Exploring Earth's Diverse Environments: Climate, Water, Vegetation & Landforms

1. Environments Climate, water, vegetation, soil, and landforms

2. What is an “environment”? • An environment is an area on Earth in a specific area of land or water. • It includes all of the plants and animals in that area. • It has its own characteristics, such as: • Weather • Climate • Amount of water • Soil • Landforms

3. Types of Environments • Desert • Polar/Tundra • Wetlands • Aquatic • Oceans • Freshwater • Grasslands • Forests • Tropical rainforests • Temperate rainforests • Urban

4. Desert • There are four different classifications of deserts: • Hot and dry • Semiarid • Coastal • Cold • Examples: • Mojave (USA), Sahara • The Great Basin (USA) • Atacama, Chile • Antarctic and Greenland

5. desert • Features: • Less than 20” precipitation per year • Plants and animals have special structures that help them survive. • Soil has an abundance of nutrients, but has little organic material. • Very few large mammals

6. desert • Adaptations may include: • Being nocturnal (Most activity is at night.) • Long appendages (legs, tails, and feet) and large ears • Light colors • Long eyelashesand thick eyebrows • Nostrils that can close

7. desert

8. Polar / tundra • Examples: • Northern regions of Canada • Northern regions of Russia • Alaska • Features: • Permanently frozen soil • Low growing plants: moss, lichens, and heath • Two seasons: winter and summer • Very windy • Rainfall is between 6”–10” per year.

9. Polar / Tundra • Adaptations may include: • Thick layer of fat under the skin • Short appendages • Mammals often have white fur. • Have special padding on their feet to help them move on ice and snow

10. Polar / tundra

11. Wetlands • Examples: • Amazon River Basin • Pantanal in South America • Florida Everglades • Peat bogs in Scotland • Features: • There is generally water on the ground all year. • Can be fresh water or salt water • Called marsh, swamp, bog, or fen • Aquatic plants and reeds • Diverse plants and animals

12. wetlands • Adaptations may include: • Birds have webbed feet. • Many birds have specialized beaks. • Have the ability to survive in water and on land • Have the ability to survive in fresh or salt water

13. Wetlands

14. Fresh Water • Examples: • Streams • Rivers • Ponds • Lakes • Features: • Very low salt content in the water • Precipitation keeps water in the lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers. • Changes temperatures depending on the season • Large variety of organisms

15. Fresh water • Adaptations may include: • Obtaining oxygen through gills • Having the ability to swim

16. Fresh Water

17. Oceans • Examples: • Pacific Ocean • Atlantic Ocean • Indian Ocean • Southern Ocean • Arctic Ocean • Many major seas • Features: • There are five ocean biomes. • The average temperature is 39°F. • There are many plants and animals in the ocean:whales, sharks, fish, and sea urchins. • The water can be very shallow and up to 36,200 feet deep.

18. Oceans • Adaptations may include: • Obtaining oxygen through gills • Having the ability to swim • Some mammals have much smaller ears than land animals. • Fins and flukes to assist with movement • Waterproof feathers • Beak adaptations to catch food

19. Oceans

20. Grasslands • Examples: • Russian steppes • African savanna • North American tall-grass prairie • South American grasslands • Features: • Can be tall-grass or short grass • Average rainfall is between 10”–30” in temperate grasslands and 25”–60” in tropical grasslands. • Vegetation is dominated by grasses.

21. Grasslands • Adaptations may include: • The ability to run fast • Coats that help the animal blend with their surroundings • Migration to find food • Strong hooves to run across the savanna

22. Grasslands

23. Deciduous Forests • Examples: • Eastern USA and Canada • Northern California • Parts of China • Europe • Southern coast of South America • Features: • Growth is dependent on either rainy/dry seasons or because of seasonal temperatures. • Rainfall is between 30”–60” per year. • Trees, mosses, and wild flowers are common. • The soil is usually very rich in nutrients and organic material.

24. Deciduous Forests • Adaptations may include: • Larger leaves on plants to absorb more sunlight • Ability to survive in a variety of temperatures, although some animals will hibernate or migrate • Storing food (squirrels storing nuts) • Specialized beaks and feet on birds to obtain food

25. Deciduous Forests

26. Tropical Rainforests • Examples: • Amazon Basin, South America • Congo Basin, Africa • New Guinea • Queensland, Australia • Hawaii, USA • Features: • Warm: Temperatures stay above 64°F all year. • Rainfall is between 66”–390” per year. • Home to half of the living species on the planet

27. Tropical Rainforests • Adaptations may include: • Specific plant/animal relationships (An example is an (Azteca) ant and the Acacia tree.) • Variety of seed dispersal methods • Ability to live in trees • Great agility and specialized body parts, such as tails. • Brightly colored skin or feathers or • Camouflage

28. Tropical Rainforests

29. Temperate Rainforests • Examples: • Olympic Rainforest in Washington state (USA) • Chiloé Island, Chile • Te Anau, New Zealand • Wielangta Forest, Tasmania • Features: • Lots of rain (140”–167“) • Moderate temperatures • Plants growing on other plants (mosses and ferns) • Large, old trees

30. Temperate rainforests • Adaptations may include: • Migration, hibernation, and dormancy • Camouflage • Ability to withstand both warm and very cold temperatures • Eat a variety of food

31. Temperate Rainforests

32. Urban