Climate Zones and Landscape Variations

• By the end of this lesson, the student should be able to:
• Analyze how climate differences lead to landscape variations.
• Explain the impact of tropical and arid zones on people's lifestyles.
• Understand how gradual climate transitions cause landscape changes within and between tropical and arid regions.

Climate Zones

• The Köppen climate classification system categorizes climates into several types.

Tropical Climates (A)

• Characterized by consistent heat and high rainfall.
• Af: Tropical rainforests, humid year-round, located near the equator.
• Am: Monsoon climate with heavy summer rains and significant winter rainfall.
• Aw: Monsoon climate with rainy summers and dry winters.

Dry Climates (B)

• Dominated by moisture deficit
• BS: Steppe regions.
• BW: Desert landscapes.

Temperate Climates (C)

• Moderate temperatures and rainfall patterns.
• Cf: Oceanic climates, consistently wet throughout the year.
• Cs: Mediterranean climates with dry summers.
• Cw: Dry winter seasons, often highland variations of Aw climates.

Boreal Climates (D)

• Characterized by long cold winters
• Df: Humid continental with year-round precipitation.
• Dw: Dry winters, common in eastern Siberia.

Polar Climates (E)

• Bitterly cold with extended winters all year round

• ET: Tundra.

• EF: Ice caps.

• EH: Alpine

• Landscape zones reflect climate zones through characteristic soil and vegetation types, such as tropical rainforests near the equator.

• The climate is less consistent in mountain ranges and areas near oceans due to features like mountain barriers, sea currents, and monsoons.

• Complex patterns are created by the interactions of climate, soil, vegetation, animals, and human activities, all of which change the land.

Tropical Zone

• The tropical zone surrounds the Equator, marked by consistently high temperatures, tropical rainforests, and savannas.
• High humidity and warmth cause quick decomposition, leading to nutrient-poor soil.
• Traditionally, the slash-and-burn method was used temporarily for agriculture.
• The soil could recover by moving to new plots on a rotational system
• Population growth has limited land recovery, increasing commercial ventures such as palm oil plantations and cattle farming for hamburger production.
• It typically has a dry season, resulting in a savanna landscape with scattered trees.
• Volcanic soils in Java enable extensive rice farming and support a dense population, unlike the Amazon.
• Nairobi, Kenya, and Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, demonstrate the effects of elevation as it relates to the tropics.
• Nairobi, Kenya, lies on the Equator and has a savanna landscape.
• Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, is further north and has a rainforest-like landscape.

Arid Zone

• Moving north and south, savannas get drier, turning into steppes without trees.
• Deserts are characterized by very little or no plants.
• Nutrient scarcity due to minimal plant decomposition occurs.
• Irrigation, such as along the Nile in Egypt, sustains agriculture.
• Irrigated agriculture is advanced in deserts of the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia.
• Most deserts consist of stone, limiting the effectiveness of irrigation.
• Nomadic people still roam non-irrigated steppes to find food.
• Overgrazing is occuring as a result of population growth.
• Livestock are essential as a form of movable wealth.
• Nomadic life is hard.
• In contrast to nomads, snowbirds are affluent Americans who winter in second homes in the Arizona desert.
• Some deserts like the Gobi, are not near savannas and can be very cold..