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Example Climate Diagrams:Temp on left (C); precip on right (mm)Every 10C = 20mm precipitation
minimum to
maintain non-drought conditions.Red is for temp; blue is for precip
if red
above blue, then drought; if blue above red,then non-drought.Months on x-axis: red highlighting indicatesgrowing season (ave temp > 0C).Year average temp (upper left) and totalrainfall (upper right).Location in far upper left; elevation far upperright.
Tropical Rainforest.C. & S. America (Amazon); Equatorial Africa, Madagascar;Indonesia, Malaysia, some SE Asia, Borneo, NE Aussie.Constant high rain; Constant very warm temps (27 C).No drought ever.12 months of growing season.>2000 mm total rainfall typical in a year.Diverse forests (300 species trees / hectare).Canopy animals and plants
distinct 3-D ecosystem. High decomposition rate in forest floor.Soils leached of nutrients and carbon; most tied up in trees.Very high biodiversity.
Tropical Savanna.S.A (northern and south of Amazon); band just belowSahara, and SE Africa; to NW of India; band in Aussie.Similar to TDF, but with shorter rainy season, less overallrain, and some more variation in temps.Drought is severe; fires during onset of wet seasonsstorms.12 months of growing season.Total rainfall variable.Grasslands of the tropics.Megafauna (elephants, lions, herds of ungulates;kangaroos).Fire, impermeable soils, and often perched waterbelowground keep trees out.
Desert.Band at 30N and 30S, w/ some areas outside (Asiansteppe).Drought conditions on a yearly basis (see left), and/orfreezing conditions with little precipitation (see above),depending on elevation and position on continent.Growing season varies a lot.Total rainfall very small, on average.Evaporation always greater than precipitation.Highly variable biologically.Cactus, other succulents, adaptation to extremetemps/desiccation among plants.Secretive animals; many belowground.Sandy to hardpan to salt crust (caliche).
Temperate Grassland.Great Plains of N.A.; Argentina and Uruguay; breadbasketacross Eurasia; a bit in N. Africa / middle east.Highly seasonal temps, w/ freezing winter.Highly seasonal precip that follows pattern for temp.This is where you live right now, more or less.Fire common. Mixed (from short to tall) grass prairies andmixed woodlands.Most turned to plow, no largely row-crop agriculture.Often heavily irrigated.Cattle production worldwide.Historically, area of large herbivores (bison, elk, etc.).Light on humans; heavy on human impacts.
Temperate Forest.Eastern N.A. and NW N.A.; most of N. Europe and W. Asia; some(historically) in middle east; China and north into Russia; SE Aussie.Highly seasonal temps, w/ mild to just-freezing winter.Deciduous-dominated (left)
mod. High, aseasonal rainfall. Coniferous-dominated (up)
summer drought, w/ heavy rainfall otherwise.Soils very fertile (accumulation of organic matter).Diversity of trees low (dozens per hectare), but biomass high (old-growth is higher than tropical rainforest in terms of biomass).Heavy on humans; heavy on human impacts.Cultural reference
this is the biome of all our fairy tales, e.g., the dark and foreboding forest into which some poor sap or saplings wander tostumble over a horrific fate... or eat a unicorn (Voldemort)... orwhatever.
Tundra.Nothing in S. hemisphere; band across NA and Asia abovetaiga.Highly seasonal temps, w/ cold to bitter winter.Low precipitation, mostly as snow.Permafrost, ice.Cold-adapted plants (low forms; mosses, lichens, sedges;no trees).Seasonal light and dark cycles.Migrating waterfowl and mammals dominate insummer
HUGE influxes of animal life during short growing season.Cultural reference
all the OTHER Alaska shows.
Dry forest
Tundra
Rainforest
Desert
Wood/shrubland
Boreal forest Temp. forestTemp. grassland
Wood/shrubland
Temp. grassland
Temp. forest
TundraBoreal forest
RainforestDry forestSavannaDesertWood/shrubland
