3 types of natural vegetation and their characteristics
Answers
Answer:
here's ur answer hope it's helpful..sorry for long explanation..
Explanation:
Scientists divide the Earth’s land into what are called vegetation regions. These areas have distinct types of plants, soil, and weather patterns. Vegetation regions can be divided into five major types: forest, grassland, tundra, desert, and ice sheet. Climate, soil, the ability of soil to hold water, and the slope, or angle, of the land all determine what types of plants will grow in a particular region.
Forest
Forests are areas with trees grouped in a way so their leaves, or foliage, shade the ground. Forests can be found just about anywhere trees can grow, from below sea level to high in the mountains. From tropical rain forests near the Equator to boreal forests in cold climates close to the Arctic Circle, different types of forests can be found all over the world.
Grassland
Grasslands are, as their name suggests, flat and open areas where grasses are the dominant type of vegetation. Grasslands can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
Climate plays a role in the type of grassland you get. In cool, mild climates, like northwest Europe, grasslands are dominated by tough vegetation, such as oats, that thrives all year. Some of these grasses are so tough and hardy that they are considered weeds.
Tundra
Tundra is an area where tree growth is difficult because of cold temperatures and short seasons. Vegetation in tundra is limited to a few shrubs, grasses, and mosses. Scientists estimate roughly 1,700 different species live in the tundra, which isn’t much compared to forests and grasslands. The ground is often too cold for plants to set down roots, and without plants, few animal species can survive.
Desert
Deserts have almost no precipitation, or rainfall. In fact, deserts are specifically defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than 10 inches per year. Deserts usually have really high daytime temperatures, low nighttime temperatures, and very low humidity.
Ice Sheet
The interesting thing about the ice sheet “vegetation region” is that there really isn’t any vegetation there at all! An ice sheet is a large stretch of glacier ice that covers the land all around it for more than 50,000 square kilometers (20,000 square miles). Currently, the only ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland. Don’t confuse the ice sheets, called polar ice caps, with other ice shelves or glaciers; an ice sheet is much, much bigger.