Ecosystem Comparisons: Desert vs Temperate Forest

Study Notes

Desert

Climate: Water is a limiting factor, with less than 250mm of rain per year. Temperatures can be very high or very low.
Soils: Very slow decomposition rate, soils are very thin, and nutrient poor.
Vegetation: Lowest NPP, drought-resistant plants, slow growth, spines or waxy coatings.
Animal Adaptations: Very low biodiversity, short food chains, reptiles dominant, mostly nocturnal mammals, absorb water from food.
Issues: Global warming increases droughts, drying up water holes, increasing wildfires, and replacing slow-growing trees and shrubs with fast-growing grasses.

Temperate Forest

Climate: Four distinct seasons, high rainfall, freezing winter.
Soils: Perfect conditions, not too wet or dry, deep, nutrient-rich, and lots of organic matter.
Vegetation: Second highest NPP, limited by leaf loss during winter, deciduous trees dominate.
Animal Adaptations: Rich diversity, animals adapted to changing seasons. Some animals migrate or hibernate in the winter.
Issues: Most of the human race lives within these regions; deforestation is used for urbanization and the area is the world's primary timber source, Many larger predators have been (or nearly wiped out).

Tropical Rainforest

Climate: High temperatures and high rainfall all year; a relative “dryer” period around August.
Soils: Soil is very thin with poor nutrients. Nutrients are used very quickly and intense rain washes them away.
Vegetation: Highest NPP, layered ecosystem, plants have shallow roots due to thin soils. Sunlight is a limiting factor.
Animal Adaptations: Highly diverse ecosystem, but many are specialists living in different canopy levels. Camouflage is common.
Issues: Some forest is cut for timber, but mostly clear-cut to convert land for agricultural use (palm oil or livestock/cattle).

Tundra

Climate: Cold with low precipitation, long dark winters, and strong winds year round.
Soils: Subsoil permanently frozen. Soils above permafrost are waterlogged and too shallow for tree roots.
Vegetation: Cold restricts vegetation; growing season is less than 3 months. Very low NPP, mostly mosses and lichens.
Animal Adaptations: Small food chains, low biodiversity with few predators. Thick insulated coats and small ears for insulation.
Issues: Takes decades to recover after disturbance, Mining and oil extraction destroy ecosystems, climate change melting permafrost.

Tropical Grassland

Climate: High temperatures all year, distinct wet and dry seasons. Fire is important to the ecosystem.
Soils: Very low in nutrients and organic matter. Weathering during the rainy season.
Vegetation: Relatively high NPP compared to biomass, very limited by water during dry season grasses dominate. Few trees, some with thorns for protection.
Animal Adaptations: Greatest number of grazing animals adapted to short rainy seasons (migrate - reproduce during rainy season).
Issues: Legal poaching; about 10% has been converted for agriculture or urban development. Desertification is also a significant threat associated with agriculture in this biome.

Temperate Grassland

Climate: High temperatures all year, distinct wet and dry seasons. Fire is important.
Soils: Grasses die back in the winter, decompose, and form a mat with high nutrient levels.
Vegetation: Flat areas dominated by grasses; non-woody plants. Due to winter and low rainfall, productivity overall is very low.
Animal Adaptations: Surprising very low in diversity. Mostly larger herbivores (bison) and smaller, burrowing mammals.
Issues: 47% has been turned into agricultural land because of the rich soils. Overgrazing and plowing are the greatest threats, but years of wildlife eradication also threaten the ecosystem.

Description

Explore the key differences between desert and temperate forest ecosystems in this quiz. Understand their climates, soil characteristics, vegetation types, animal adaptations, and the environmental issues they face. Test your knowledge of these diverse habitats and discover the impact of global changes on them.