9. Biogeography: The biome concept

large terrestrial ecosystem with specific plant communities and formations

• Tallgrass Aspen Parkland- Cold Dry
• Prairie Grassland- Warm Dry
• Coniferous Forest- Cold Wet
• Deciduous Forest- Warm Wet

Outward features/appearance of ecological communities or species

GEOGRAPHY examines PATTERNS in order to discover the underlying PROCESSES that govern their behavior

vegetation that share physiognomy (outward features) and structure characteristics BUT are located in different places (and are distinct species)

• Tropical Rainforests: Similar temp throughout (20-30C), high precipitation
• Tropical Savanna: temperature wavy but similar (20-30C), seasonal precipitation
• Temperate Deciduous Forest: up and down temps (-10-20C); good precip
• Grassland: up and down (-20-25C); medium precip (sometimes lower than 40-)
• Taiga/Boreal Forest: up and down (-20-19C); Precip generally high
• Tundra: up and down (lower than 15C, cold periods); below 100 or 50mm precip