EARTH’S BIOMES

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as natural areas with similar conditions on the Earth (climate, vegetation, soil, wildlife…) and are often referred to as ecosystems. Biomes are defined by factors such as vegetation and species of flora or plants (forest, woodland, savanna… and trees and shrubs as oaks, cork trees or rosemary,…), wildlife and climate.

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Warm Climate Environments

Warm climates are located basically between 35 º N/S and the Equator. Their average temperature is above 20ºC, and they don’t have any month with temperatures below 18ºC. Eventhough, precipitation is very dfiferente in each warm climate. Deserts, savannas and rainforests are the principal environments related with these climates.

Deserts are located around 35 and 25 º N/S, especially next to western coasts affected by cold sea Streams and in areas with high pressures (anticiclones) almost all throurgh the year. In deserts precipitation is scarce, usually it rains less than 200 mm/per year. In the driest area in the world, the Atacama Desert in the Chilean Coast, it haven’t rain in years. Temperatures are high all year round, but with great differences between night and day. At night they can reach as low as -20 ºC. On the other hand, temperatures can reach more than 40ºC during the day. Temperate and cold deserts, usually located deep inland in higher latitudes, as in the Gobi desert in China, or Arizona in the USA, can have cold winters.

The flora is very scarce. Vegetation is mainly made up by cactus or nopales, that can store moisture due to its needles and its thick skin. More vegetation can be found in the oasis, areas with water in the middle of the desert, where palmtrees grow. In the fauna, reptils, insects and birds of prey are the most usual species.

Savannahs prevail in the area between 10 and 25º N/S. These are very often areas with a dry tropical climate, with warm temperatures all the year through and with moderate precipitation (between 500 and 1.000 mm/year). There is a dry season, with drought, that lasts more than 6 months, and a humid season of 3 or 4 months, where most of the rain falls. In the savannahs, grasses, that change its colour depending on the season, dominate the soil and are vital for the grazing of the mammals, as zebras or deers. Trees are very scattered in the savannah, and they prevent moisture loss, as baobab or acacia. A very similar environment is known as Pampa in South America, or Steppe in Asia.

Rainforest are typical from a Humid tropical climate or a Equatorial Climate. They are usually located between 20 ºN/S and the Equator. The temperature is warm all through the year, and precipitation is regular and abundant, with more than 2.000 mm/year in the equatorial climate, and not so abundant and more irregular in the Humid tropical climate.

Vegetation is very thick and assorted in a rainforest, with decoidious and evergreen trees, lichens, bushes, lianas, etc. Vegeatation is distributed in stories, according to the sun that each type of plant need (some trees need long hours of sun, so they reach hundred of meters; some bushes are adapted to the lack of light, so they can grow near the soil…). Teak and mahogany are some of the most famous trees of the rainforest.