What is the difference between biome and tropical zone

The biomes of the world can also be broadly categorized purely in terms of vegetation as forest and woodland biomes, grassland biomes, desert biomes, tundra biomes and alpine biomes. Forest and woodland biomes predominantly consists of areas with trees whose height and spacing in terms of clusters are closely determined by temperature and rainfall. Forest biomes can be tropical forests nearby the equator where trees occur in dense clusters, as subtropical forests where temperatures are fairly high at most times of the year with seasonal rainfall, as temperate forests which can be warm or cool temperate forests which depend on temperature but receive sufficient rainfall to be counted as tropical or seasonal temperate forests, as boreal forests where summers are warm and wet while winters are cold and dry, and as woodlands where precipitation is moderate and often seasonal and often occur at regions in transition between forests and grasslands or shrublands and can occur in varied temperature variations where vegetation is adapted to drought conditions.

Grassland biomes occur in areas of the world that are moderately dry and are mainly divided into savanna grasslands and temperate grasslands. Savanna grasslands cover most of the African continent and can also be found in India, South America and Australia. Here summers are hot and wet and winters are warm and dry.

Temperate grasslands occur as the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, the steppes of Russia, the prairies of North America, the veldts of South Africa and the puszta of Hungary. The grasses are taller in the wetter regions and shorter in the drier regions. Desert biomes are characterized by dry and arid climates that can be hot or cold. The precipitation here can be less than about mm of rainfall annually.

Desert biomes can comprise of hot deserts such as the Sahara Desert and the Thar Desert found in the tropics or the lower latitudes whereas the cold deserts such as in Mongolia are found in the higher latitudes or at very high elevations such as in Ladakh.

The vegetation tends to be scarce and widely spaced. Tundra biomes are found in the very cold regions by the polar regions in the northern hemisphere and are bounded by the boreal forest biomes towards their southern portions.

The climate is extremely cold and desert-like and are followed northwards by the polar cold deserts that are more or less permanently under ice cover. In the southern hemisphere most of Antarctica forms a polar cold desert permanently under ice cover.

However, tundra biomes unlike most of Antarctica are able to sustain life as summer temperatures can usually go up to 12 o C. Soil here usually occurs as permafrost. As one travels up a mountain range it is possible for one to experience a number of different biomes as well and different types of biodiversity.

While one can witness deciduous forests, grasslands, cold deserts, etc as biomes at various levels of the mountain range, at very high altitudes in many mountain ranges of the world are alpine biomes. Alpine biomes are located at very high altitudes in mountain ranges just below the snowline, where the amount of carbon dioxide is significantly lower and winters can be freezing depending on altitude, latitude and precipitation. The climate here is too cold to have trees and mostly there are small leaved shrubs and heaths that grow close to the ground Education Services Australia, Given these different types of vegetation growth, mixing them with different levels of temperature, precipitation and altitude regions produces different types of biomes of the world that can be classified in the manner in which Walter has classified them.

Desert wildlife consists primarily of reptiles and small mammals. Deserts can fall into four categories according to their geographic location or climatic conditions: hot and dry, semiarid, coastal, and cold.

A tundra has extremely inhospitable conditions, with the lowest measured temperatures of any of the five major biomes with average yearly temperatures ranging from to 12 degrees Celsius to 54 degrees Fahrenheit. They also have a low amount of precipitation, just 15—25 centimeters six to ten inches per year, as well as poor quality soil nutrients and short summers.

There are two types of tundra: arctic and alpine. The tundra does not have much biodiversity and vegetation is simple, including shrubs, grasses, mosses, and lichens. This is partly due to a frozen layer under the soil surface, called permafrost.

The arctic tundra is found north of boreal forests and the alpine tundra is found on mountains where the altitude is too high for trees to survive.

Any wildlife inhabiting the tundra must be adapted to its extreme conditions to survive. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.

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If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. A biome is an area classified according to the species that live in that location. These include the following.

Climate is the average weather of a region over a long period of time. Climate is typically classified according to air temperature and precipitation.

A Biome is a biological community based on similar vegetation spread out over a region that can encompass a limited geographic area or an entire planet. Biomes and climates are both influenced by temperature and precipitation. The main differences between climates and biomes is that climate is primarily determined by temperature and precipitation while biomes are classified according to the vegetation within them. Climate is primarily a matter of atmospheric processes while biomes are a matter of biology and ecology.

Furthermore, the climate determines what biomes will be present while biomes do not determine the climate in the same way. Difference Between Climate and Biome. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. MLA 8 Strom, Caleb. Name required. Email required. Please note: comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Written by : Caleb Strom. Princeton University Press, Zalta ed.

Koppen Climate Classification System. Antactica: The Southernmost Continent. Live Science. User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. You agree that we have no liability for any damages. Classifying Climate Climate is traditionally classified in terms of the average annual precipitation, monthly precipitation, and atmospheric temperature.

Within this classification system, there are five climate types: Tropical climates Dry climates Temperate climates Continental climates Polar climates An additional highland climate was later added to the system to account for the differences in climate in the same region at higher elevations such as the difference in climate between the high Andes and its foothills.

Tropical Climate Tropical climates have high temperatures and precipitation rates. Dry Climate Like tropical climates, dry climates tend to have high atmospheric temperatures, but, in contrast, dry climates have low precipitation rates. Temperate Climate Temperate climates have temperatures that are typically lower than tropical or dry climates.

Continental Climate Continental climates are common in the interiors of continents, hence their name. Polar Climate Polar climates, as their name implies, occur in the polar regions in the northern and southern hemispheres. What is a Climate Change? What is Biome? Classifying Biomes Biomes are affected by climate and geography, but they are primarily classified by their vegetation.

Terrestrial Biomes Forest Biome Forest biomes are some of the most diverse biomes. Grassland Biome Grassland biomes typically occur in areas that are drier than regions ideal for forests. Desert Biome Desert biomes consist of the plants that thrive in regions with very low precipitation levels.

Tundra Biome Tundra biomes are very cold and characterized by very low biodiversity, short growing seasons, and excessive reliance on dead organic matter for energy. Marine and Freshwater Biomes Biomes also extend to bodies of water.