Define biomes . Name the different biomes.
Answers
A biome is a community of plants and animals that have common characteristics for the environment they exist in. They can be found over a range of continents. Biomes are distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate. "Biome" is a broader term than "habitat"; any biome can comprise a variety of habitats.
While a biome can cover large areas, a microbiome is a mix of organisms that coexist in a defined space on a much smaller scale. For example, the human microbiome is the collection of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that are present on or in a human body.
A 'biota' is the total collection of organisms of a geographic region or a time period, from local geographic scales and instantaneous temporal scales all the way up to whole-planet and whole-timescale spatiotemporal scales. The biotas of the Earth make up the biosphere.
Marine biomes
●Further information: Marine habitats
Pruvot (1896) zones or "systems"
☆Litoral zone
☆Pelagic zone
☆Abyssal zone
☆Longhurst (1998) biomes:[34]
☆Coastal
☆Polar
☆Trade wind
☆Westerly
Other marine habitat types (not covered yet by the Global 200/WWF scheme)
☆Open sea
☆Deep sea
☆Hydrothermal vents
☆Cold seeps
☆Benthic zone
☆Pelagic zone (trades and westerlies)
☆Abyssal
☆Hadal (ocean trench)
☆Littoral/Intertidal zone
☆Salt marsh
☆Estuaries
☆Coastal lagoons/Atoll lagoons
☆Kelp forest
☆Pack ice
Anthropogenic biomes
Humans have altered global patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. As a result, vegetation forms predicted by conventional biome systems can no longer be observed across much of Earth's land surface as they have been replaced by crop and rangelands or cities. Anthropogenic biomes provide an alternative view of the terrestrial biosphere based on global patterns of sustained direct human interaction with ecosystems, including agriculture, human settlements, urbanization, forestry and other uses of land. Anthropogenic biomes offer a new way forward in ecology and conservation by recognizing the irreversible coupling of human and ecological systems at global scales and moving us toward an understanding of how best to live in and manage our biosphere and the anthropogenic biomes we live in.
●Major anthropogenic biomes:
☆Dense settlements
☆Croplands
☆Rangelands
☆Forested
☆Indoor[35]
●Microbial biomes
●Endolithic biomes
The endolithic biome, consisting entirely of microscopic life in rock pores and cracks, kilometers beneath the surface, has only recently been discovered, and does not fit well into most classification schemes.