A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader term than

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

and can comprise a variety of habitats. While a biome can cover large areas, a microbiome is a mix of organisms that coexist in a defined space on a much smaller scale. For example, the human microbiome is the collection of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that are present on or in a human body. A biota is the total collection of organisms of a geographic region or a time period, from local geographic scales and instantaneous temporal scales all the way up to whole-planet and whole-timescale spatiotemporal scales. The biotas of the Earth make up the

biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also ...

Etymology

The term was suggested in 1916 by Clements, originally as a synonym for '' biotic community'' of Möbius (1877). Later, it gained its current definition, based on earlier concepts of phytophysiognomy, formation and vegetation (used in opposition to flora), with the inclusion of the animal element and the exclusion of the taxonomic element of species composition. In 1935, Tansley added the climatic and soil aspects to the idea, calling it ''

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

''. The International Biological Program (1964–74) projects popularized the concept of biome. However, in some contexts, the term biome is used in a different manner. In German literature, particularly in the Walter terminology, the term is used similarly as '' biotope'' (a concrete geographical unit), while the biome definition used in this article is used as an international, non-regional, terminology—irrespectively of the continent in which an area is present, it takes the same biome name—and corresponds to his "zonobiome", "orobiome" and "pedobiome" (biomes determined by climate zone, altitude or soil). In Brazilian literature, the term "biome" is sometimes used as synonym of ''

biogeographic province This page features a list of biogeographic provinces that were developed by Miklos Udvardy in 1975,Udvardy, M. D. F. (1975). ''A classification of the biogeographical provinces of the world''. IUCN Occasional Paper no. 18. Morges, Switzerland: IUCN ...

'', an area based on species composition (the term ''

floristic province A phytochorion, in phytogeography, is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. Adjacent phytochoria do not usually have a sharp boundary, but rather a soft one, a transitional area in which many species from both r ...

'' being used when plant species are considered), or also as synonym of the "morphoclimatic and phytogeographical domain" of Ab'Sáber, a geographic space with subcontinental dimensions, with the predominance of similar geomorphologic and climatic characteristics, and of a certain vegetation form. Both include many biomes in fact.

Classifications

To divide the world into a few ecological zones is difficult, notably because of the small-scale variations that exist everywhere on earth and because of the gradual changeover from one biome to the other. Their boundaries must therefore be drawn arbitrarily and their characterization made according to the average conditions that predominate in them. A 1978 study on North American grasslands found a positive logistic correlation between evapotranspiration in mm/yr and above-ground net primary production in g/m²/yr. The general results from the study were that precipitation and water use led to above-ground primary production, while solar irradiation and temperature lead to below-ground primary production (roots), and temperature and water lead to cool and warm season growth habit. These findings help explain the categories used in Holdridge's bioclassification scheme (see below), which were then later simplified by Whittaker. The number of classification schemes and the variety of determinants used in those schemes, however, should be taken as strong indicators that biomes do not fit perfectly into the classification schemes created.

Holdridge (1947, 1964) life zones

In 1947, the American botanist and climatologist

Leslie Holdridge Leslie Ransselaer Holdridge (September 29, 1907 – June 19, 1999) was an American botanist and climatologist. He was the father of composer Lee Holdridge as well as the father of Leslie A. Holdridge, Lorena Holdridge, Marbella Holdridge, Marly ...

classified climates based on the biological effects of temperature and rainfall on vegetation under the assumption that these two

abiotic In biology and ecology, abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. Abiotic factors and the phenomena associated with them under ...

factors are the largest determinants of the types of vegetation found in a habitat. Holdridge uses the four axes to define 30 so-called "humidity provinces", which are clearly visible in his diagram. While this scheme largely ignores soil and sun exposure, Holdridge acknowledged that these were important.

Allee (1949) biome-types

The principal biome-types by Allee (1949): *

Tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

* Taiga * Deciduous forest * Grasslands * Desert *

High plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

s * Tropical forest * Minor terrestrial biomes

Kendeigh (1961) biomes

The principal biomes of the world by Kendeigh (1961): * ''Terrestrial'' ** Temperate deciduous forest **

Coniferous forest Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

** Chaparral **

** Grassland ** Desert **

Tropical savanna Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and t ...

** Tropical forest * Marine **

Oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

plankton and

nekton Nekton or necton (from the ) refers to the actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of water. The term was proposed by German biologist Ernst Haeckel to differentiate between the active swimmers in a body of water, and the passive organisms t ...

** Balanoid-gastropod-

thallophyte Thallophytes (Thallophyta, Thallophyto or Thallobionta) are a polyphyletic group of non-motile organisms traditionally described as "thalloid plants", "relatively simple plants" or "lower plants". They form a division of kingdom Plantae that inc ...

** Pelecypod- annelid ** Coral reef

Whittaker (1962, 1970, 1975) biome-types

Whittaker classified biomes using two abiotic factors: precipitation and temperature. His scheme can be seen as a simplification of Holdridge's; more readily accessible, but missing Holdridge's greater specificity. Whittaker based his approach on theoretical assertions and empirical sampling. He had previously compiled a review of biome classifications.

Key definitions for understanding Whittaker's scheme

Physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the genera ...

: sometimes referring to the plants' appearance; or the biome's apparent characteristics, outward features, or appearance of ecological communities or species - including plants. * Biome: a grouping of terrestrial ecosystems on a given continent that is similar in vegetation structure, physiognomy, features of the environment and characteristics of their animal communities. * Formation: a major kind of community of plants on a given continent. * Biome-type: grouping of convergent biomes or formations of different continents, defined by physiognomy. * Formation-type: a grouping of convergent formations. Whittaker's distinction between biome and formation can be simplified: formation is used when applied to

plant communities A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...

only, while biome is used when concerned with both plants and animals. Whittaker's convention of biome-type or formation-type is a broader method to categorize similar communities.

Whittaker's parameters for classifying biome-types

Whittaker used what he called "gradient analysis" of ecocline patterns to relate communities to climate on a worldwide scale. Whittaker considered four main ecoclines in the terrestrial realm. # Intertidal levels: The wetness gradient of areas that are exposed to alternating water and dryness with intensities that vary by location from high to low tide # Climatic moisture gradient # Temperature gradient by altitude # Temperature gradient by latitude Along these gradients, Whittaker noted several trends that allowed him to qualitatively establish biome-types: * The gradient runs from favorable to the extreme, with corresponding changes in productivity. * Changes in physiognomic complexity vary with how favorable of an environment exists (decreasing community structure and reduction of stratal differentiation as the environment becomes less favorable). * Trends in the diversity of structure follow trends in species diversity; alpha and beta species diversities decrease from favorable to extreme environments. * Each growth-form (i.e. grasses, shrubs, etc.) has its characteristic place of maximum importance along the ecoclines. * The same growth forms may be dominant in similar environments in widely different parts of the world. Whittaker summed the effects of gradients (3) and (4) to get an overall temperature gradient and combined this with a gradient (2), the moisture gradient, to express the above conclusions in what is known as the Whittaker classification scheme. The scheme graphs average annual precipitation (x-axis) versus average annual temperature (y-axis) to classify biome-types.

Biome-types

Tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...

# Tropical seasonal rainforest #*

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

#* semideciduous # Temperate giant rainforest # Montane rainforest # Temperate deciduous forest # Temperate evergreen forest #* needleleaf #* sclerophyll # Subarctic-subalpine needle-leaved forests ( taiga) # Elfin woodland # Thorn forests and woodlands #

Thorn scrub Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

# Temperate woodland # Temperate shrublands #*

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

#* sclerophyll #* subalpine-needleleaf #* subalpine-broadleaf # Savanna #

Temperate grassland Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to semi ...

# Alpine grasslands #

# Tropical desert # Warm-temperate desert # Cool temperate desert scrub # Arctic-alpine desert # Bog # Tropical fresh-water swamp forest # Temperate fresh-water swamp forest # Mangrove swamp # Salt marsh # Wetland

Goodall (1974–) ecosystem types

The multi-authored series ''Ecosystems of the World'', edited by David W. Goodall, provides a comprehensive coverage of the major "ecosystem types or biomes" on Earth:

Walter (1976, 2002) zonobiomes

The eponymously-named

Heinrich Walter Heinrich Karl Walter (21 October 1898 – 15 October 1989) was a German-Russian botanist and eco-physiologist. Life Walter, the son of a doctor, was born in Odessa. He studied plant biology at the University of Odessa from 1915 to 1917. In 1918 ...

classification scheme considers the seasonality of temperature and precipitation. The system, also assessing precipitation and temperature, finds nine major biome types, with the important climate traits and vegetation types. The boundaries of each biome correlate to the conditions of moisture and cold stress that are strong determinants of plant form, and therefore the vegetation that defines the region. Extreme conditions, such as flooding in a swamp, can create different kinds of communities within the same biome.

Schultz (1988) eco-zones

Schultz (1988, 2005) defined nine ''ecozones'' (his concept of ecozone is more similar to the concept of biome than to the concept of ecozone of BBC):Schultz, J. ''Die Ökozonen der Erde'', 1st ed., Ulmer, Stuttgart, Germany, 1988, 488 pp.; 2nd ed., 1995, 535 pp.; 3rd ed., 2002; 4th ed., 2008; 5th ed., 2016. Transl.: ''The Ecozones of the World: The Ecological Divisions of the Geosphere''. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1995; 2nd ed., 2005

# polar/subpolar zone # boreal zone # humid mid-latitudes # dry mid-latitudes # subtropics with winter rain # subtropics with year-round rain # dry tropics and subtropics # tropics with summer rain # tropics with year-round rain

Bailey (1989) ecoregions

Robert Bailey (geographer), Robert G. Bailey nearly developed a biogeographical classification system of ecoregions for the United States in a map published in 1976. He subsequently expanded the system to include the rest of North America in 1981, and the world in 1989. The Bailey system, based on climate, is divided into four domains (polar, humid temperate, dry, and humid tropical), with further divisions based on other climate characteristics (subarctic, warm temperate, hot temperate, and subtropical; marine and continental; lowland and mountain). * 100 Polar Domain ** 120

Division (Köppen: Ft) ** M120 Tundra Division – Mountain Provinces ** 130 Subarctic Division (Köppen: E) ** M130 Subarctic Division – Mountain Provinces * 200 Humid Temperate Domain ** 210 Warm Continental Division (Köppen: portion of Dcb) ** M210 Warm Continental Division – Mountain Provinces ** 220 Hot Continental Division (Köppen: portion of Dca) ** M220 Hot Continental Division – Mountain Provinces ** 230 Subtropical Division (Köppen: portion of Cf) ** M230 Subtropical Division – Mountain Provinces ** 240 Marine Division (Köppen: Do) ** M240 Marine Division – Mountain Provinces ** 250 Prairie Division (Köppen: arid portions of Cf, Dca, Dcb) ** 260 Mediterranean Division (Köppen: Cs) ** M260 Mediterranean Division – Mountain Provinces * 300 Dry Domain ** 310 Tropical/Subtropical Steppe Division ** M310 Tropical/Subtropical Steppe Division – Mountain Provinces ** 320 Tropical/Subtropical Desert Division ** 330 Temperate Steppe Division ** 340 Temperate Desert Division * 400 Humid Tropical Domain ** 410 Savanna Division ** 420 Rainforest Division

Olson & Dinerstein (1998) biomes for WWF / Global 200

A team of biologists convened by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) developed a scheme that divided the world's land area into biogeographic realms (called "ecozones" in a BBC scheme), and these into ecoregions (Olson & Dinerstein, 1998, etc.). Each ecoregion is characterized by a main biome (also called major habitat type).Olson, D. M. & E. Dinerstein (1998). The Global 200: A representation approach to conserving the Earth’s most biologically valuable ecoregions. ''Conservation Biol.'' 12:502–515

.Olson, D. M., Dinerstein, E., Wikramanayake, E. D., Burgess, N. D., Powell, G. V. N., Underwood, E. C., D'Amico, J. A., Itoua, I., Strand, H. E., Morrison, J. C., Loucks, C. J., Allnutt, T. F., Ricketts, T. H., Kura, Y., Lamoreux, J. F., Wettengel, W. W., Hedao, P., Kassem, K. R. (2001). Terrestrial ecoregions of the world: a new map of life on Earth. ''Bioscience'' 51(11):933–938

. This classification is used to define the

Global 200 The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or w ...

list of ecoregions identified by the WWF as priorities for conservation. For the

terrestrial ecoregions An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

, there is a specific EcoID, format XXnnNN (XX is the biogeographic realm, nn is the biome number, NN is the individual number).

Biogeographic realms (terrestrial and freshwater)

* NA: Nearctic * PA: Palearctic * AT:

Afrotropic The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

* IM:

Indomalaya The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

* AA: Australasia * NT: Neotropic * OC: Oceania * AN: Antarctic The applicability of the realms scheme above - based on Udvardy (1975)—to most freshwater taxa is unresolved.Abell, R., M. Thieme, C. Revenga, M. Bryer, M. Kottelat, N. Bogutskaya, B. Coad, N. Mandrak, S. Contreras-Balderas, W. Bussing, M. L. J. Stiassny, P. Skelton, G. R. Allen, P. Unmack, A. Naseka, R. Ng, N. Sindorf, J. Robertson, E. Armijo, J. Higgins, T. J. Heibel, E. Wikramanayake, D. Olson, H. L. Lopez, R. E. d. Reis, J. G. Lundberg, M. H. Sabaj Perez, and P. Petry. (2008). Freshwater ecoregions of the world: A new map of biogeographic units for freshwater biodiversity conservation. ''BioScience'' 58:403–414

.

Biogeographic realms ( Marine ecoregion, marine)

* Arctic *

Temperate Northern Atlantic The Temperate Northern Atlantic is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the temperate and subtropical waters of the North Atlantic Ocean and connecting seas, including the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and northern Gulf of Mexic ...

* Temperate Northern Pacific * Tropical Atlantic *

Western Indo-Pacific The Western Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the eastern and central Indian Ocean. It is part of the larger Indo-Pacific, which includes the tropical Indian Ocean, the western and centra ...

* Central Indo-Pacific * Eastern Indo-Pacific * Tropical Eastern Pacific * Temperate South America * Temperate Southern Africa *

Temperate Australasia Temperate Australasia is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the temperate and subtropical waters of Australia and New Zealand, including both the Indian Ocean and Pacific coasts of the continent and adjacent islands. Tempera ...

* Southern OceanSpalding, M. D. et al. (2007). Marine ecoregions of the world: a bioregionalization of coastal and shelf areas. ''BioScience'' 57: 573–583

.

Biomes (terrestrial)

# Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (tropical and subtropical, humid) # Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests (tropical and subtropical, semihumid) #

Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests are a tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. These forests are found predominantly in North and Central America and experience low levels of precipitation and moderate va ...

(tropical and subtropical, semihumid) #

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These f ...

(temperate, humid) #

Temperate coniferous forests Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Temperate coniferous forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary in their kinds of plant life. In some, needl ...

(temperate, humid to semihumid) # Boreal forests/taiga (subarctic, humid) #

Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and t ...

(tropical and subtropical, semiarid) # Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands (temperate, semiarid) #

Flooded grasslands and savannas Flooded grasslands and savannas is a terrestrial biome of the WWF biogeographical system, consisting of large expanses or complexes of flooded grasslands. These areas support numerous plants and animals adapted to the unique hydrologic regimes ...

(temperate to tropical, fresh or brackish water inundated) #

Montane grasslands and shrublands Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than th ...

(alpine or montane climate) #

(Arctic) # Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub or sclerophyll forests (temperate warm, semihumid to semiarid with winter rainfall) #

Deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

(temperate to tropical, arid) #

Mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

(subtropical and tropical, salt water inundated)

Biomes (freshwater)

According to the WWF, the following are classified as freshwater biomes: * Large

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s * Large

river deltas A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rare ...

* Polar freshwaters * Montane freshwaters * Temperate coastal rivers * Temperate floodplain rivers and

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s * Temperate upland rivers * Tropical and subtropical coastal rivers * Tropical and subtropical floodplain rivers and

s * Tropical and subtropical upland rivers * Xeric freshwaters and

endorheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

s * Oceanic islands

Biomes (marine)

Biomes of the coastal and continental shelf areas (

neritic zone The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

): * Polar * Temperate shelves and sea * Temperate

upwelling Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted surface water. The nut ...

* Tropical

* Tropical coral

Summary of the scheme

Biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also ...

** Biogeographic realms (terrestrial) (8) *** Ecoregions (867), each characterized by a main biome type (14) ****

Ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

( biotopes) *

** Biogeographic realms (freshwater) (8) *** Ecoregions (426), each characterized by a main biome type (12) ****

(biotopes) *

** Biogeographic realms (marine) (12) *** ( Marine provinces) (62) **** Ecoregions (232), each characterized by a main biome type (5) *****

(biotopes) Example: *

** Biogeographic realm: Palearctic *** Ecoregion:

Dinaric Mountains mixed forests The Dinaric Mountains mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome in Southeastern Europe, according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agenc ...

(PA0418); biome type:

temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These f ...

****

Ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

Orjen Orjen (Serbian Cyrillic: Орјен, ) is a transboundary Dinaric Mediterranean limestone mountain range, located between southernmost Bosnia and Herzegovina and southwestern Montenegro. Its highest peak is Veliki kabao, which stands at . ...

, vegetation belt between 1,100 and 1,450 m, Oromediterranean zone, nemoral zone (temperate zone) ***** Biotope: ''Oreoherzogio-Abietetum illyricae'' Fuk. ( Plant list) ****** Plant: Silver fir (''

Abies alba ''Abies alba'', the European silver fir or silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Carpathians, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and sou ...

'')

Other biomes

Marine biomes

Pruvot (1896) zones or "systems": * Littoral zone * Pelagic zone * Abyssal zone Longhurst (1998) biomes: * Coastal * Polar * Trade wind * Westerly Other marine

habitat type In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physica ...

s (not covered yet by the Global 200/WWF scheme): *

Open sea The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

Deep sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of 200 metres (656 feet) or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combin ...

* Hydrothermal vents * Cold seeps * Benthic zone * Pelagic zone (trades and westerlies) * Abyssal * Hadal (ocean trench) * Littoral/ Intertidal zone * Salt marsh * Estuaries * Coastal lagoons/Atoll lagoons *

Kelp forest Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Ea ...

Pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...

Anthropogenic biomes

Humans have altered global patterns of

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

and

processes. As a result, vegetation forms predicted by conventional biome systems can no longer be observed across much of Earth's land surface as they have been replaced by crop and rangelands or cities. Anthropogenic biomes provide an alternative view of the terrestrial biosphere based on global patterns of sustained direct human interaction with ecosystems, including

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

human settlement In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of ci ...

s, urbanization, forestry and other uses of land. Anthropogenic biomes offer a way to recognize the irreversible coupling of human and ecological systems at global scales and manage Earth's biosphere and anthropogenic biomes. Major anthropogenic biomes: * Dense settlements *

Cropland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

s * Rangelands * Forested * Indoor

Microbial biomes

Endolithic biomes

The

endolith An endolith or endolithic is an organism ( archaeon, bacterium, fungus, lichen, algae or amoeba) that is able to acquire the necessary resources for growth in the inner part of a rock, mineral, coral, animal shells, or in the pores between min ...

ic biome, consisting entirely of microscopic life in rock pores and cracks, kilometers beneath the surface, has only recently been discovered, and does not fit well into most classification schemes.

Effects of climate change

Anthropogenic

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

has the potential to greatly alter the distribution of Earth's biomes. Meaning, biomes around the world could change so much that they would be at risk of becoming new biomes entirely. General frequency models have been a staple in finding out the impact climate change could have on biomes. More specifically, 54% and 22% of global land area will experience climates that correspond to other biomes. 3.6% of land area will experience climates that are completely new or unusual. Average temperatures have risen more than twice the usual amount in both arctic and mountainous biomes, which leads to the conclusion that arctic and mountainous biomes are currently the most vulnerable to climate change. The current reasoning surrounding as to why this is the case are based around the fact that colder environments tend to reflect more sunlight, as a result of the snow and ice covering the ground. Since the annual average temperatures are rising, ice and snow is melting. As a result, albedo is lowered. Keeping a keen eye on terrestrial biomes is important, as they play a crucial role in climate regulation. South American terrestrial biomes have been predicted to go through the same temperature trends as arctic and mountainous biomes. With its annual average temperature continuing to increase, the moisture currently located in forest biomes will dry up.