Chapter 6 Biomes

Front 1

Emergent Layer

Back 1

The top foliage layer in a forest where the trees extend above surrounding trees.

Front 2

Temperature

Back 2

The average range of heat in an area that organisms can survive in; a way to classify habitats into biomes.

Front 3

Biome

Back 3

A large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plant and animal communities.

Front 4

Tropical Rainforests

Back 4

A forest or jungle near the equator that is characterized by large amounts of rain and little variation in temperature and that contains the greatest known diversity of organisms on Earth.

Front 5

Climate

Back 5

The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time.

Front 6

Understory

Back 6

A foliage layer that is beneath and shaded by the main canopy of a forest.

Front 7

Altitude

Back 7

The height of an object above a reference point, such as sea level or the Earth's surface.

Front 8

Canopy

Back 8

The layers of treetops that shade the forest floor.

Front 9

Precipitation

Back 9

The amount of water than an area receives over a period of time; used to classify habitats into biomes.

Front 10

Latitude

Back 10

The distance North or South from the equator which is measured in degrees.

Front 11

Rafflessia Keithii

Back 11

Scientific name for a flower that grows in the rain forest of the Borneo.

Front 12

Epiphytes

Back 12

A plant that uses another plant for support, but not for nourishment.

Front 13

Savanna

Back 13

A plain full of grasses and scattered trees and shrubs; found in tropical and subtropical habitats and mainly in regions with a dry climate, such as East Africa.

Front 14

Temperate Rainforest

Back 14

A forest community characterized by cool, humid weather and abundant rainfall, where tree branches are draped with mosses, tree trunks are covered with lichens, and forest floor is covered with ferns.

Front 15

Tundra

Back 15

A treeless plain that is located in the Arctic or Antarctic and that is characterized by very low winter temperatures, short and cool summers, and vegetation that consists of grasses, lichens, and perennial herbs.

Front 16

Succulents

Back 16

Plants that have thick, fleshy stems and leaves that store water.

Front 17

Temperate Grassland

Back 17

A community that is dominated by grasses, has few trees and is characterized by cold winters and rainfall that is intermediate between that of a forest and a desert.

Front 18

Permafrost

Back 18

In Arctic regions, the permanently frozen layer of soil or subsoil.

Front 19

Habitat Destruction

Back 19

The destruction or alteration of land inhabited by an organism.

Front 20

Deserts

Back 20

A region that has little or no vegetation, long periods without rain, and extreme temperatures; usually found in warm climates.

Front 21

Taiga

Back 21

A region of evergreen, coniferous forests below the arctic and subarctic tundra regions.

Front 22

Esrivating

Back 22

This is the way amphibians survive the scorching desert summers by burying themselves in the ground and sleeping throughout the dry season.

Front 23

Chaparral

Back 23

An area where the type of vegetation includes broad-leafed evergreen shrubs and is located in areas with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.

Front 24

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Back 24

A forest that is characterized by trees that shed their leaves in the fall.