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A biome (/ ˈ b aɪ. oʊ m /) is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. [1] [2] Biomes may span more than one continent. A biome encompasses multiple ecosystems within its boundaries
This is a list of terrestrial ecoregions as compiled by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The WWF identifies terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecoregions. The terrestrial scheme divides the Earth's land surface into 8 biogeographic realms, containing 867 smaller ecoregions. Each ecoregion is classified into one of 14 major habitat types, or biomes.
Each realm may include a number of different biomes. A tropical moist broadleaf forest in Central America, for example, may be similar to one in New Guinea in its vegetation type and structure, climate, soils, etc., but these forests are inhabited by animals, fungi, micro-organisms and plants with very different evolutionary histories.
The WWF uses three main classifications: Biogeographic realms (also called ecozones), biomes (also called major habitat types), and ecoregions. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Global 200 ecoregions (WWF), 238 single or combined ecoregions identified by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as priorities for conservation.
Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. [1] The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near colder seas.
Alaska is the most biodiverse state with 15 ecoregions across three biomes in the same realm. California comes in a close second with 13 ecoregions across four biomes in the same realm. By contrast, Rhode Island is the least biodiverse with just one ecoregion—the Northeastern coastal forests —encompassing the entire state.
Elm trees (Ulmus) and willows (Salix) can also be found dispersed throughout the temperate deciduous forests of the world. [1] While a wide variety of tree species can be found throughout the temperate deciduous forest biome, tree species richness is typically moderate in each individual ecosystem, with only 3 to 4 tree species per square ...
Lastly, the abundance of introduced species in an ecotone can reveal the type of biome or efficiency of the two communities sharing space. [6] Because an ecotone is the zone in which two communities integrate, many different forms of life have to live together and compete for space. Therefore, an ecotone can create a diverse ecosystem.