Class Response - Biome Project

In Science, we have been learning about biomes. We learned that there are 6 major biomes accepted by scientists. These are; Tundra, Coniferous Forests, Deciduous forests, Tropical Rain Forests, Grasslands, and Deserts. The tundra is cold all year round, and not many plants and trees grow there because of Permafrost. Permafrost is when the soil has water which is captured in ice, and the ice doesn't melt, causing the soil to be hard. The ice doesn't even melt in the spring or summer, which only lasts for a total of 3 months.The coniferous forest is also cold, but is home to many conifers. Conifers are trees that pack their seeds in cones. They never shed their leaves, and can withstand freezing temperatures. Their needles have a waxy coating, which helps them from freezing, dying, and decaying. This is one major difference from Deciduous forests, because these trees lose their leaves, and the leaves decay. The decayed leaves act as fertilizer in the soil, so many, many different kinds of plants can live there. Tropical rain forests are the biome that receives the most rain. It gets more than 200 cm of rain per year! It is always warm, humid and rainy and because of this, many different plants and animals live here. In the tropical rain forest, it rains almost everyday. The grasslands are completely different. As you can guess, the dominant plant there is grass. Not many trees and shrubs can grow here, because of low rainfall, prairie fires, and the animals would eat the seeds before they have a chance to grow. The desert biome is very dry, and can be very hot or very cold.

Then, last week, SunnyD gave us a project. We chose a biome, and we had to research it, then pick a vacation spot. Then, we had to create a travel brochure and in it had to be the climate, which plants live there, and which animals live there. My biome was grasslands, and at first I did not want to do that biome. I had my mind set on either Tundra, or Tropical rain forest. Then I started to research it, and found that it was not as bad as i had thought. There were many interesting facts, like the grasslands are home to 9000 different species of grasses. The animals that live there are mostly herbivores. These herbivores usually have long legs and hoofs, enabling them to outrun their predators. We had a chance to research our biomes on Monday, and Tuesday. We were allowed to sit anywhere, and i think this was a bad idea, because we all sat with our friends, and spent the entire time talking. Me included. Towards the end of Tuesday, I was determined to at least finish a little bit. I excluded my self away from my friends, and sat at a lab table. Then at the end of class, I was surprised to find that I had finished nearly all my research, in about just 15 minutes.

Two other things have learned about biomes is that grasslands have 2 separate kinds. There are Tropical grasslands, and Temperate grasslands. Tropical grasslands are hot all the time, and Temperate grasslands' climate changes seasonally. http://www.worldbiomes.com/biomes_grassland.htm
Another thing I have learned is that the average winter temerature in the Tundra is -34 degrees Fahrenheit. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php

Overall, the Biome project was really fun.