Week 4 Vocabulary
- Biome: are very large areas on the earth’s surface, with animals and plants adapting to their environment. Biomes are often defined by abiotic factors such as climate, relief, geology, soils and vegetation
- Biodiversity : variety of organisms in an environment
- Emergent Layer : layer of trees that are taller than the canopy
- Canopy : the top layer of trees. These trees are usually at least 100 feet tall. Their branches and leaves form an umbrella over the rest of the layers. Most of the plants and animals live on this layer
- Understory : beneath the canopy is the understory. This layer is made up of some shorter trees and shrubs, but mostly the trunks and branches of the canopy trees. This layer is home to some of the larger predators like snakes and leopards
- Forest Floor : Because of the thickness of the canopy, very little sunlight makes it to the forest floor. This layer is home to lots of insects and spiders. There are also some animals that live on this layer including deer, pigs, and snakes. This layer is the quietest layer as animals sneak around in the dark making little noise.
- Tropical Grassland : Another name for a savanna biome
- Temperate Forest: Another name for a deciduous forest biome
- Coniferous :These forests are made up mostly of conifer trees such as cypress, cedar, redwood, fir, juniper, and pine trees. These trees grow needles instead of leaves and have cones instead of flowers
- Broad-leaf : These forests are made up of broad-leafed trees such as oak, maple, elm, walnut, chestnut, and hickory trees. These trees have big leaves that change color in the fall.
- Permafrost : a layer of ground below the topsoil that remains frozen throughout the year. This layer is generally only a few feet below the surface. Permafrost prevents trees from growing in the tundra because trees need to have deep roots and they can't grow in the frozen ground.
- Alpine Tundra : is the area of land high in the mountains above the tree line
- Arctic Tundra : is located far north in the northern hemisphere along the Arctic Circle. There are large areas of tundra in northern North America, northern Europe, and northern Asia.