APES BIOMES + CLIMATE GRAPHS

Polar Ice Cap

• Coldest, no warm season

• Very low precipitation (snow)

• No vegetation (ice sheets prevent soil)

• Antartica

Tundra

Very cold, short, cool summers

• Low precipitation 

• Short growing season (permafrost)

• Low-growing plants (lichens, mosses, grasses)

• Alaska 

• HD - mining for oils and minerals

Boreal Forest (Taiga)

Long cold winter, mild summer

• Mid to high precipitation (mostly snow)

• Conifer trees and animals adapted to cold (pine, spruce, firs/moose, wolves, bears)

• Canada 

• HD - logging, mining for tar sands, and natural gas

Woodland/Shrubland

• Hot, dry summer, mild, rainy winters 

• Low to moderate precipitation - strong seasonal patterns

• Frequent wildfires, plants resistant to drought (shrubs, herbs)

• California/Spain  

• HD - habituation and favorable climate

Temperate Grassland

• Cold winters, warm summers

• Moderate precipitation (often coming as rainstorms)

• Good biodiversity (fire and grazing are important to keep grassland)

• Australia 

• HD - agriculture

Temperate Seasonal Forest (Deciduous Forest)

• Four seasons

• High and evenly distributed precipitation

• Great biodiversity (deciduous trees, rich soil, deer, birds, bears, squirrels) 

• Connecticut 

• HD - Logging and habitation

Temperate Rainforest

• Mild temps, cooler than tropical rainforest 

• Very high precipitation

• Good biodiversity (Big conifer trees (redwood, sources, fir), thick mosses/ferns) 

• Japan, the Pacific Northwest coast of North America

• HD - mostly intact or logged and completely cut down, used for oil mining

Tropical Rainforest

• Warm year-round (little seasonal change)

• Extremely high rain (daily)

• Highest biodiversity on earth

• Poor, nutrient-thin soil (nutrients recycle quickly)

• Amazon Rainforest - Brazil, Peru, Colombia 

• HD - logging, mining, habitat loss

Tropical Seasonal Forest/Savanna

• Warm year-round

• Moderate precipitation (distinction between wet and dry seasons)

• Good biodiversity (grasses with scattered trees, Zebras, lions, elephants)

• Fire and grazing maintain the ecosystem.

• Kenya

• HD  - logging, mining, infrastructure

Subtropical Desert

• Hottest biome (cold nights)

• Very low precipitation (unpredictable)

• Low biodiversity (dry soil, little matter, plants like cacti, animals adapted to water loss- reptiles, foxes)

• Arabian Desserts 

• HD - Intensive agriculture, grazing, fire wood collection