2.1.2. Distribution of global ecosystems

What term describes the living parts of an environment, such as plants and animals?

Biotic components

What term describes the non-living features that shape an environment, such as temperature and rainfall?

Abiotic components

Which biome has very high daytime temperatures and rainfall of less than  250 mm annually?

Hot desert

Which biome is warm year-round with distinct wet and dry seasons and scattered drought-resistant trees?

Savanna

Which biome is dominated by evergreen coniferous trees with needle-like leaves?

Boreal forest

What is the permanently frozen ground in the tundra biome called?

Permafrost

What is the primary control on the distribution of global ecosystems across the planet?

Latitude

Which grassland biome lies immediately north and south of the tropical rainforests?

Savanna grasslands

Hot deserts are generally found in belts around which line of latitude in the Northern Hemisphere?

Tropic of Cancer 

Which forest biome stretches across a wide continuous band in the high northern latitudes beneath the Arctic?

Boreal forests

Which two variables are the critical climate controls governing the global distribution of biomes?

• Temperature

• Precipitation

What factor dictates the overall density and structure of vegetation that can survive in an ecosystem?