Global Biomes: Tundra, Prairie, Desert, Taiga, Steppe, Rainforest & Savanna
Global Biomes: A Comparative Analysis
Tundra
Features: Low temperatures (-15°C to 5°C) and a very short favorable season. Rainfall is low (about 300mm per year), but water is usually not limiting due to the low evaporation rate.
Geographic Distribution: Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere: Siberia, Alaska, northern Canada, southern Greenland, and the coastal Arctic of Europe.
Flora and Fauna: Herbivorous animals include caribou, reindeer, musk ox, hare, arctic hare, snow goat, and lemming. Carnivores include the polar bear (far north), wolf, gyrfalcon, Kodiak bear, and snowy owl. Salmon are abundant. Common plants are grasses, mosses, and lichens.
Prairie
Features: Temperate climate, between semiarid and humid, with a warm season and a cold winter season.
Geographic Distribution: Continents of America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Flora and Fauna: Grasses with some perennial plants. Rodents and other small animals such as vizcachas, maras, guinea pigs, hairy armadillos, opossums, lizards, and foxes. Birds include ostriches, American partridges, owls, ducks, martinetas, screamers, lapwings, chimangos, and owls.
Desert
Features: Regions with less than 300 mm of precipitation per year, or hot climates with heavy rains but uneven distribution.
Geographic Distribution: Deserts of the Sahara, Kalahari, Namib, and the Ogaden in Africa; Sandy and Victoria deserts in Australia; Gobi, Kara Kum, Takla Makan, Saudi, Rub Al Jali, Syria, Judea, Sinai-Negev in Asia; and Arizona-Sonora, Mojave, Atacama, Sechura, and Dunes of Paraguaná in America.
Flora and Fauna: Animals include lizards, snakes, spiders, owls, scorpions, squirrels, vultures, coyotes, etc. Few plants survive, protected by spines and thick skin layers, such as cacti, palms, and weeds in oases.
Taiga
Features: Occupies a strip of more than 1500km in width in the northern hemisphere (North America, Europe, and Asia) and is also found in mountainous areas. Very low winter temperatures (less than -40°C) and a relatively short summer. Water scarcity (250mm-500mm per year) and remains frozen for many months.
Vegetation: Conifers (pine, fir, poplar) with straight trunks covered with resin and small needle-like leaves.
Fauna: Few animals remain in the taiga; most migrate to lower latitudes in autumn.
Steppe
Features: A large flat area of herbaceous vegetation, characteristic of extreme weather and little rainfall.
Geographic Distribution: From southern Canada to northern Mexico in the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.
Flora: Xerophytic vegetation, adapted to water scarcity, with deep roots seeking groundwater. Plants include wormwood, black-blue spikelet, gagea, crested grass, sedge, and buttercup.
Rainforest
Features: Hot, humid climates, provided with rainfall and rivers that experience violent floods in the autumn. A rainforest is not a “jungle.”
Geographic Distribution: Near the center of Ecuador, South America, in Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
Flora and Fauna: Large trees and vines (lianas, orchids). Primates, exotic birds, mammals like the jaguar, and many insects.
Tropical Savannas
Characteristics: Tropical grasslands with a small amount of scattered trees or shrubs. Thrive in high-temperature regions with a marked difference between dry and wet seasons. Growth is rapid in the wet season but lower in quality during the dry season.
Geographic Distribution: Large areas in South America, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Northern Australia.
Flora and Fauna: Prairie grasses, shrubs, and woodland. Elephants, giraffes, deer, leopards.