Climate and vegetation

Terrestrial Ecosystems

Overview: Climate and Vegetation

  • Relationship between climate and vegetation distribution.

  • Early geographers categorized vegetation based on physical appearance:

    • Deserts, Grasslands, Forests.

  • Vegetation formations correspond with similar climate conditions.

Biomes

  • Defined as biotic units classified by predominant plant types (E.E. Clements, V.E. Shelford).

  • Eight major terrestrial biomes:

    • Tropical forest

    • Temperate forest

    • Conifer forest

    • Temperate grasslands

    • Tropical savanna

    • Chaparral (shrublands)

    • Tundra

    • Desert

  • Forest ecosystems have a closed canopy; woodlands/savannas have grasses and trees co-dominant.

  • Desert denotes scarcity of plant cover.

  • Biome formation influenced by climatic patterns (R. Whittaker).

Biome Characteristics

  • Classification reflects contributions of plant life-forms:

    • Trees, Shrubs, Grasses.

  • High to low precipitation influences vegetation types:

    • Broadleaf evergreen trees (tropical rainforests) through to shrubs (desert).

  • High to low temperature impacts tree growth.

Ecozones and Ecoregions

  • Ecozone: Large ecological units characterized by abiotic/biotic interactions, 15 terrestrial ecozones in Canada.

  • Ecoregion: Subdivisions of ecozones, based on regional ecological factors with 217 ecoregions in Canada, focus on 11 in Saskatchewan.

Key Points

  • Temperature and precipitation patterns linked to vegetation cover.

  • Predominant plant type defines biomes (8 major biomes, 14 in WWF classification).

  • Ecozones defined by broad ecological units; ecoregions by specific ecological factors.