APES Terrestrial and Aquatic Biomes

Tundra

• low temp. & rainfall

• permafrost soil (subsoil is permanently frozen)

• low vegetation

• located @ poles

Taiga/Boreal Forest

• low temp. & rainfall

• coniferous trees (pointy needle-like leaves)

• low biodiversity

• nutrient poor soil

• cold winters & short summers

Temperate Seasonal/Deciduous Forest

• mid temp. & mid rainfall

• broadleaf deciduous trees

• nutrient-rich soils & high productivity

Temperate Rainforest

• mild temp. & high rainfall

• coastal regions

• large coniferous trees

• low nutrients

Temperate Grassland/Cold Desert

• hot temp. & mid rainfall

• seasonal droughts & fire

• fertile soil & grass-dominant

• no nutrients

Woodland/Shrubland

• hot temp. & low rainfall

• drought resistant plants & frequent fires

• Mediterranean coast

• shrubs, grasses

• mild, dry summers & cold, wet winters

Savanna/Tropical Seasonal Forest

• hot temp. year long & mid rainfall (wet & dry seasons)

• grasses w/ minimal (scattered) trees

• grazing animals

Tropical Rainforest

• high temp. & rainfall

• wet year round

• very high biodiversity

• broadleaf evergreens

• nutrient-poor soil (due to high comp.)

(Subtropical) Desert

• low rainfall & high temp.

• little biodiversity

• cacti

• no nutrients

Source Zone

• shallow, cold , clear, fast flowing stream

• high dissolved oxygen

• low nutrient levels with low NPP

Transition Zone

• wide stream bed

• warm water, slower stream

• lower dissolved oxygen

• more NPP

Floodplain Zone

• Wide stream bed

• Warmest temperature

• High turbidity

• Least dissolved oxygen

• Highest NPP

Lentic Systems

Oligotrophic

• Deep and steep banks

• Low nutrients and NPP

Eutrophic

• Shallow and high turbidity

• High nutrients and NPP

Littoral Zone

• Lots of light (reaches the bottom)

• High NPP

• lots of biodiversity

• rooted plants

Limentic Zone

• Lots of light

• Low nutrient levels and NPP

• algae

Profundal Zone

• Low light

• Low NPP

Benthic Zone

• no light

• lots of nutrients

• low NPP

• mostly decomposers

• is the bottom of a body of water that has sediment layer at the bottom

Inland Wetlands

Freshwater

• Marshes, swamps, prairie potholes, floodplains

• areas of land covered in water seasonally or all year

• high NPP due to high nutrient levels and sunlight

• very important habitat

Open Ocean

• Mostly ocean water

Photic Zone:

1. Intertidal Zone: lots of nutrients and high biodiversity

2. Coastal Zone: same littoral zone (lots of light, NPP, biodiversity

3. Euphotic: same as limentic (lots of light, low nutrients and NPP and thus low biodiversity)
   

   Aphotic Zone:

4. Bathyal: same as profundal (low light and NPP)

5. Abyssal Zone: same as benthic zone (no light and little productivity

Estuaries and Salt Marshes

• most biodiverse

• high nutrient levels + sunlight for high NPP

• brackish

• mangrove trees as dominant species

Intertidal Zone

• Narrow band along coastlines between the

  high and low tide marks

Coral reef

• warm shallow seas

• low in nutrients

• coral animal symbiote of polyp mouth and algae

• high NPP and biodiversity