We explain what a biome is and what types of biomes exist. Also, examples of biomes: desert, steppe, tundra, jungle and more.
What is a biome?
By biome, biotic area either bioclimatic landscape It is called a region of the surface of the Earth that presents uniformities in terms of climate, flora and fauna thus constituting an identifiable area based on the type and variety of ecosystems that can be found there.
The same biome, then, can have different local names, but it is always considered the same biogeographic category, with stable ecological characteristics. This term should not be confused with others such as ecozone, habitat either ecoregions.
Thus, and taking into account basic and determining characteristics, such as height, latitude, temperature, soil types and rainfall range, the set of biomes present on the Earth's surface can be traced, paying attention to the relationships between soils, vegetation and fauna, to define each one separately. This is a classification task especially important for biologists ecologists and conservationists.
The number of biomes in the world is finite, and covers all known places to date. According to the WWF, There are 14 terrestrial biomes, 14 freshwater biomes and 7 marine biomes.
See also: Abiotic factors
Biome types
Biomes are classified according to different systems, but the most used are those of WWF, Holdridge, Whittaker, Walter and Bailey. Each system is protected by its own rules, taking into account the physical, geographical, climatic and biotic conditions that affect each region. Thus, one can speak of:
- Terrestrial biomes. Those that take place on dry land, that is, in some part of the continental shelf, whether in plains, mountains or deserts of any nature.
- Marine biomes Those found in salt water deposits: seas and oceans, as well as continental coasts.
- Freshwater biomes Those that take place in lakes, rivers and other freshwater reservoirs, as well as their respective coasts.
Biome Examples
- Desert A predominantly arid biome, with little rainfall and xerophytic vegetation, if any. There are warm ones, like the one that covers the northern part of Africa (Sahara Desert) and frozen or polar ones, like the frozen plateau of Antarctica, so cold that liquid water is non-existent. They also tend to occur in sandy, rocky and frozen soils. Almost a third of the planet is covered by this type of biome: 50 million square kilometers (53% warm and the rest cold).
- Steppe Biome with little rainfall, flat territory and herbaceous vegetation (shrubs and grasses at most) that is usually found far from the sea. They have a wide thermal variation and soils rich in minerals, but scarce in organic matter and therefore not very fertile. It can be considered a wasteland, that is, a cold and rocky desert, like the steppes of Asia, North America and Argentine Patagonia, or the high plateau of the Andean Puna.
- Tundra Biome of low temperatures and frozen soils, low vegetation typical of the polar areas, occupies almost a fifth of the total surface of the planet. Mosses, lichens and swampy soils predominate, abundant in peat bogs. It is common in Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland, as well as in the extreme south of Chile and Argentina, regions with cold climates and short summers, whose maximum temperatures do not exceed 10 °C. Sometimes the ground can freeze (permafrost).
- Taiga. Call at the same time boreal forestthis biome is the largest forest reserve on the planet, composed almost exclusively of large, evergreen conifers, such as firs, maples and pines, and an abundant herbivorous fauna. They are exclusive to the northern hemisphere: Siberia and European Russia, Alaska and Canada.
- Meadow Predominant biome of temperate grasslands and shrublands, in areas of low rainfall (around 300 to 1500mm annually), incapable of hosting forests, but without becoming desert areas. Its soil is fertile and has abundant layers, a product of the short life of the vegetation. Ideal for growing food plants, with cold winters and warm summers, typical of North American areas or the Argentine pampas.
- Rain forest This biome extends near the equator, in South America (the Amazon), in Africa (the Congo jungle), in Asia and Oceania. It is the one with the greatest abundance of biomass on the planet: tall, lush vegetation with an abundant canopy, which guarantees fertile and humid soil, with very frequent and abundant annual rainfall and a warm climate, devoid of winter. They are the great reservoir of biodiversity on the planet (50% of all known species) in a strip of less than 7% of the Earth's surface.
