dark
and cold and temp is below freezing -30° to -40°C (but surprisingly
lowest in Taiga)

• Summers are short 2-3 months (0-10°C)

• Rainfall less than 25 cms (but ETL are also low, so no desert)

• Bush tundra consists of dwarf alders, birches, willows and

junipers, Grass tundra consists of lichens, mosses, sedges and
rhododendrons
• Vegetation is well adapted to withstand extreme cold to survive on a
minimum moisture it can also beneath alive even in snow in winter

• Fragile ecosystem as it lacks diversity

• Most continuous of all biomes and occurs almost unbroken along

poleward margin
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