Biome Information

Biome: A large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region. Biomes are typically defined by their climate
(average temperatures/rainfall) and dominant vegetation (plant types).

Biome Type Rainforest Desert Tundra

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Hot and humid, little seasonal
change
General Climate Daily period of heavy rainfall
Description
Over 100 inches of rain per year
General Vegetation Tall trees with large leaves that
Description remain green all year.
Dry
less than 10 inches of rainfall per
year
Can experience extreme
temperatures including cold
winters and hot summers
Some areas contain few if any
plants
Little precipitation: 6-10 inches
a year
Very cold winters, cold
summers, and little rain or snow
Ground permanently frozen 10
inches to 3 feet deep

Densely forested, broad canopy
with little light penetration to
floor of forest
Vegetation Zones Broadleaf Evergreen Forest
Within Biome
Other areas contain small trees,
bushes, shrubs, and other plants
that have adapted to the arid
climate
Desert, Chaparral, Desert Scrub,
Treeless plain with grasses,
mosses, and scrubs adapted to a
cold climate
Tundra
 Biome Type Savanna (Grassland) Temperate Forest Ice Cap

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Rainfall 40” – 60” per year
Distinct dry season
General Climate
Description Terrain tropical perennial
grassland, grasses 3 – 6 feet tall
Widely spaced, drought resistant
trees,
General Vegetation Terrain tropical perennial
Description grassland, grasses 3 – 6 feet tall
Receives 30 – 60 inches of rain
per year
Mild summers (hot and warm)
Winters are cold and can go
below freezing
Trees with broad flat leaves that
are shed before winter
Very cold all year with
permanent ice and snow.
Little Precipitation (less than
10 inches a year)
Permanent ice and snow. No
plant life.

Widely spaced, drought resistant Includes Evergreen trees with

trees, needles and cones.

Vegetation Zones Temperate Grassland, Tropical Coniferous Forest, Mixed Forest, Ice Cap
Within Biome grassland Deciduous Forest