lesson 18: vegetation of the earth

THERE AREDIFFERENT KINDS

of PLANTS & ANIMALS ON EARTH.

Butonly certain kinds

are NATURALLY

FOUND

place…PARTICULAR@ any

Polar Bearsin the Arctic

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Elephantsin Central Africa

Kangaroosin Australia

VEGETATION OF THE EARTH

VEGETATIONVEGETATI

ONmeans the plant life of a region or the plant

community. It means all ground cover by plants, and is the main element of the

biosphere.

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Climate

the most important factor that determines the type of vegetation of an area.

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Plants or the natural vegetation on Earth have its own grouping or plant association.

CLASSIFICATION OF

VEGETATION

VEGETATION

TROPICAL

RAINFOREST

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A good example of low latitude forest.

There is no dry month in a rainforest.Trees can grow as high as 40 to 60 meters growing in closed formation.

Tropical Rainforest or Silva

Tropical ForestGrow in places where there is plenty of rain, thick soil and sunshine.

Forest Floor

Remains wet and dark. They have evergreen trees because they are always green throughout the year.

Animal’s life is plentiful in a tropical rainforest.

Tropical RainforestOne can find so many species of plants as well as

animals associated with it.

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Tropical Rainforest- A rainforest is not a jungle. A jungle is a very dense ground growth found along riverbanks.

Animal’s life is plentiful in a tropical rainforest.

Some animals in the rainforest.

Moose Black bear Marten Wolverine

Lynxes Beavers Porcupines

Predators -- Prey

TROPICAL

GRASSLANDS

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Grasslands are natural pastures

and have been a place for centuries by huge hers of grazing animals.

GRASSLANDS in the tropics usually grow on rich soils and most grassland areas have been converted

to or used as croplands

Serengeti Plain

Grasslands are often found in areas where yearly rainfall is between 25 and 75 centimetre (10 to 30 inches).

Grasslands are sufficient for many species of grasses.

African Savannah

Tropical grassland of Africa is found in the

Serengeti Plain. The Serengeti is known as

“a variety of animal population”.

Savannah is a grassland with scattered trees.

TROPICAL

DESERTS

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Desert – are extremely dry areas. The rainfall maybe less than 25 centimetres (10 inches) of rain per year.

Xerophytes- they have will developed root system for absorbing water.- store water in their thick, fleshy stems.

Desert shrubs are composed of bushes and some form of grasses that could withstand long drought periods.

Xerophytic Plants –are plants found in desert regions.

Cactus have a long and widespread roots in order to look for water.

SAHARA ARABIAN GOBI DESERT

HOT Desert

MEDITERRANEAN

FOREST

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Are found in the subtropical areas of the world, particularly in the Mediterranean region.

MEDITERRANEAN FORESTS

Is primarily composed of trees with leaves-leaves that die, fall off and regrow during seasonal growing cycles.

Broadleaf Deciduous Forest

Deciduous Forest are commonly found in: United States Great Britain Central Europe Some parts of China Siberia

Rainfall averages about 100cm (40 inches) per year

Variety of different deciduous climax vegetation:

a.Local condition of soilb.Drainagec.Climate

Fox

Raccoons

Squirrel

CONIFEROUS FORESTS

Combination of broadleaf and needle-leaf trees.Found within the boundary zones of continental climates with abundant rainfall and warm

summer period and climates with very cold winters and less rainfall.

STEPPEIs a continuous short grass cover which extends quite extensively without any tree interruption.

PRAIRIEIs a tall grass cover that extends continuously to cover

a wide area without interruption from trees.

MIDDLE LATITUDE GRASSLANDS

TUNDRA

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WHERE NO

FOREST VEGETATI

ON GROWS.

TUNDRA

A tundra is composed of

MOSSES SEDGES

LICHENS

Antarctic Desert is the largest desert in the world.

Tundra vegetation is also considered a desert plant association, referred to as

Cold Desert Vegetation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TUNDRA: Long cold winters and short

cool summers Low precipitation (less

than 10 inches per year) and dry winds

Permafrost - ground that is permanently frozen

PermafrostHas no cracks or pores,

nothing can penetrate it--neither plant roots nor water.

Arctic Foxes

Polar Bears

Collared Lemmings

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