APES- Terrestrial Biomes Review

Vocabulary Understand and be able to apply each of these terms. 1. Biome: Climatic conditions on the Earth, like communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms called an ecosystem. 2. Climate: Classified according to the average and the typical ranges of temperature and precipitation. Climate can be affected by latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents. 3. Rainshadow: A dry area on the leeward of the mountainous area. The mountains block passage of rainy weather by casting a shadow of dryness behind them. 4. Windward: The part of the mountain facing the ocean 5. Leeward: The part of the mountain other side of the windward. 6. Latitude: Geographic coordinate that tells the north south position of a point on the Earth's surface. Lines are parallel, so up and down. 7. Altitude: The height above sea level of a location. 8. Primary Succession: One of two types of biological and ecological successions of plant life. It is the gradual growth of an ecosystem over a longer period. 9. Secondary Succession: A process started by an event (ex: forest fires, harvesting, hurricanes) that reduces and already established ecosystem to a smaller population of species. Occurs in preexisting soil. 10. Tropical: Warm to hot and moist year round.

11. Temperate: The change between summer and winter. In geography, temperature latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar regions. 12. Desert: Area receives less than 10 inches of rain in some years or no rain at all. 13. Polar: Areas receive less intensive solar radiation because the sun's energy arrives at the oblique angle. Critical Thinking Read, analyze, and give complete answers to these questions. 1. Describe the rainshadow effect and explain how it can alter the climate of the windward and leeward side of a mountain range. The rain shadow effect is when there is an area of land that is blocked from precipitation by mountains. This can alter climate of the windward and leeward sides of a mountain range by creating the area facing the leeward side dry and lose much of its moisture as precipitation. 2. What effect does living near a large ocean or lake have on average air temperatures? Why?- Explain. Living near a lake or ocean would make that area have higher than average precipitation, especially in areas on the leeward side of the water, because water absorbs a large amount of energy on hot days which keeps its surroundings cool. 3. Complete this summary chart of the land-based ecosystems. Equatorial, Polar, Precipitation (High, or Mid-Latitude Low, Seasonal) Tropical Desert Polar Desert Tropical Grasslands Temperate Grasslands Chaparral Tropical Rain forest Equatorial Polar Mid-Latitude Mid-Latitude Low Low Low Seasonal Low Low Low High High Seasonal High Seasonal Low Temperate Desert Mid-Latitude

Average Temperature (High, Low, Seasonal) High Seasonal Low Hight Seasonal High High High Seasonal High Seasonal

Polar Grasslands Polar Mid-Latitude Equatorial

Deciduous Forest Mid-Latitude Coniferous Forest Mid-Latitude (Taiga) Temperate Rain forest Mountains Mid-Latitude Mid-Latitude

4. For each category of biomes, give a major human impact and list 2 endangered species: a. Deserts Driving your car off the road in unrestricted areas kill off vegetation which effects species. Nuclear waste could be dumped in the desert because of the nuclear testing grounds. Some endangered animals include: gila monster, prairie dog, peregrine falcon, kangaroo rat, and the ocelot. b. Grasslands Some human impacts include; farming, hunting, urban development destroy the natural grasslands to make space and or over fertilize the area. A few endangered species of the dozens give include; Barbary Leopard, West African Giraffe, Black Rhinoceros, and Asian Elephant. c. Forests The obvious human impact is urbanizations and deforestation. As for endangered animals there are the Red-cockades woodpecker, Norther spotted owl, the Monarch butterfly, and the Golden-checked warbler. d. Mountains The major human impact in the mountains include mining and hunting. Some endangered animals are the Snow Leopard, Wild Yak, Vicuna, and Bolivian Chinchilla.

Climatograph Use the data provided to construct a climatograph. Remember: Temperature should be displayed as a line graph and precipitation as a bar graph. Identify the biome in the climatogram above- what evidence supports your answer. Give specific observations from your graph to justify this answer. Answered on the Aquatic Ecosystems Study Guide.