The air rises, then spreads horizontally to the north and south. Eventually the now cool air sinks and flows along the surface to replace the rising air at the equator, forming a circulation cell or a Hadley cell. It tends to sink at about 30° north and 30° south latitude. As the air sinks it warms and dries. Not only can sinking air not produce rain, but when it reaches the ground it absorbs water from the soil and vegetation, creating even more arid conditions.
The forest floor – the ground, contains tree stumps, bases and fallen trees, the understorey – made up of small trees, vines and epiphytes, the canopy – a thick level made up of treetops that blocks sun from the levels below and the emergent – made up of trees that grow above the canopy layer. Conditions in the emergent and canopy layers are different from those in the understorey and forest floor. In the top two levels (the emergent and canopy) there is plenty of sunlight and nutrients. The bottom two levels (the understorey and forest floor) receive little sunlight and are often damp. Plants in the understorey and forest floor grow to join the canopy layer when one of the existing trees die and leave a gap of sunlight.
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.
The Simpson Desert has a lack of rainfall due to the distance from the sea and the temperature. The rainfall ranges from around 150mm to approximately 200mm per year, but mainly in the summer time. Fauna: The Simpson Desert Fauna (Animals) is affected by the heat, lack of water and sheer temperatures that the desert provides. The Fauna in this desert are an array of 34 native mammals, 231 Birds, 22 amphibians, 13 Fish and 125 reptile’s species. Intending to three percent of Fauna species are now classified as rare or threatened and endangered.
Temperate Forest Summary Bio 101 September 15, 2014 Temperate Forest Summary There are various types of forest set within planet earth, which are complex ecosystems with dynamic characteristics that are set by specific features: physiological variations, the form of plant and animal life and the process that initiate these dynamics. Temperate forest biomes are ecosystems that consist of an abundant amount of plant and animal species. The following passage will provide a brief summary of the various characteristics of the forest, geographical areas of forest locations, population growth, and how the forest regulates its population. Temperate forests are several regions in the Eastern part of North America, Western Europe, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, and a small part of South America. A temperate forest experience all four season although climate is moderate in comparison to tundra and taiga forests.
The grassland biomes are usually semi-arid areas of land dominated by grass as the main form of vegetation with little or no trees, such as tropical savannah and mid-latitude grassland (WorldBiomes.com, 2009). The desert biomes are associated with aridity and extremely low precipitations (WorldBiomes.com, 2009). As a result, they have thinly dispersed plants and a high percentage of ground exposed to direct insolation and weathering (Strahler, 1975). Hot and dry desert,
To begin, it would only seem right to explain the background of Africa itself before going into the methods through which its development was affected by the geography of the region. The continent of African was one that has been said to have rain forests, but that statement has been countered numerous times. In addition, the region had seafaring trade with numerous other civilizations and deserts that both hindered, and benefited certain civilizations. The agricultural aspects and benefits of the region played a role in its geography, making it a key element in the scale of development of the region and impacting it immensely. The Nile River, in particular, was an aspect of agriculture whose impact on African societies would change the way we see it today.
The tropical climate is characterized by constant high temperatures. All twelve months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm (2.4 in), whereas in the savanna climate, the annual precipitation is contrastingly 25 mm. In the dry climates (group B) contains: arid and semiarid climates. Desert regions on the West coast are much cooler, due to the nearby presence of cold ocean currents and frequent cloud cover. The mesothermal climate (group C) consists: mediterranean, humid-subtropic, and oceanic climates.
Rainforest in reality have shallow and relatively infertile soil. The reasons behind this soil having these qualities is because heavy rainfall causes important nutrients needed for a fertile environment to be washes away and/or dissolved into the lower layer of the soil (leaching) thus leaving the forest floor infertile. Once leaching has occurred and removed these nutrients, trees become unable to access fertile soil and remain healthy. Many rainforest trees have developed adaptations which allow them to reach down into the lower levels of soil and receive these nutrients. Such adaptation is known as a “Buttress Roots”.
So, now in North America El Nino causes the hurricane season to diminish and the tornado season to be active. In the southern United States cooler and wetter weather is brought. Drier weather occurs in the Pacific Northwest. Southern California ends up having wetter weather. These effects