GEOG 5 Gillespie Thomas 2012 Fall Week 2 Lecture 2 October 2 Announcements Required reading Chapters 1 and 6 Outline of Last Lecture I Brief outline of what geography is and practice drawing of the world Outline of Today s Lecture II Introduction to idea of biomes III Discussion of the world s biomes Today s Lecture Ecosystems and Biomes 1 A biome breaks the world into areas with similar plants and animals due to its climate 2 Biomes can also be referred to as ecosystems ecozones etc 3 Aristotle s hypothesis of biomes broke the worlds into five sections Frigid Temperate Torrid Temperate and Frigid Tundra Where North America Russia high elevations Artic CA No Why 7 month freeze this means the ground is frozen for seven months preventing trees from growing There is also less than 25 cm of precipitation per year Fire No this is not a natural part of this biome Plants herbs and perennial All plants of the tundra are edible People s impact this area is used for oil Conservation Status very good not really any major environmental issues Boreal Forest Where North America Europe Scandinavia Russia South America CA Yes Why Boreal forest occurs due to 50 cm of precipitation and a freeze of less than 7 months Plants Conifers cone bearing trees often with needles Fir tress pine trees sequoia trees Fire Yes it occurs naturally in this biome These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Ground Fire burns along the ground relatively small fire Crown Fire burns whole trees very large fire People s impact used for timber Conservation Status good as the trees are renewable Temperate Deciduous Forest Where East America West Europe South Chile Japan China New Zealand Tasmania Australia CA No Why this occurs as the winters are very cold but the summers are hot and wet Fire No Plants flowering trees magnolia oaks they have lateral branches and big leaves People s impact this biome attracts a lot of people so highly populated regions develop it is also very agriculturally productive Conservation Status good this biome allows for plants to grow back very quickly Temperate Grasslands Where United States praires South Africa veldt Argentina pompous Europe steppe CA Yes Why Climate is dryer and more temperate Fire Yes very important natural element Small fires destroy the shrubs so as to maintain the grass Plants perennial short and long grasslands 80 of the grass is underground meaning that it is protected from the fires People s impact Agriculture Conservation Status ugly