Biomes

Front

Biome Noun

---

[by-ohm]

Back

Biome

---

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

---

Example: This image shows that a biome is a large region with a specific climate, plants, and animals, by giving examples like tundra, forest, and desert.

Front

Biotic Factor Noun

---

[by-ot-ik fak-ter]

Back

Biotic Factor

---

Any living part of an environment with which an organism might interact, such as plants, animals, or fungi.

---

Example: This diagram shows that biotic factors are all the living parts of an ecosystem, grouping them into producers (plants), consumers (animals), and decomposers (fungi, bacteria).

Front

Abiotic Factor Noun

---

[ay-by-ot-ik fak-ter]

Back

Abiotic Factor

---

A nonliving physical or chemical part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment, such as temperature or sunlight.

---

Example: This image uses the letters of 'Abiotic' to show examples of non-living factors in a biome, like water, rock, sunlight, temperature, and wind.

Front

Latitude Noun

---

[lat-i-tood]

Back

Latitude

---

The distance north or south from the equator, expressed in degrees, which is a key factor affecting climate.

---

Example: This diagram shows Earth with horizontal lines of latitude, which measure distance north or south of the 0° line called the Equator.

Front

Altitude Noun

---

[al-ti-tood]

Back

Altitude

---

The height of an object or area above a reference point, such as sea level, which affects local climate.

---

Example: This diagram shows that altitude is the height above a reference point, like sea level. As altitude increases from sea level to the mountain top, the air becomes thinner.

Front

Climatogram Noun

---

[kly-mat-oh-gram]

Back

Climatogram

---

A graph that visualizes the yearly precipitation and average temperature for a location, used to identify its biome.

---

Example: This graph, a climatogram, shows the average monthly temperature (line) and precipitation (bars) for a specific location, like Cairo, Egypt, to describe its climate.

Front

Tundra Noun

---

[tuhn-druh]

Back

Tundra

---

A biome at extreme latitudes characterized by extreme cold, low precipitation, short growing seasons, and permanently frozen soil.

---

Example: This image shows a tundra biome, a vast, treeless plain with low-growing vegetation like shrubs and mosses, characteristic of cold, high-latitude regions.

Front

Permafrost Noun

---

[pur-muh-frost]

Back

Permafrost

---

A thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions.

---

Example: This image shows a cross-section of the ground, labeling the 'active layer' that thaws and the 'permafrost' layer that stays frozen year-round.

Front

Taiga Noun

---

[ty-guh]

Back

Taiga

---

A northern forest biome, also known as Boreal Forest, with coniferous trees, short summers, and very cold winters.

---

Example: The Taiga biome, also called the boreal forest, is a vast ecosystem characterized by dense forests of coniferous trees like pines and spruces.

Front

Deciduous Adjective

---

[dih-sij-oo-us]

Back

Deciduous

---

Describing a tree or plant that sheds its leaves annually, typically to conserve water during a cold or dry season.

---

Example: This image shows that deciduous trees, like oaks, lose their leaves annually, contrasting them with evergreen trees that keep their leaves year-round.