Biomes

Biomes organize the biological communities of the earth based on similarities in the dominant vegetation, climate, geographic location, and other characteristics. Aspects of the physical environment such as precipitation, temperature, and water depth, have a strong influence on the traits of species living in that natural environment, and thus biological communities experiencing similar environmental conditions often contain species that have evolved similar characteristics. There is no single classification of biomes that is agreed upon by all scientists because different scientists wish to emphasize different characteristics by their definition. Historically however, biomes have been identified and mapped based on general differences in vegetation type associated with regional variations in climate and terrain.

Readings

Biome http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biome?topic=58073

Terrestrial biomes http://www.eoearth.org/article/Terrestrial_biome

Deserts http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deserts

Desert biome http://www.eoearth.org/article/Desert_biome?topic=58071

Grassland biome http://www.eoearth.org/article/Grassland_biome?topic=58071

Forest biome http://www.eoearth.org/article/Forest_biome?topic=58074

Rainforest http://rainforests.mongabay.com/