Characteristics of a Biome

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2011, 2008, 2006: Examine the characteristics of any one biome that you have studied under three of the following headings; climate, soil, flora or fauna. A biome is a major world region that is characterised by similarities in its climate, vegetation, soil and animal life. All aspects of the Biome are related and influenced by each other. The Biome I have studied is the Hot Desert Biome.This Biome was formed when the hot sun beating down absorbed most of the moisture from the soils. There was little cloud cover to protect the land from the sun or to provide moisture from rain. Also the high pressure equatorial belts and rain shadow effect kept the area dry. Therefore the land became loose and dry and blew away with the winds, spreading over large surfaces of area creating deserts.Deserts are usually found 15 and 30 degrees North and South of the Equator. They generally lie on the Western side of land masses and are affected by cold ocean currents. Examples of Hot Desert Biomes are the Sahara Desert covering most of South Africa, one country being Sudan, and the Namib Desert in Namibia. Climate: When looking at the climate of the Hot Desert Biome, we have to look at the temperature and the precipitation of the Biome.The temperature of the Hot Desert Biome is on average 30 degrees Celsius- 50 degrees Celsius during the day.High temperatures are due to the desert’s location being close to the equator. Therefore the sun shines almost directly overhead, having a short distance to travel to earth.The temperature of the Hot Desert Biome is 5 degrees Celsius at night. This time is known as the “Winter of the Desert”.The reason for the drastic temperature change is due to cloud cover. There is a lack of cloud cover in Deserts. Therefore cloudless skies allow land to heat up quickly during the day, causing high temperatures. During the night cloudless skies don’t

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