User:InMooseWeTrust/Reading lists/Biomes

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Biomes are defined by factors such as plant structures (such as trees, shrubs, and grasses), leaf types (such as broadleaf and needleleaf), plant spacing (forest, woodland, savanna), and climate. Unlike ecozones, biomes are not defined by genetic, taxonomic, or historical similarities. Biomes are often identified with particular patterns of ecological succession and climax vegetation (quasi-equilibrium state of the local ecosystem). An ecosystem has many biotopes and a biome is a major habitat type. A major habitat type, however, is a compromise, as it has an intrinsic inhomogeneity.


 * Biome
 * Ecozone

Cold

 * Tundra
 * Alpine tundra
 * Permafrost
 * Cushion plant


 * Taïga, Boreal forests
 * Tree line
 * Muskeg
 * Conifer

Temperate

 * Montane grasslands and shrublands


 * Temperate coniferous forest


 * Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests


 * Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
 * Temperate rainforest


 * Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
 * Eucalyptus

Tropical

 * Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
 * Tropical rainforest
 * Monsoon


 * Tropical dry forest

Grassland

 * Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
 * Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
 * Grass
 * Grassland
 * Savanna

Desert

 * Deserts and xeric shrublands
 * Desert
 * Cactus
 * Rain shadow
 * Shrubland

Wetland biomes

 * Flooded grasslands and savannas


 * Riparian zone


 * Wetland


 * Pond


 * Littoral zone


 * Intertidal zone


 * Mangrove

Water biomes

 * Kelp forest


 * Coral reef


 * Neritic zone


 * Continental shelf


 * Pelagic zone


 * Benthic zone


 * Cold seep


 * Pack ice

Weird places

 * Hydrothermal vent


 * Endolith