GGY 130 1st Edition Lecture 16Terrestrial Flora Part Two: Major Biomes-Tropical Rainforest (Selva) • Greatest specie diversity • Very dense vegetation• Little surface vegetation due to lack of sunlight• Association with Af-Tropical Deciduous Forest• Less tree density than Selva • Lower tree heights indicative of less precipitation • Found along the margins between Af and Aw-Tropical Scrub Forest• Subtropical steppe and tropical savanna climates• Tall bushes, moderately tall trees, and extensive grasses• Less plant species diversity-Tropical Savanna• Its distribution doesn’t exactly correlate with the distribution of tropical savanna climate • Dominated by tall grasses• Human modification-Desert• Correlated with subtropical and midlatitude desert climates • Xerophytic plants• Sparse plant cover; typically shrubs and grasses (near oasis)• Rainfall can trigger plant germination -Mediterranean Woodland and Shrubland• Mediterranean climate• Open grassy woodlands and dense growth of woody shrubs (Chaparral)• Adapted to recover rapidly after summer wildfire-Midlatitude Grassland • Fairly correlated with steppe climatic type• Low precipitation and/or frequency of fire prevents growth of trees and shrubs• Grasses depend on moisture (Prairie and Steppe)-Midlatitude Deciduous Forest• Fairly correlated with Mild Midlatitude and Severe Midlatitude climates• Dense tall broadleaf trees that provide a complete canopy in the summer• Unusual situation in the southeastern United States (Needleleaf Evergreens)-Large portion of this forest has been cleared for agriculture -Boreal Forest• Often co-located with the subarctic climate• Most trees are conifers• Trees are taller on southern side of this biome• Swamps are numerous in the regions especially in the summer-Tundra • Correlated with the polar climate in the Northern hemisphere• Too cold for trees to survive• Plant cover consists of grasses, mosses, and lichens• Alpine tundra exist at high