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Our planet is varied. There are deserts, rain forests, oceans, and mountains. In some places, the temperature rarely rises above 0°F. In other areas, it hardly ever dips below 100°F.
Some places are home to rhinoceroses, while others host elk or polar bears or kangaroo rats. Areas with similar climates, geography, animals, and vegetation are called biomes. Each biome on Earth has a unique combination of conditions that allows certain life forms to thrive there. Not all scientists agree on exactly how to divide Earth into biomes. Here’s one popular way.
Earth’s Biomes
The same biome on different continents may have different species. Take deserts, for example. Arizona’s Sonora Desert has rattlesnakes. Yet, you could walk all three and a half million square miles of Africa’s Sahara Desert and never see one rattler. But the Sahara contains other kinds of snakes that fill the same niche, or place, in the ecosystem.
At Home in a Biome
▲ Tundra
The tundra is a treeless and very cold biome. Animals there include the Arctic fox and musk oxen. The plants include mosses and short grasses.
▲ Coniferous Forest
Wolverines and moose are among the animals living here. It’s the biggest biome in the world. The chilly landscape is dominated by evergreen trees, such as spruce and pine.
▲ Deciduous Forest
These areas of warm summers and cold winters contain abundant wildlife. Typical species are deer in the U.S. and duckbill platypus in Australia. Deciduous trees, like oaks, have leaves that change with the seasons.
▲ Desert
Because of the extreme weather, desert animals tend to be small and hardy. Even so, some large animals, such as camels, thrive here. Plants, like the cactus, are usually compact and hardy.
▲ Temperate Grassland
This is the grassy home where millions of buffalo once roamed. Now, cows and wolves live there. With hot summers, cold winters, and few trees, these prairies in the U.S. today support farms and suburbs.
▲ Savannah
Kangaroos in Australia and zebras in Africa make savannahs their home. Savannahs are like temperate grasslands because both have seasonal droughts and fires. These are important factors in creating biodiversity. Savannahs have more rain, trees, and shrubs than temperate grasslands do. Winters tend to be warm and wet on the savannah.
▲ Chaparral
Chipmunks, wood rats, lizards, and other small animals can be found in chaparrals. These zones of stubby trees are generally found right beside deserts in or near “Mediterranean” climates, including Chile, California, Southwest Australia, and the Mediterranean itself. Summers are hot and dry, and winters bring some rainfall.
▲ Mountain
Mountains are home to a wide variety of animals. You can find mountain gorillas in Africa and bighorn sheep in North America. A mountain biome may contain other biomes. As you travel up a mountain, you reach a level where only coniferous trees can survive. Then you get to the tundra level, and finally, there’s nothing but rocks and snow.
▲ Temperate Rain Forest
The largest temperate rain forests are found along the Pacific Coast, from Oregon to Alaska. Black bears, cougars, and raccoons thrive in this wet biome. Spruce and hemlock trees are typical.
▲ Tropical Rain Forest
Most tropical rain forests lie near the equator. They contain about half the world’s species of land plants and animals. There’s not a lot on the forest floor, because the thick leaf canopy blocks out much of the light.
Check It Out!
What water biomes can you think of?
Coral reefs, deep-sea trenches, and other saltwater ecosystems make up the marine biome. It also includes areas near land, such as estuaries. Those are places where freshwater rivers and streams flow into the sea. The freshwater biome includes rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes, as well as wetlands, like bogs, swamps, and marshes. Less than 3 percent of the world’s water is fresh water. Most of it is found in glaciers and at the North and South Poles.
